Kiara McCrary (’15,’21)

I served as the Outage Manager for the nation’s first-ever air-cooled gas turbine conversion designed to test a blend of 50% hydrogen and 50% natural gas. This project positioned the turbine to safely burn both fuel sources simultaneously, serving as a critical step in Georgia Power’s research into alternative fuels and emissions reduction. As Outage Manager, I managed a budget of approximately $73 million, coordinated outage activities across Original Equipment Manufacturer partners for both the gas and steam turbines and balance-of-plant scopes. I built and maintained a fully integrated schedule, tracked daily critical path progress, managed all scope change requests and facilitated plant-wide outage meetings to keep every stakeholder aligned. I am proud to note that the 50/50 blend was accomplished safely and will continue to set the standard for emission control. My work on this testing earned me an Excellence Award from the Georgia Power, an honor I hold deeply and one that reminds me of the importance of providing safe, reliable and clean energy.

As an Engineer at Plant McDonough, I served as the project manager for the construction and commissioning of Georgia Power’s blackstart restoration unit, a $10 million System Controls, Electrical and Mechanical Upgrade. This system is essential for grid stability; if the power grid ever becomes unstable, the blackstart capability allows the plant to safely self-start and restore power, enabling the broader grid restoration process. Leading a project of this scale early in my career, from technical oversight and budget management to system commissioning, established a foundation for every leadership role I have held since. I was also honored with a Georgia Power Excellence Award for this effort.

My first leadership role placed me at one of Georgia Power’s largest generation facilities as an Electrical Maintenance Team Leader — responsible for 26 union Electricians, none of whom looked like me. I was the youngest leader in the department, one of only two African Americans in my area, the only woman, and I was simultaneously pursuing my MBA at Georgia Southern. In addition to this, I did not have the hands-on electrical maintenance experience that those I was leading had accumulated over their career. I could have been paralyzed by all of that. Instead, I leaned in. I listened more than I spoke, remained humble, asked questions.