Winners to be announced during an Instagram Live event on Oct. 28 at 10 a.m. PT
Oct. 10, 2025
LOS ANGELES–Today Plug In America, a national nonprofit accelerating the shift to electric vehicles (EVs), unveiled the list of finalists for its annual Drive Electric Awards. For the first time in Drive Electric Award history, Plug In America will reveal the winners in real time during a special live-stream event on Instagram on Oct. 28 at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT.
The 44 finalists span 12 categories and range from high school students and public servants to municipalities and EV advocates who have worked to further EV adoption through policy, technology, advocacy, or outreach.
“I always look forward to the Drive Electric Awards, and I’m excited to celebrate not just the winners but also the nominees in our live event,” said Plug In America executive director Joel Levin. “People across the country are doing incredible things in the EV space, and we’re honored to recognize them.”
The nonprofit encourages finalists’ supporters to tune in and cheer on their friends. “Everyone on this list is worthy of being celebrated, and we’re excited to include finalists this year in the virtual event,” said Levin. People can set up a reminder notification within the Instagram app after navigating to Plug In America’s Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/pluginamerica
A committee of Plug In America’s staff and board members, along with previous winners and external industry experts, selected the honorees from a pool of nominations submitted by the public earlier this year.
The 2025 Drive Electric Awards are sponsored by the all-new 2026 Nissan LEAF®.
Award categories and finalists are in alphabetical order by first name.
Business Leadership
- ChargerHelp! of Los Angeles, CA
- Ionna Network
- it’s electric of Brooklyn, NY
- Sakuu Corporation of San Jose, CA
Community Changemaker
- Chuck Barlow Sr., Henderson School Alumni Association Trust, of Jackson, Georgia
- Earl Cox of CA
- Elizabeth Hauptman, Mom’s Clean Air Force, of Brighton, MI
- Jodi Bechtel, Clark County, of Las Vegas, NV
- Kent Bullard, EV Advocates of Ventura County, of Ventura, CA
- Rosemarie Mascali, Drive Electric Long Island, of Manhasset, NY
- Will ‘WD’ Scherle, Soulful Synergy, of New Rochelle, NY
Emerging Leader
- Frances Farnum of Sierra Madre, CA
- Nilesh Balusu, University of California, Riverside, of Riverside, CA
- Olivia Burns, Clark County, of Las Vegas, NV
- Riddhi Puranik, University of California, Davis, of Davis, CA
EV Advocate
- Paul Bordenkircher, Nevada Electric Vehicle Association, of Las Vegas, NV
- Rick Denzien, Zero Emission Musicians & Delaware Valley Tesla Owners Club, of Ambler, PA
- Stuart Gardner, Generation180, of Charlottesville, VA
Event Organizer
- Kent Bullard of Ventura, CA
- Ron Jackson of OR
Government Leadership
- Harris County in Texas
Linda Nicholes Lifetime Achievement
- Diane Turchetta of Washington, D.C. (posthumous)
- Zan Dubin of Santa Monica, CA
Nonprofit Leadership
- Clean Cities Georgia of Alpharetta, GA
- Duke Farms of Township, NJ
- Ecology Action of Santa Cruz, CA
- National Energy Foundation of Salt Lake City, UT
- Nevada Electric Vehicle Association of NV
Partnership
- EVs for Families Coalition – made up of the Texas EV Education Project, the City of Austin, Foundation Communities and Clean Energy Fund of Texas
- Southern California EVen Access Public Power Up Program & Southern California Regional Energy Network of CA
Public Sector Champion
- Brian Whipple, Assistant Chief of Police, Schenectady Police Department, NY
- Karen Apple, Electric Vehicle Program Manager, City of Phoenix, AZ
- Raymond Burns, Senior Manager, Harris County, TX
- Steve Patterson, Mayor, of Athens, OH
- Tim Echols, Georgia Public Service Commissioner, of Hoschton, GA
Storytelling & Marketing
- Ashlea Chapple, The Mustang Mach-E® Girls Club, of Cummings, GA
- Earthshot of Pasadena, CA
- Generation180, “I’ll Drive What She’s Driving” campaign, of Charlottesville, VA
- Miss GoElectric of TN
- The Electric Duo of Oceanside, California
- Transport Evolved of Hillsboro, OR
Utility
- Consumers Energy of MI
- Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. of Spring Valley, NY
- PSE&G of Newark, NJ
- Wheatland Electric Cooperative, Inc., of Scott City, KS
About Plug In America
Plug In America is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the use of plug-in electric vehicles in the United States through education, advocacy and research. Formed in 2008, Plug In America provides practical, objective information to consumers and dealerships about EVs through various programs, including National Drive Electric Month, Drive Electric Earth Month, PlugStar.com, and other public outreach events. Learn more at PlugInAmerica.org.
Media contact: Lindsey Perkins
