Kathy French ’97 is Lighting the Way for Mudders

In 2001, Kathy French ’97 (engineering) accepted a role as project engineer at LS Power, a North American company that develops, invests and operates power projects, including renewable energy and transmission infrastructure. Today, French is vice president of environmental, health and safety and serves on the firm’s investment team, responsible for examining and developing solutions for environmental and health impacts related to approximately 17,000 megawatts operating across nearly 100 power-generating battery and renewable natural gas plants. Her expertise has been integral to key acquisitions for the company and the plight for reduced carbon emissions. 

LS Power acquired a well-bred engineer: after HMC, French earned an M.S. in environmental engineering from Drexel University and joined the Missouri Society of Professional Engineers, where she served as president. In 2017, the organization’s St. Louis chapter named her Engineer of the Year. At LS Power, French’s interests went beyond industry to social good: She joined the firm’s Environmental, Social and Governance Committee as a key proponent of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts that align with environmental, social and governance initiatives. 

But the path hasn’t always been an easy one for French. In a male-dominated field, she was one of a growing number of women who encountered a variety of challenges to leadership. She adamantly avoided the note taker role, often assigned because she was the only woman in the room, navigated project sites without restroom facilities for women, and found herself holding firm to and presenting her position when senior male colleagues suggested her input was irrelevant. Speaking about her journey in the Mudd Talk, “Yin and Yang—Perspectives of Two Women STEM Leaders from Academia and Industry,” French defined the what leadership has meant to her, how she developed the skills to lead, and the challenges and opportunities of navigating a leadership position as a woman in STEM. 

For the nearly three decades since French graduated from Harvey Mudd, the College’s faculty, staff and students have come to know her as a steady campus figure. Before taking the reins as president of the Alumni Association Board of Governors, French chaired several committees and served as board treasurer and vice president. She has offered resume reviews through the Office of Career Services and held office hours for students in the Café, along with serving as an admissions ambassador. French has also served on key College committees such as the Task Force on Clinic and Corporate Partnerships, 2024 Inauguration Committee, Strategic Plan Steering Committee and the Student Experience Working Group. If all of that wasn’t enough, she’s remained an avid donor to the College.  

Why invest so much time and energy into giving back to her alma mater? For French, it’s because Harvey Mudd played a significant role in shaping her future. “My career trajectory was a result of the broad education I received at Mudd,” she says. And the role models she encountered at Mudd, including former president Maria Klawe, helped guide her career. “Watching another woman get to be herself in a leadership position made it easier for me to stay true to myself as I have gone up the leadership ladder,” says French.