Courtney Peterson is Senior Vice President, Chief Diversity Officer, and Chief Human Resources Officer at the Edison Electric Institute (EEI). Courtney joined EEI in 2021. She provides executive leadership to EEI’s industry-wide diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) strategy and practice area, also overseeing EEI’s 40-year-old business/supplier diversity program. She also drives engagement with EEI’s member company chief human resources officers. Courtney leads EEI’s internal human resources / DE&I strategy and operations for its DC-based staff and internal facility operations. Courtney also serves as Chief Administrative Officer for the Center for Energy Workforce Development (CEWD).
Prior to joining EEI, Courtney served as Chief People and Culture Officer at Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C. and served in various HR leadership roles for the Fannie Mae Foundation and the American Diabetes Association. She has earned senior-level human resources certifications from the Society for Human Resources Management and the Human Resources Certification Institute. Courtney is on the board of directors of the SHRM Foundation and is on the faculty at Georgetown University in the School of Continuing Studies, teaching in the master's degree program in human resources management.
Courtney is certified as a leadership/executive coach at the professional certified coach (PCC) level through the International Coaching Federation and a certified workplace mediator. Courtney has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a master’s degree in adult education and leadership from Robert Morris University. She also holds an executive certificate in leadership coaching from Georgetown University.
Courtney has been named one of the Most Influential Executives in Diversity & Inclusion by Savoy Magazine, as well as a Top 100 Diversity Officer™. She has also been named a Gamechanger: Introvert to Watch by Hushloudly Media Group. Courtney is a member of the Top Ladies of Distinction as well as Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.