Upper Deerfield Township, NJ

Häly Laasme was born in Pärnu, Estonia. Currently she lives in New Jersey and works for the State of Delaware. She serves on the Board of Directors of three major US energy associations (NEADA, NEUAC, and ESC). She mentors internationally in the USEA Southeast Asia Female Leaders in Energy Initiative for the Dept. of State/ENR, and referees for the peer-reviewed International Energy Journal. In 2021, she was among the Top 500 Global Sustainability Thought Leaders. She advocates for energy access being indisputably included into the human rights framework and increasing global collaboration in energy justice. She has a degree in economics from Columbia University, and she is a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University.

I find it important to support Estonian Americans in maintaining their cultural heritage in the United States and developing working relationships with other non-Estonian organizations. I find it extremely concerning that we have so many Estonians living, working and studying in the United States, but we know so little about them – their challenges and achievements, their dreams and fears, their hopes and sorrows. I would like to see a strategy that reverses that path of ignorance and allows every Estonian in America to feel valued and appreciated. I am hoping that this will also help the younger Estonian Americans to find their way to the community and their heritage. While living in New Jersey, I have volunteered my time to the Federation of Associations for Advancement of Estonian Youth, Inc (FAAEY) at Järvemetsa (Lakewood) for the Estonian Boy and Girl Scouts, and in 2020, I received Tammetäht II for my contribution.