CLASP Remembers Our Founder, Dr. Stephen Wiel (1939–2026)
News
Wiel served as chair of CLASP’s board of directors for 25 years.
Stephen Wiel, CLASP’s founder and board chair for 25 years, died peacefully in his sleep in April 2026.
Wiel founded CLASP in 1999 with the vision to extend the benefits of appliance energy efficiency to Global South countries that were on the verge of massive economic growth and subsequent energy demand. To create the “Collaborative Labeling & Appliance Standards Program,” he brought together a group of partners: the Alliance to Save Energy, International Institute for Energy Conservation, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The group of founding partners oversaw the partnership-based program until it became an independent nonprofit organization in 2005.
Christine Egan, CLASP CEO (left), and Dr. Steve Wiel, former CLASP board chair, in 2019 at Alliance to Save Energy Evening with the Stars of Energy Efficiency Awards Gala.
CLASP
“One of Steve’s extraordinary gifts was working through people to create lasting change,” said CLASP’s CEO Christine Egan, who worked side by side with Wiel since she was hired in 2000. “CLASP’s value of being in service to decisionmakers in pursuit of impact came directly from him. The CLASP team carry this forward, often without even knowing the origin. Steve innately knew that global progress requires true listening and ingenuity, guided by a shared North Star. Steve’s legacy lives on in CLASP’s work, and in the team that I am so proud to lead and mentor.”
Wiel’s spirit of purposeful collaboration continues shaping CLASP’s culture and way of working to this day, and is edified in our values of collaboration, transparency, impact, and service.