by
Rachel Hansen
| Mar 30, 2021
When Carol Wardell began her legal career in 1983, only five or six attorneys in the Chelan-Douglas Bar Association were women. Through the 80s, she represented Chelan PUD as outside counsel on matters such as construction, contracts and salmon protection.
In 1991, she was appointed as Chelan-Douglas County Superior Court Judge, the first woman to serve on the highest local court. After seven years, she returned to private practice as Chelan PUD's first in-house legal counsel.
"When I joined the District in 1998, we were only beginning to sell energy on the market. That was an interesting time," she said.
During her tenure, Carol was instrumental in negotiating the complex and unique contract with Alcoa. She was also on the relicensing teams for Rocky Reach and Lake Chelan dams.
When asked what she's most proud of, she said, "the talented and smart people that I hired or helped to develop."