PowerHouse Data Centers' Karen Petersburg named DCD Woman of the Year at its 2025 Global Awards

MCLEAN, Va., December 17, 2025 — PowerHouse Data Centers, a leading real estate developer for next-generation hyperscale data centers and a division of American Real Estate Partners (AREP), is proud to announce that Karen Petersburg, LEED AP, Vice President of Development & Construction, has been named Data Center Dynamics (DCD) 2025 Woman of the Year at its annual Global Awards.

For nearly two decades, the DCD Global Awards have been the benchmark for excellence in the data center sector. With more than 360 submissions spanning 17 award categories in 2025 alone, the scale and competition underscore the Awards’ prestige and industry leadership. Among its standout honors, the Woman of the Year award celebrates visionary female leaders who are redefining the limits of technology, driving innovation, and championing inclusivity. This year’s recipients were announced at the Gala Dinner & Ceremony on December 11 at Grosvenor House in London.

“This recognition truly belongs to the exceptional teams and people I've been blessed to work with,” Petersburg said. “That our vision for responsible, innovative data center development is being recognized on a global stage is incredibly humbling. We have important work ahead as we continue building up this industry, work that I'm honored to do alongside such talented colleagues and partners."

Petersburg leads the planning and delivery of hyperscale, AI-ready campuses for industry leaders, including AWS, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and CoreWeave. Her nomination recognizes her work in embedding energy efficiency, resiliency, and scalable infrastructure into every project while reshaping how data centers integrate with communities.

"Karen embodies the forward-thinking leadership that defines PowerHouse Data Centers," said Louise Boulton-Lear, SVP Integrated Marketing Communications for  PowerHouse and AREP. "Her ability to blend technical excellence with environmental stewardship and community impact sets a new standard for our industry. This recognition reflects PowerHouse's commitment to responsible, high-performance infrastructure development that creates lasting value for our partners and the communities we serve."

Petersburg's leadership extends beyond technical delivery to set the pace for PowerHouse's approach to responsible development, embedding data center facilities that enrich, rather than detract from, the communities where they're built. Her work focuses on ensuring the industry's long-term sustainability by attracting new talent and creating pathways into data center careers.

Through PowerHouse's Community Engagement Program, piloted at the Reno Campus, Petersburg created initiatives, including a partnership with Eddy House that provides nutritious meals for at-risk youth while building workforce pipelines to train local talent. The initiative saves the nonprofit $80,000 annually. She also spearheaded workforce development programs with local colleges and intergenerational learning programs bridging the digital divide.

Petersburg serves on the advisory committee of the   Data Center Frontier Summit and leads the 7x24 Data Center DC Chapter. In 2024, she was recognized as Green Building Initiative’s Member of the Year, and was recently ranked No. 42 on Data Centre Magazine's 2025 Top 100 Women. Petersburg's technical innovations include partnering with BALA to develop the industry's first data center project Sustainability Index, which is now used across PowerHouse’s portfolio. 

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