Jacquie Pierri, Pro Hockey Player and Environmental Policy Wonk, Brings Tenacity and Strategic Savvy to EcoAthletes Champions Squad
Jacquie Pierri’s journey that led her to become the newest EcoAthletes Champion covered many thousands of miles as well as lots of figurative twists and turns. But it all makes perfect sense.
Jacquie Pierri (r) at a ceremony commemorating her 100th game in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (Photo credit: CWHL)
The Montclair, NJ native played four years of Division I hockey at Brown University, all while majoring in mechanical engineering, with a particular focus on the power, heat, and fluid dynamics of green energy.
Then the stay-at-home defenseman decided she would go far from home — Calgary, Alberta, to pursue a pro hockey career. The “pro” part was debatable at first.
“I had to pay $70 to tryout for the Calgary Inferno in 2014,” recalled Pierri. “We had to fundraise just to survive. Three years later, we won the Cup, and we got paid a little bit.”
At that point, Pierri thought she was ready to hang up her skates. So, she headed to Barcelona for a master’s degree in sustainable energy systems.
“The program had a broad focus, covering policy, technology, strategy, marketing and communications,” Pierri shared. “All of this was more interesting to me than strict engineering. While I loved Barcelona, there were four partner universities across Europe and so I went to Stockholm for the second year, and the hockey bug bit me again. Beyond getting back on the ice, hockey also featured prominently in my master’s thesis. It dealt with aqua-ammonia for ice rinks as a more energy efficient refrigerant option to brine solutions.”
Jacquie Pierri with her thesis after her virtual defense (Photo credit: Jacquie Pierri
Pierri is preparing to start what hopefully will be a long, fruitful final chapter of her hockey career in Bolzano in Northern Italy this fall as a tribute to her late father, Al: “My dad, an Italian immigrant, loved the game. Tragically, he died of a heart attack while playing hockey. So, playing for a team in Italy with the Pierri name on my jersey will be very special. And I am pushing to get Italian citizenship because Italy will be hosting the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina. Fingers crossed that the citizenship works out, I stay healthy until then, and that I perform well enough to crack the line-up.”
In the meantime, she is eager to begin her tenure as an EcoAthletes Champion.
“I was excited to find out about EcoAthletes since I’ve been looking for ways to use my platform to explore and promote the powerful intersection of sports and climate,” enthused Pierri. “I look forward to meeting and working with my fellow Champions to bring real, achievable climate actions to our fans. If you convince one person to make a lifestyle change, the ripple effects can be much bigger than you know.”
EcoAthletes founder and President Lew Blaustein is convinced that Pierri will influence far more than one person as a Champion.
“Jacquie Pierri brings tenacity, passion and strategic savvy to the ice and to her passion for climate solutions,” Blaustein said. “I can’t wait to see her using those qualities to lead climate action as an EcoAthletes Champion.”
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