Ariane Weldon
Ariane Weldon’s path into the renewable energy industry was anything but traditional. As a single mother, she began her journey pursuing an associate’s degree in applied health and science while working across a range of roles, from quality control in the carpet industry to serving as a 911 dispatcher. Despite her dedication, she often felt uncertain about her long-term direction. A turning point came during a quiet moment outdoors, when she was struck by the beauty of the natural world and felt a deep desire to contribute to its preservation. When she learned about a solar panel manufacturing facility being built in Georgia, she followed her intuition and stepped into an entirely new field—one that would ultimately shape her future.
Over the past seven years, Ariane has grown into a leadership role as a Quality Supervisor within a solar panel manufacturing company. She now oversees quality operations across five departments, ensuring that products meet rigorous standards from start to finish while also maintaining strong safety protocols. Working in a male-dominated, foreign-owned organization without a formal engineering background, she has distinguished herself through persistence, consistency, and an unwavering commitment to excellence. Her journey reflects not only professional growth but also a determination to prove that leadership is earned through action, not titles.
At the heart of Ariane’s success is her passion for leadership and her belief in the importance of every team member’s contribution. She takes pride in motivating and inspiring her team, reminding them that their work plays a vital role in advancing renewable energy and protecting the planet. Guided by the influence of mentors like Wayne and inspired by her love for the outdoors, travel, and family, Ariane brings both purpose and authenticity to her work. Her story is a testament to resilience, self-discovery, and the power of pursuing a path aligned with one’s values.
• Dalton State College
Associate of Arts and Sciences - AAS, Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my mom. My mom was a strong, strong woman. She taught me how to be brave and strong. She's the reason I wake up every day with the courage to face challenges in a male-dominated industry and keep pushing forward even when things are difficult. Her legacy lives on through the strength and bravery she instilled in me.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received was that your team is only as good as its leader. So if your team is failing, you go back to the leader. If you're failing, you go back to you, and you get better, and do better, and your team will do better. I stick to that advice every single day. When my team starts going down, I go back to me and ask myself what I can do to be better. It takes bravery to not push failures off on somebody else, but to look inward and improve yourself first.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice is don't give up. It is a very hard field, and some days it can be really difficult. But you wake up, and it's a new day, and you live it like it's a brand new day and the last day, and you just try your best. Do your best and don't give up. Always stay consistent, and always keep in the back of your mind respect, communication, and honesty. Every day, that's what I wake up and keep in my head every single day. These values will guide you through the challenges.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge right now is the economy and how the world is doing. When the economy goes down and there are issues in the world, it affects our materials and our ability to get supplies to us. That affects our job, our work hours, and everything about our productivity. We are tied to how our country's doing, our economy's doing, and how the world is doing. So the biggest challenge is to combat these economic factors and continue to be in business and make good products despite what's going on in our own country and in the world. Tariffs are also a big factor because we get a lot of parts internationally.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me are respect, communication, and honesty. I always stick to these three things in both my personal life and my work life. Whenever I have strayed away from them in experience, it's not a good outcome, so I always try to stick to this. Having respect for people, having clear communication, and always being open and honest and transparent - these are my benchmarks that guide everything I do.