Women in Utilities

This episode of the Women in Utilities Podcast features Vicki Kuo, the Vice President of Energy Efficiency and Distributed Resource Planning at Con Edison of New York.Vicki shares some of the amazing work being done with Con Edison’s Energy Efficiency Programs, their Electric Vehicle Programs and the complexity utilities face in planning the grid of the future.We also hear about Vicki’s approach to innovation, her experience leaving utilities to work in a start-up, how she dealt with the many opportunities and challenges that this presented her, and how she found her voice earlier on in her career. 

This episode features Morgan Scott, Director - Climate READi, Sustainability & Ecosystem Stewardship at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).  Morgan is incredibly passionate about sustainability so we take a closer look at what is meant by sustainability, what work EPRI is doing in this area, and the complexity and challenges faced by organisations in becoming more sustainable.Morgan’s shares her own journey, including talking about the book she co-edited and her experience representing EPRI in an international setting.

Ellie Lynch from EN Engineering is the guest on this epsiode. She is the Snr Director of Data Solutions. Ellie shares with me her passion for helping organisations optimise data solutions and build robust data governance practices, so they can take advantage of data driven models and analytics. We talk about how Ellie uses her background in civil engineering in her work, and her interest in understanding the connections between culture and infrastructure and sustainable resource development. Ellie also has some great tips around the importance of communication and managing your reputation. Stay tuned to the end for the first time a guest has turned the tables and asked me a question!

This episode features Hetal Patel, Senior Manager in EY's People Advisory Services for Power & Utilities.Hetal shares the findings from a survey EY conducted with the Power and Utilities industry focussing on Digital Transformation and the Workforce. The findings show that power and utilities leaders recognise the need for re-skilling their workforce, but may not have a plan in place to achieve that. We talk about the four-steps utilities can take to devise a strategy as well as what the industry can do to attract and retain more women.Full details on the survey results can be found at: https://www.ey.com/en_us/power-utilities/utility-digital-transformation-and-the-workforce

This episode of the Women in Utilities Podcast features Kate Porter, the Director of Continuous Improvement at CenterPoint Energy. Kate is a licensed industrial engineer, who has worked in Utilities nearly her entire career. We talk about reframing mistakes and failures as learning opportunities, having the confidence to embrace your own unique voice, and how Kate has been very intentional in achieving balance and finding joy in what she does. 

This month's episode features the CEO of NorthWestern Energy, Bob Rowe.Bob has been described by his colleagues as a champion and ally for women in utilities and I'm pleased to be able to share this perspective with you on the show. Bob shares his views on why diversity is important for utilities, the changes he has seen with regards to diversity and inclusion over the years and what NorthWestern is doing to support women in utilities.  Finally, Bob shares his career journey and offers three key pieces of advice for people starting out in their careers. 

This episode features Julia Hamm. Julia is the President and CEO of the Smart Electric Power Alliance, (SEPA), and has been dedicated to the transitioning utilities to a carbon-free modern electric grid for nearly 20 years. She shares how SEPA has evolved over the years, how she came to be CEO in her twenties and what SEPA recommends for utilities transitioning to a carbon-free grid. Julia also talks about introversion, confidence, owning what you know and that to be successful we often have to step out of our comfort zone and do what may not come naturally to us.Find out more about SEPA:https://sepapower.org/

In this episode Nancy Conder, the Director of Work Order Management & Data Quality at CenterPoint Energy shares her career journey as a Mechanical Engineer who has spent the last 9 years in Utilities. She shares some great anecdotes from her career like Bob the Bear who couldn't share, which is all about developing your people and leaving a legacy, how she had to prove herself and keep her composure, even in the most challenging and stressful circumstances, and the importance of having a "Power Board". Nancy credits a large part of her success to always staying true to herself and sharing those truths with others.Additional ResourcesCenterPoint Energy: https://www.centerpointenergy.com/en-us/Energetic Women: https://www.energeticwomen.org/Midwest Energy Association: https://www.meaenergy.org/Southern Gas Association: https://southerngas.org/

In this final episode for Season 1 of the Women in Utilities Podcast, I'm joined by Britt Ide.Britt is an engineer and a lawyer who has over 25 years experience in the energy and utilities industry and currently serves on the Board of Directors or on Advisory Boards for a number of public and private companies and non-profit organisations. These include the Board of Directors for NorthWestern Energy,  ATLIS Motor Vehicles, the Energy Policy Institute, and Hot Rock Energy Research Organisation and the Advisory Board for 3 Degrees.Britt shares with me what being on a Board entails, the skills and experience that you need,and how to find Board opportunities. While serving on a Board maybe something for the latter part of your career, Britt shares some tips on how you can start to prepare yourself for Board positions early on. Britt is very passionate about encouraging women to pursue careers in engineering and increasing the number of women and the diversity of Boards. She has been involved in a lot of initiatives to make an impact in these areas and in this episode she shares some of the resources and programs that are available to women interested in board opportunities. Links to all of the resources Britt talks about can be found below.Resources discussed:Athena Alliance: https://athenaalliance.com/50/50 Women on Boards: https://5050wob.com/Clean Energy Education and Empowerment International Initiative: https://www.c3e-international.org/https://www.c3eawards.org/Nurole: https://www.nurole.com/Women's Energy Network: https://www.womensenergynetwork.org/Women Corporate Directors: https://www.womencorporatedirectors.org/Organisations discussed:North Western Energy: https://www3.northwesternenergy.com/home3 Degrees: https://3degreesinc.com/Atlis Motor Vehicles: www.atlismotorvehicles.comEnergy Policy Institute: https://www.boisestate.edu/epi/home/about-us/Plan C Advisors: https://www.plancadvisors.com/Coalition for Green Capital: https://coalitionforgreencapital.com/Hot Rock Energy Research Institute: https://www.hotrockhero.org/

In this episode Jennifer Hood, the HR Transformation PMO Director at UGI talks about her career in utilities, one that started over 20 years ago. She shares how she worked her way up from a Temporary Administrative Assistant to the position she holds today. Jenn is completely honest when re-telling her story, sharing all the challenges and setbacks she faced along the way. Her story is one of perserverence, determination and resilience, one that truly demonstrates her passion for learning and leading.

In this episode I sat down with Shannon Katcher, who is the Executive Director of Digitalisation and Data at GTI, a leading research, development and training organisation for the energy industry based in Chicago.Shannon shares how her curiousity lead her to study science, how she found her calling when working with technology and Geographic Information Systems, or GIS, and why she believes the utility and energy sector is increasingly ready to adopt digital transformations.We talk about diversity of thought and how important this is to innovation, the role of data and digitalisation in a low-carbon future and Shannon shares how sometimes it is appropriate to say no to an opportunity.Thanks for listening. If you have any suggestions or comments, please reach me at smadhavip@gmail.com 

This episode features Ashley Donnini, the CEO at Lola Link Consulting. Lola Link is a consulting firm that specialises in linking strategy to operations and making visions a reality for its clients. Having "grown up" working in utilities, Ashley shares how she got started in the industry, what it's like being a business owner and and three key pieces of advice that have served her well through-out her career.You can reach Ashley on LinkedIn or at ad@lolalink.comI can be reached at smadhavip@gmail.com.Thanks for listening!

This episode features Dr. Genevieve Simpson who is the Government Relations Manager at Western Power, a Western Australian state owned energy supplier. Genevieve shares her thoughts on how utilities need to adapt to changing consumer behaviour, how they can work with regulators to achieve strategic outcomes and what impact climate change may have on utilities. She explains why she continues to work in utilities and shares her advice for women looking to progress their careers in this field. Genevieve is an active member of the Australian Institute of Energy. You can find more details about this organisation at www.aie.org.au.To reach me, Madhavi Shankarling, my email is smadhavip@gmail.com. I'd love to hear your thoughts, comments or suggestions.

Today's guest is Cherry Zhao, a Utilities Engineer who works with the New South Wales State Government on road projects around Sydney, Australia and is actively pursuing her engineering Chartership. Cherry shares what she does as a Utilities Engineer and how varied the role can be, her development and career goals, and how digital engineering is being rapidly adopted and changing the way projects are being managed. If you have any suggestions or comments regarding the Women in Utilities podcast, please reach out to me, Madhavi Shankarling, at smadhavip@gmail.com.

On the show today is Revana Boodhraj. Revana's shares how her childhood curiousity was sparked by the "box next door", and how she went on to become an an electrical engineer who is currently working as a Senior Business Analyst at Western Power. Revana shares very practical advice for how to overcome the biggest obstacle to your success, how she stretched herself and got out of her comfort zone to achieve her goals, and how a little stubbornness can be a good thing for your career! **A note about the sound quality - our first recording together wasn't the best quality, so Revana graciously agreed to a second interview. This episode stitches the two recordings together. It's a really great episode, so please do bear with the sound quality, and stick around to the end for all Revana's gold**Reach me, Madhavi Shankarling, at smadhavip@gmail.com, with any questions, comments or suggestions.

This episode features Dr Lindsay Jenkins, Vice President of Strategy and Technical Operations at Urbint. Urbint is a start up based in New York City, that's using Artificial Intelligence to mitigate risks in the field, to protect workers and infrastructure. She shares what got her interested in utilities in the first place, what opportunities and challenges lie ahead for the industry and valuable advice for women looking to build a career in this field. The conversation touches on damage prevention, digital transformation and "life's seasons". For more information, Lindsay can be reached at lindsay.jenkins@urbint.com. If you have any suggestions or thoughts on the Women in Utilities podcast, you can reach me, Madhavi Shankarling, at smadhavip@gmail.com