Stefanie Johnson just celebrated two years at City Light and is part of the Power Contracts, Regional Affairs and Strategic Planning division. “I manage some of our wholesale power and transmission contracts and participate in stakeholder forums with BPA and CAISO,” Stefanie explained. “We engage in regional discussions around certain issues and policies to determine how they might impact the way City Light delivers and sells power, and we advocate for solutions that will benefit the utility and our ratepayers. I also am the lead for the Energy Imbalance Market transmission team.”
A Tacoma native, Stefanie headed east to study political studies and history at Whitworth University in Spokane. She went on to achieve a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Washington. “I’m a big UW fan and have season tickets to Husky football and volleyball,” she shared. “I have a good group of friends that will rally for games.” She lives in Beacon Hill, an area she loves especially since it’s not too far from her family in Tacoma.
In this week’s (spot)Light, Stefanie talks about her path to City Light and shares her favorite weekend escape.
Stefanie is all smiles on Anderson Island
“Before City Light, I was an analyst at the Washington State Attorney General’s office for over ten years. The team I worked on served as the ratepayer advocate for customers of investor owned utilities. I knew nothing about the utility industry when I started, and never anticipated spending my career in this field, but I was drawn in by complexity of the issues and the importance of the services provided.”
“In between college and grad school, I did AmeriCorps for a year. I wanted to serve my own community, so I went back to Tacoma. I worked with children in foster care as their educational advocate. I helped make connections between children, schools and foster parents. It was a challenging experience, but meaningful.”
“One of my favorite things to do is spend time at our family house on Anderson Island. My grandparents built the house 60 years ago, and we’re very fortunate to have this place that brings us all together, and where we’ve made so many memories. During the summer, I visit as much as I can. We have this great spot right on the water, so I spend a lot of time taking beach walks, boating, and swimming. Our neighbors have a basketball court and when I was a kid I played in many family pick-up games there, but now it is more often where my nephews beat me at H-O-R-S-E.”
“I really enjoy working at City Light. I’m always learning something new. A lot is changing in this industry and we are trying to figure out how to best serve our customers as we move forward. I’ve also been involved with our ‘Women in Power’ group since its inception and am a vice-chair. It’s been really exciting to see our momentum build. Women are underrepresented in the electric industry. Women in Power’s focus is on fostering professional development, providing support for one another, and bringing to light issues that impact women in the workplace. Having a place where women can come together, work on challenges and build relationships is important to helping change the status quo.”