Find Posts By Topic

Seattle City (spot)Light: Joy Bediones

Jocelyn (Joy) Bediones joined City Light in March 2011 after working many years in the banking industry. A certified public accountant, she works with City Light as an environmental accountant (and grant expert!).

Joy was born and raised in Iloilo City, on the southern tip of Panay Island in the Philippines. In 1981, she emigrated from her island home to another island: Whidbey Island, where she moved to live closer to her brother, who was stationed there with the U.S. Navy.

In this week’s (spot)Light, Joy talks about where she eventually settled in the Seattle area, why she was attracted to working at City Light, her job and her hobbies.

Joy Bediones of Seattle City Light

This picture has a lot of symbolism for Joy: Ross Dam for City Light and the stars and stripes for the adopted country she loves.

“I currently live in Kent. I like living in in Kent because it is close enough to the city and to awesome eating places, along with access to malls and outlet malls. I also love working in Seattle. The views, and especially the sky view above Puget Sound from our floor, can get awesome. I sometimes get a tip from the west side “window dwellers” if the color of the sky gets to a stunning color combination. I run and take a picture of it on my phone to share on social media!”

“Having worked in the banking industry and the constant change we had to face—one bank buying another, system integration, constantly learning new processes which happen every few years—it got old after a while. I hadn’t worked for a government entity before and I thought that it would be a challenge to learn something new. I like the stability it offers.”

“As an environmental accountant, I calculate and record total environmental liability for City Light. As the grant subject matter expert, I assist org units and individuals who obtain grants on capturing their costs and applying for grant reimbursement. When there is a declared emergency event (like a storm, fire, etc.), I work with FEMA to get reimbursed for expenses. If another utility requests assistance through a mutual aid agreement, I work with that utility to recover our costs for sending our crews to assist them. COVID-19 might be an event that is going to make me very busy later.”

“I like to sew. I used to sew special occasion outfits like wedding gowns and entourage gowns for friends. Now I use my sewing skills making masks for family and friends!”