The Basics
Years of Service: One and a half
Division: Regulatory Affairs
Role: Our team focuses on reliability standards compliance and regulations. What that means is we ensure City Light meets or exceeds the safety and security standards set forth by regulatory authorities. Failure to do so can lead to major penalty and safety/security implications not only for at City Light, but for our interconnected electric grid. More specifically, one of the files I manage is our Columbia Basin Hydro Power (CBHP) contract from a reliability standards standpoint, ensuring that we remain in compliance to North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) reliability standards, and that all parties understand their role when it comes to compliance. I conduct an annual review between all parties of the contract (Tacoma Power and CBHP), revisiting our Standards to make sure they are relevant, active, and when necessary, making amendments to our Exhibits or MOU if any changes have occurred. I also led the migration of Regulatory Affair’s SharePoint site to the new Hub, so feel free to head on over to our page to learn more about what our group does and what reliability Standards compliance means at City Light and for you!
Background
Hometown: Toronto, Ont. CA (Go Raptors!)
Alma Mater: McMaster University, located in Hamilton, Ontario in Canada
Discipline/Trade of Study: I received my undergraduate degree in political science and then went onto my master’s, also in political science, majoring in public policy and public administration.
Tell us about your family: My family consists of my husband, Richard, my dog, Teddy, and me. My husband serves in the Royal Canadian Air Force as an aircraft commander for the C-17 fleet. He was selected to go on an exchange with the United States Air Force, which is what brought our little family to Washington. He is posted at the McChord Air Force Base flying the C-17 and is currently training to become an instructor on the plane. Though my husband and I are both Canadian, our dog is actually from New Jersey! He’s a little Maltipoo who we rescued from a shelter, and we’ve had him for about four years now.
Just for Fun
Where do you currently live and what’s something you love about the area? We live in downtown Seattle across from the Amazon Spheres and I absolutely love the area! I have never lived downtown anywhere before, so my husband and I are really soaking in downtown life by enjoying all the patios, different restaurants, and the convenience of our location being walking distance to basically everything. Fun fact: I haven’t driven a car since we moved here in July 2019! There is no need because everything is accessible downtown by walking!
If you could use two words to describe yourself, what would they be? Creative and long-winded. I love coming up with new ideas; I think anyone that has gotten the chance to work with me can vouch for the fact that I am an idea-generator. I am most comfortable being in a place of problem-solving and thinking through new ways to approach problems, I think that’s where I really thrive. That being said, I am also super longwinded. I have a lot of stories, and if I get going on a topic I’m really passionate about, it’s really hard for me to scale it back. This makes it really easy for me to make small talk with strangers though! Just take this response for instance, I’m pretty sure I was supposed to answer in two words!
If you could learn to do anything, what would it be? I wish I could learn how to sing. My husband and I do a lot of “Car-eoke” when we drive anywhere, and we really have to turn up the volume for me because I have no sense of pitch or key… or even singing the right lyrics for that matter.
What brought/attracted you to City Light? I have worked in the public sector for most of my career in a few different policy realms, such as commuter rail transportation in both electrification and railway safety regulations. I have also done policy work on property assessment and property tax regulations. Out of all the different policy areas I have worked in, the energy realm is by far the most dynamic, complex, and interesting. That is what initially compelled me to the role, and it continues to keep me engaged and enthused about the work we do here!