The Basics
How long have you been at City Light? Nearly 16 years
Division: Transmission & Distribution Field Operations
Tell us about your role. What does your job entail? I am an overhead line supervisor at the South Service Center. I make daily personnel assignments and perform administrative and field supervisory work. I do work site visits and monitor the progress of jobs, schedule necessary safety and work-specific training. I participate in committees, safety meetings, workflow meetings, and construction standard meetings (and too many others to list!). I’ll sit in on hiring committees and participate in interviews. Of course, I handle and resolve personnel issues, conduct quarterly one-on-ones and yearly evaluations. There’s some purchasing of equipment, materials, and authorization of other procurement items for crews and apprentices. I put out fires daily, whether it’s customer or operations issues.
Background
Hometown: Houston, Texas
Discipline/Trade of study: I used to work as an account manager for a travel company in Boston. After being laid off and moving to Seattle, I made a life-changing decision at 34 years old to apply for the pre-apprenticeship program here at City Light. It was a challenging experience to go through a four-year apprenticeship at the ripe old age of 34, but I made it through. Since then, I’ve worked as a crew chief in streetlight, ran the overhead line desk as a coordinator, and now work as a supervisor. It’s been a whirlwind experience and I’m happy I took the chance and made the change in careers.
Tell us about your family: My family consists of my wife Shannon and our dog Archie aka The Cheese.
Just for Fun
What’s one thing that has surprised you about working at City Light? How it feels like a family. Coming up as a lineworker, there’s an element of trust you have in your peers given the nature of the work. There’s a familial bond that builds through that trust.
What TV show are you currently bingeing? “Game of Thrones: House of the Dragon”
Who do you admire the most? My wife Shannon. She is the most intelligent and supportive person I know. I wouldn’t be where I am today without her.
What is the one item you can’t live without that needs electricity to operate? My air pods because I love listening to music and podcasts.
What is your favorite travel memory/experience? This is a tough one because my wife and I love to travel and have had multiple amazing experiences. But I would have to pick our most recent trip to Oaxaca, Mexico. We hired a private guide who took us on a tour of the Zapotec ruins at Monte Alban which overlooks the city of Oaxaca and acted as the capital for 13 centuries starting in 500 B.C.