From Field Operations manager for North Line to Manager of Stations, Relay, and Operators, Tosha Siebert reflects on her new role

Tosha Siebert joined City Light as the Field Operations Manager for North Line. “I started my job in March 2020, just a few days before Gov. Inslee announced the stay-at-home order for COVID-19!” Tosha explained. “Starting during this time was extremely difficult. Right away, I had to start implementing new policies and procedures before people had even gotten the chance to get to know me. With all of us continuing to come in each week, we were forced to find different ways to do our work and communicate with each other.”

Born in California but raised in Washington, Tosha considers herself a true Washingtonian. She lives in the Snoqualmie area where she, “loves the beautiful views we have of the Cascades! It’s truly beautiful here, especially when it’s snowing, and I get to enjoy a good romance movie with my electric blanket!”

In this week’s (spot)Light, Tosha talks about her new role at City Light and what she has enjoyed most about her time at the utility.

“I started as the Line Operations Manager at the North Service Center where I learned so much about the operational aspects of our overhead, underground residential distribution, streetlight, and Line Service crews. I have now graciously accepted the offer to move to a new role where I will be able to shift my focus over to learning more about the services our Substation, Relay and Non-Attended Substation (NAS) Operator workgroups provide. Since starting this new role things have been very different. I am getting more of an opportunity to get out and meet employees with less focus on implementation and planning around the pandemic,” Tosha shared. She comes to City Light from Tacoma Power where she previously completed two apprenticeships; her first was a three and a half year Meter apprenticeship, the second being another three and a half year Relay apprenticeship. She also received her Bachelor of Science in Business Management earlier this year.

“A shorter commute, the opportunity to learn more about utility operations and develop my leadership skills were all positives in my decision to join the City Light team. The ability to work with so many different workgroups in Transmission and Distribution Operations piqued my interest, and I feel so privileged to work with and continue to learn from so many great people around me.”

From Boston to Seattle, Eliza Ives shares her passion for the outdoors and upcoming advancements in renewable energy.

Renewable Energy Program Manager Eliza Ives has been with City Light for three and a half years. “I started as a graduate intern and decided to stick around!” she exclaimed.

“I am originally from just outside of Boston and studied evolutionary biology at Harvard, which got me into the marine biology world. After five years, I returned to school to get my master’s in public administration from the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Policy,” Eliza shared. “My spouse’s job brought us to Seattle nine years ago. I was happy not to be in a landlocked area, as were my marine biology interests (in a former life, I worked for NOAA doing large marine mammal passive acoustics research).”

In this week’s (spot)Light, Eliza talks favorite winter weather activities and her work at City Light.

“In the theme of the winter season, my absolute favorite activity is skiing! We’re Crystal Mountain die-hards and try to get out there as much as possible during the season. I grew up chattering down the icy hills of Vermont, so PNW skiing was a huge adjustment at first, but the new terrain (and the cascade concrete) has made me a much better skier over the years,” Eliza said. “In terms of hobbies, I really enjoy bird watching. You can do it anywhere (even in a parking lot!) and, for me, it’s one of the few activities that slows me down and keeps me grounded in the present moment – it’s almost a meditative experience.

“It was the former Customer Energy Solutions division that sparked my excitement about City Light. I had no idea the utility was doing so much work in energy efficiency or renewable energy programs, and I found it appealing that close to 90% of our energy is hydro and carbon neutral. It also felt great being part of a municipal department. I really liked that I would be working to better my community and that the utility answers directly to our customers.

“As one of two renewable energy program managers, I manage some of our renewables programs, including the state solar incentive, community solar, and net metering. This year I joined a new team tasked with developing a race and social justice strategy for the Customer Care and Energy Solutions division,” Eliza explained. “Generally, my job entails ensuring our customer-generators understand the utility benefits of installing solar as well as their eligibility for utility rates like net metering, net metering aggregation, and large solar and/or state incentives.

“Looking forward, I am particularly excited about community solar. We’re working with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to research feasible program designs for the next generation of community solar, including a carve-out for our customers surviving on low-to-moderate incomes. I think there is so much opportunity for the utility to expand access to the benefits of renewable energy, and this is one way we might do it.”

Losi Namoa will be celebrating one year at City Light in January 2021. As a lead janitor in Facilities, Security and Emergency Management (FSEM), her job “is to ensure that the team and I work safely and proficiently to assure cleanliness at its finest to all employees and the public.”

Born and raised in Hawaii, Losi wanted to experience life on the mainland and began her journey to the East Coast before ending up on the West coast for good. “I explored Washington and discovered its beauty, fell in love with all four seasons, ate the one and only Rainer Cherries, and have grown to appreciate the values instilled into my humble life here,” Losi shared.

In this week’s (spot)Light, Losi talks about her life in Washington, the hobbies she’s acquired over quarantine, and what she’s enjoyed most about her time at City Light.

“I currently live in Tukwila, where I enjoy the rugby and soccer matches at Starfire Sports, the seafood markets, community involvements, and all of the active noise from birds to aircrafts. My favorite day is everyday! Bonus when the Seahawks are playing. It brings the family together and we all enjoy good food, company, and debates.  Beside game-day, I also volunteer in the community and enjoy connecting with those around me. Since COVID, I’ve picked up a new interest in reading National Geographic magazines and watching UFC sports entertainment. So far, the skills of orcas and Joaquin Buckley are fascinating.”

“To be honest, I was attracted to City Light by the big neon rooftop sign on 4^th Avenue. Of course, I did my research too, and once I did, I absolutely knew I was a ‘City Lighter’! I love the commitment of serving and servicing the public while being able to grow and overcome obstacles together with the community at the same time. City Light is an amazing organization.”

“Working at City Light has been an awesome experience. I love the environment, core values, challenging growth, connectivity, learning curves, the city of Seattle, and the FSEM team! I believe my time here has just begun, and I’m excited to give it my best shot.”

Dan Langdon has been with City Light for 14 years. He was born and raised in Iowa but traveled to Seattle on and off since the 70s. It wasn’t until 1987 that Dan moved to Washington permanently with some friends from college. “Back in those days, Seattle was a very inexpensive place to live, and the music scene was taking off. It was a great time for the city.”

“I went to The University of Iowa, where I studied lots of things, but ultimately majored in Technical Theatre,” Dan shared. “That has actually come in handy at City Light because a lot of it was about construction and electrical work.”

In this week’s (spot)Light, Dan talks about his life in North Beacon Hill, his new weekend getaway, and his work at the utility.

“I live on North Beacon Hill. The views are amazing, and the neighborhood, while changing, still feels like a neighborhood. It’s close to work, the light rail, and the interstates. You can get almost anywhere pretty quickly. My partner and I recently bought a little house over in Electric City, Washington, which is right near Grand Coulee Dam, so we’ve spent many weekends working on it. I hadn’t spent much time in Eastern Washington before that, so it’s been exciting getting to know that part of the state. The geographic diversity of Washington State is amazing. Aside from that, I like cooking, reading, playing with our two dogs, and collecting mid-century furnishings and accessories (something I’ve been doing since the 1970s when nobody wanted it).”

“I worked in the hotel industry for ten years and then worked for an internet marketing startup back in the early days of the web. When a larger business acquired that company, I was out of a job, and saw a position with City Light that looked interesting: Electric Service Representative (ESR).”

“I am the Training Supervisor for the Electric Service Representative groups at North and South, and I also handle special projects. Right now, with the COVID situation, I’m spending most of my time working on projects associated with the wrap-up of the Advanced Metering Initiative (AMI). I was working on AMI before the first meter got exchanged, and I think I will be working on it until the last meter gets exchanged.”

“I love the wide variety of work I’ve been able to do here at the utility. Everything from standard ESR work, to projects like the launch of the Outage Management System, the transportation electrification initiative, and Advanced Metering, to planning and staffing the City Light booth at the Seattle Home Show for several years. I’m particularly happy to have been involved with City Light’s renewable energy efforts. When the solar production incentive began back in 2008, it was the ‘wild west,’ and nobody knew how to deal with it. It’s great to see how it has evolved – both the technology and the way that the utility has responded to it.”

Antronette Simmons began her career with Seattle City Light in January 2019. She is the Division Administrator in the Facilities, Security and Emergency Management division, where she supports human resources, financial reporting, and division operations.

Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Antronette’s family re-located to Seattle when she was ten. She currently lives in West Seattle. “I love the neighborhood because we have everything we need; plenty of food options for shopping and restaurants, Alki (a gem), parks, and good neighbors.”

In this week’s (spot)Light, Antronette shares her new hobbies, her background before City Light, and her continued work at the utility.

“I was taking piano lessons before COVID-19 struck, so I’m excited to get back to it! Since COVID, I’ve developed a green thumb, renewed my love for cooking, and have become quite the DIY oil painter; some people may have noticed my colorful doggy in the background of video calls. I’m working on colorful hot air balloons next!”

“My bachelor’s degree is in American Ethnic Studies from the University of Washington (UW), and, in September, I’ll begin UW’s Human Resources Management Certification Program. I’m excited to continue my education.”

“Before joining City Light, I worked at UW for 13 years as a research administrator. I wanted a change. City Light attracted me with its diversity, institution size, cultural changes, mission, and service to the community.  All of which are very important to me.”

“What I enjoy most about working at City Light are my colleagues and the relationships I’ve continued to build. I also appreciate the utility’s workplace expectations, leadership training, the cultural changes I see happening, and the ability to change and pivot to fit the needs of the community and organization.”

Jen Chan joined City Light in May 2019 and celebrated her 20 years at the City of Seattle this past August. Jen grew up in Boston, but after one too many snow-shovel laden winters, normalized negative experiences with Boston drivers (okay, she may have been a co-participant in certain, totally justifiable situations), and a huge desire to see what the other coast was like (GO, SEAHAWKS!!), she moved to Seattle in 1996 to pursue her Master of Social Work at the University of Washington.

In this week’s (spot)Light, Jen shares more about her work at City Light, her life in Seattle, and overall, what she wants to accomplish in her role at the utility.

As City Light’s Chief of Staff, Jen oversees Communications, Performance Metrics & Benchmarks, Strategic Plan, Continuous Improvements, Organizational Change Management and other high-profile projects from the GM’s Office. One of the most common questions Jen hears is: What does a Chief of Staff actually do? Which is a great question since she has wondered that herself, given there is no standard definition and always a challenge to explain to her parents that she is not literally the “Chief” of all staff. So, one way she thinks of her role is: “Aside from management responsibilities for specific work areas, I like to think of myself as the behind-the-scenes person trying to align timing, information, opportunities and decision-making to develop a path forward and get stuff done. While not intentional, I have spent most of my career facilitating workstreams or executive decision-making on topics where I am not the subject matter expert. Having an outsider’s perspective helps me stay out of the weeds, hone in on the most salient issues or concerns at hand, and draw out broader connections, risks and impacts to develop a more informed, scalable and systemic response.” While this explanation may help clarify her role to some, she knows her parents may still not understand what she does. To which it may be easier to just respond: “Yes, mom and dad. I am the Chief of a very small number of staff.”

Jen lives in the Bryant neighborhood in Northeast Seattle with her husband Vince and her two children, Olivia (14), Marcus (12) and dog, Remy (2). Pre-COVID, they spent most of their free time watching their kids’ soccer, basketball and ultimate frisbee games. However, now with their family time freed up, they spend most weekends thinking about the yardwork, closet cleaning, home projects or hiking adventures they should do instead. Three-quarters of the family loves traveling; the other quarter barely tolerates it. This means the family’s traveling habits are typically set by the family member who does most of the household planning (i.e., Jen), so yes, traveling is one of their hobbies.

When reflecting on what Jen would like to accomplish at City Light, she shared: “I absolutely believe that our time here in life and at work is very precious, so for whatever issue I work on, I want to add value to the organization and to customers. At the same time, I think it’s super important to keep everything in perspective, have a little fun when doing good, and definitely enjoy and cultivate the people relationships we form along the way. So, to me, how I judge my time here will boil down to two things: added value and people connections.”

Kelly Haren has been a dedicated member of the City Light team for 20 years. “I’m the Generation Supervisor at Cedar Falls and Tolt hydro projects where I support the crew and operations at both sites,” Kelly shared. “My responsibilities include coordinating projects with utility divisions, facilitating training and safety programs, and supervising activities that impact fisheries, deal with environmental issues or influence our dam and public safety programs. I also work with City Departments, like Seattle Public Utilities, for operations planning.”

Originally from Idaho, Kelly moved to the Seattle area after joining the US Coast Guard, where he was stationed in Seattle and Astoria. “I met my wife during that time, and we’ve lived in the Northwest ever since.”

In this week’s (spot)Light, Kelly talks more about his life pre-City Light, his family, and more about his work at the utility.

“I spent a couple of years at the University of Idaho before joining the Coast Guard. In college, I studied engineering, basic science, and math. In the Coast Guard, I received experience and education in many engineering and mechanical fundamentals but became an electrician after completing my trade schooling and necessary hours. I was attracted to City Light because of its apprenticeship opportunities, the ability to support my family better, and the varied types of work and opportunities the City would provide throughout my career.”

“I live in the Auburn area on a small lake and enjoy being on the water, boating and relaxing! My favorite activity is traveling with my wife; Hawaii, Cabo, and the Florida Keys are a few of our favorite destinations. For hobbies, I love golfing, boating, and taking the RV out for weekend getaways. I also have four young grandchildren with whom I enjoy spending as much time as I can!”

“What I love most about working at City Light is the many opportunities I’ve had in my career, up to this point. I started in the Constructor Apprenticeship, worked as a journey-level Constructor in Substations downtown, and transferred to the Generation team, where I learned about hydro operations. I also assisted our Apprenticeship Office as a Craft Advisor. Now I can apply all my previous experience to my current role as a Generation Supervisor. City Light has been such a great place to build a career and provide for my family.”