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News and Updates from Seattle City Light

Seattle City (spot)Light: Julianna Ross

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Julianna Ross celebrated four years at City Light in August. She’s part of the Environmental, Land & Licensing business unit where she serves as a Senior Community Program Developer. “I was hired to transition the Georgetown Steam Plant into its next chapter. City Light has owned the plant since 1951, but it’s been completely decommissioned since 1977,” Julianna explained. “It’s incredibly unique and intact, much like a museum. We’ve been offering tours to the public and I led the work with an advisory committee to determine next steps. Based on their recommendations, the plan is for City Light to maintain ownership of the building and have a non-profit take over daily operations with a focus on education, arts, and other community programming. The agreement is almost signed so this is going to take place soon!”

Originally from Colorado, Julianna and her family moved to Bellevue when she was six. She later returned to Colorado to attend the University of Colorado where she majored in journalism. “I still love journalism and believe that I use my degree every day in the work that I do,” she shared. Julianna and her husband lived in California before returning to the Seattle area in 2000 to be closer to family. 

In this week’s (spot)Light, learn about Julianna’s work, her passion for historic preservation and her involvement in the community.

“My position with City Light is half-time and at the other time, I serve as executive director of an arts non-profit called SPACE (Sand Point Arts and Cultural Exchange). The organization was formed in 1994 when the U.S. Navy transferred the former Sand Point Naval Air Station property to the City of Seattle. We now operate a low power FM radio station (Space 101.1) and the Magnuson Park Gallery. Our board of directors and I intend to save other historic buildings in the district and also activate them for the arts.”

“As an advocate for historic preservation, it’s been a dream to work with the Georgetown Steam Plant. It was built in the early 1900s to fuel Seattle’s electric streetcar system and it ended up fueling the economic growth of neighboring cities as well. It features historic equipment from the time period and became an official historic landmark in 1984. I often say that ‘you can’t care about a building you don’t know about. The Georgetown Steam Plant deserves a lot of care from the community and there is a resounding love for it, but there are also a lot of people who don’t even know about it. So, I generate awareness and access through public outreach to the community and help produce good news through our programs and media relations.”

“I credit my love of historic preservation from growing up in Bellevue. When I was a kid, Bellevue still had a lot of agricultural areas and practically nothing in terms of historic landmarks – downtown Seattle was the place to go.  I’ve always valued the craft and character of older buildings and the stories they tell.”

“One place I’d love to travel and see the historical architecture is Pittsburgh. I love Chicago and New York, but I need to travel more! I have to say that the Georgetown Steam plant is phenomenal; I have no doubt it will be an internationally recognized heritage tourism destination. I’ve also always had a soft spot for the Smith Tower and if I had all the money in the world, one of the first things I would do is buy it and make sure it’s taken care of forever!”

Seattle City (spot)Light: Ryan Simmons

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Ryan Simmons joined City Light in 2015 as the fisheries field coordinator for the Boundary Licensing Team and is now a project manager, overseeing several fisheries projects. “My projects are designed to improve conditions for trout and mountain whitefish populations native to the lower Pend Oreille River,” Ryan explained. “We are studying the genetic structure, demographics, and behavior of these populations through field studies and simulation modeling to inform how best to protect and enhance these native fish species. On any given day, I could be focused on project planning, coordination with our Boundary fisheries biologists, data analysis, contract administration, or communication with stakeholders.”

Ryan was born and raised in Olympia and has spent most of his adult life working in the streams and forests of the Northwest. He attended Western Washington University and pursued his graduate studies at the University of Washington’s School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences. “During grad school, I spent summers at a remote field station on the Alaska Peninsula studying the early life history and ecology of sockeye salmon,” Ryan shared. “I remember most vividly the rough weather, the rewarding work, the bear encounters and the isolation.”

In this week’s (spot)Light, Ryan talks about his hobbies, family and work at City Light.


“I live on Vashon Island with my wife and four kids. The island offers a great network of trails and natural areas to explore, and we try to spend as much time as we can discovering new areas. The beaches are also a highlight, whether for a summer picnic or a good winter storm. We enjoy growing food and flowers and have gotten to know some great families with whom we have built community.”

“I’m an avid skier, sailor, and enjoy most water sports! My time is devoted to my family… getting the kids outside and interested in the natural world and the sciences. I also enjoy woodworking and building furniture, an interest I picked up from my dad. During this time of year, I like to pick apples and press cider with family and friends. We try to pick 20-30 bushels which yields about 50-60 gallons of cider. A friend and I ferment hard cider; several of our hard ciders have placed or won in regional competitions.”

“I was attracted to City Light because of its longstanding work in some very unique watersheds, and the opportunity to devote a career to working in those systems. As a consultant, it was common to move from project to project on a regular basis. At City Light, I’ve been able to build a deeper understanding of the stream systems I work on and the positive impact of my work.”

“I enjoy what I do at City Light; it’s challenging and diverse. I continually apply my past work experience and education while learning new things along the way. Part of my job satisfaction comes from knowing the work is valued by City Light. We also have the support to investigate novel approaches to better meet project objectives. The greatest part of my job is the people I work with, who come from a diverse range of technical disciplines which has helped me better understand the utility. I feel fortunate to work with a dedicated team who genuinely believes in the work they do.”

Seattle City (spot)Light: Tammie Luc

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Tammie Luc has been at City Light for 11 years. During her tenure, she’s served in a variety of roles, including four and a half years in human resources where she processed payroll and three years on the administrative team for Operations. Currently, Tammie serves as a Management System Analyst at the South Service Center (SSC) where’s she’s been for three and a half years.

Tammie emigrated from Vietnam when she was four years old. “My father left Vietnam to seek better opportunities for us and I went with him,“ Tammie shared. “After five years of separation, he was able to sponsor my mother and younger brother to join us. I’ve lived in Seattle most of my life and really enjoy its seasons.”

In this week’s (spot)Light, Tammie talks about her hobbies, work at SSC and love for the Seahawks.

“I’m a huge Seahawks fan. At SSC, I’m known as the Seahawks rally person! I also play pickleball once or twice per week and like to run races, anywhere from 10Ks to half marathons. During the summer, you can catch me paddle boarding. I love to hike year-round in Washington and am the team captain of City Light’s #3 softball team! Crafting is another activity I enjoy but haven’t had time since I’m the Uber driver for my kids and all their activities – ultimate frisbee, swim meets, softball and basketball games.”

“I have three kids: Amber (17), Hunter (14) and Logan (11). Amber was a high school intern for City Light this past summer. They keep me busy and I love it.  As their Uber driver and cheerleader, they are my world. I’m usually driving them to different sporting events, but they also like to hang with me when I paddleboard and hike.”

“I wanted to work at City Light because growing up in the city, I had always seen the yellow City Light trucks. The crews would ride in and restore power whenever we had an outage. I felt like they were superheroes and wanted to be a part of that. To this day, I still feel have that feeling and my chest pumps with pride knowing that I work alongside them now.”

“In my role, I provide technical support to various positions, develop training plans and create and maintain reports for managers, supervisors and crew coordinators. I coordinate with OH, URD and Line Services Crews to maintain accurate and efficient work schedule. I also work closely with SDOT and other City ROW departments to make sure all permits are in compliance and assist with any coordination that’s needed.”

“Not only do I enjoy my job and get paid for it, but I work with the greatest, friendliest and most unselfish peers. At SSC, I’m often the point person for several activities that my colleagues generously support. I love to collect money for donations and special events, suck their blood by coordinating blood drives, and inflict pain with flu shots. Who else can say they do all those in one place? ME!”


Seattle City (spot)Light: Tara Benjamin

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Tara Benjamin has been with Seattle City Light for a little over three years. She started as a TES Camp Service Aide and quickly became fulltime. Tara recently celebrated a promotion to Administrative Specialist II at Skagit. “I have the pleasure of interacting with everyone that comes into the main office. It is my responsibility to support management and staff. I do everything from onboarding to housing and everything in between. It keeps me busy!”

Tara spent the most part of her childhood living in Goldendale, WA. “I married my high school sweetheart right after I graduated and went straight to work. My background has always been in Hospitality and Restaurant Management.”

In this week’s (spot)Light, Tara talks about life in Darrington, her hobbies and what she enjoys about her work at City Light.

“My husband and I settled in North Idaho for 20 years. Living in Idaho, I hadn’t even heard of Seattle City Light until my husband went to work as a temp machinist at Boundary. When he got on fulltime at Skagit, we moved. It made perfect sense to work where I live due to location. It is really remote and requires you to get really good at making shopping lists!”

“We live in Darrington, WA. I love that its a small town and a tight-knit community. For me, that’s the best feeling. We have been very blessed by all of the small towns that we’ve lived in. I wouldn’t trade that small-town living for anything. Darrington has been overwhelmingly welcoming! The views are to die for! We get to kind of play mini farmer with a bunch of chicken and a decent garden.”

“My garden isn’t a favorite hobby, but it fuels my love of canning. I’m definitely not a pro, but I love growing and preserving new things. I really love to cook and bake. I am a bit of a homebody and love our little homestead. My goal is to have it grow with cows and pigs as well. Family is definitely my #1 priority. As for being a mom of boys, the hobbies that take up a great portion of my time are football and baseball! GO LOGGERS! I absolutely love being their cheerleader! We love to camp and hunt as a family, however, we need to do more of both next year. Other than that, I enjoy working on my skincare/cosmetics side business.”

“I have met so many people that have called Seattle City Light their second home for years. That fact spoke volumes to me, and I wanted to be a part of it. I absolutely love the challenge of my new role! I love the interaction it gives me with not only the staff at Skagit but all-around City Light. Walking into this new position, it has been my pleasure to observe that everyone within is open and willing to help. It has been a fantastic experience to know that everyone is on the same team.”

Seattle City (spot)Light: Matt Stapleton

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Matt Stapleton joined Seattle City Light in September 2018. As part of the team at Boundary Dam, Matt serves the utility as an electrical constructor apprentice. “I like to refer to my position as the ‘sponge role’ because I’m always hungry for new information and am eager to learn,” Matt explained.

He lives in Pend Oreille County, not too far from Boundary Dam. “I moved around a lot as a kid, but I think I decided to stay in Washington state because we get to experience all four seasons,” Matt shared. Before joining City Light’s apprenticeship program, Matt served in the Marine Corps and attended Avista Lineman School.

In this week’s (spot)Light, learn about Matt’s hobbies, his work and life in northeastern Washington.

“There is a lot of outdoor activity in Pend Oreille County. I enjoy hiking in the summer and splitboarding in the winter. Splitboarding is my favorite activity. I also enjoy woodworking and am currently in the process of building a tiny house out of a recycled shipping container.”

“I was attracted to City Light because of its culture. I am a strong believer in workplace equity. The RSJI program that the City implements brings a lot to the table for people of color. It’s night and day from other utilities where I’ve worked.”

“I really enjoy my job. I work one-on-one with a Journeyman electrical worker to complete new construction jobs, annual maintenances, and general electrical maintenances around Boundary Dam – all for the purpose of bringing clean, reliable and efficient energy to our customers. My favorite project at the moment is working on this year’s overhaul/rewind; there are so many moving parts to it. And it’s all part of the exciting work that’s happening at Boundary. It’s extremely awesome to be involved this early into my apprenticeship.”

Seattle City (spot)Light: Kevin Gorman

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Kevin Gorman began his City career with Seattle Public Utilities before joining City Light in 2017 as part of an out of class assignment. “I love the job and pursued it full-time,” he shared. The job? Working on the LED Streetlight Conversion Program in the Joint Use and Streetlight Engineering group.

Kevin was born in Waco, Texas but has lived in Washington for 32 years. “I’m all evergreens, flannel shirts and raincoats,” he shared. “The seascapes, sunrises and mountains keep me hanging around.” He served in the Coast Guard as a Boatswain’s Mate before pursuing multiple degrees – an A.A. in psychology, a B.S. in small business management/entrepreneurship and a project management certificate from the University of Washington.

In this week’s (spot)Light, Kevin talks about his job, life in Bremerton and his hobbies.

“Like the MXPX song, I moved to Bremerton. I started looking for a home at the start of the housing crisis and was fortunate to stumble upon a place that I should not talk about, because it’s that great! Now only a 30-minute ferry from Seattle, I can walk three blocks from my house, take a free cruise and be downtown. Community is important to me and Bremerton has everything I was looking for.”  

“I was elected to Bremerton City Council in 2017 and presently chair Bremerton’s Public Works Committee and Vice-chair the Finance and Investment Committee. The work is quite interesting, stressful, and rewarding. It adds a new perspective to my work at City Light. I just returned from a monumental trip to Bremerton’s Sister City – Kure, Japan – with my daughter, Summer. We celebrated the 50-year anniversary of the Sister City program and Summer’s 17th birthday!”

“I also chair the Manette Neighborhood Coalition, an organization that provides a unified voice for neighbors and hosts several community events. I own a few rental units that keep me swinging hammers and rolling paint. When I find the time, I like woodworking, making stop animation films and music production.”

“Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) revolutionized the streetlight industry. In my role, I get to research, test and install new streetlight equipment that significantly reduces City Light’s carbon footprint, maintenance and energy cost. My big goal for the program is to implement streetlight control infrastructure, and a robust GIS platform for managing the 85,000+ assets. I’m especially proud of the work we completed for the Historic Globe lights in Pioneer Square and Downtown. The process was challenging, and the payoff is what I consider the most beautiful LED installation in the country, but I could be biased.”

“I’m really into the industry and equipment research, strategic planning, and spreadsheets. But my favorite part of the job are the relationships with the talented and supportive staff across all the utility. After 11 years with the city, I found exactly where I belong.”

Seattle City (spot)Light: Brandon Melland

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Brandon Melland has been at City Light for 13 years. A journeyman lineman, Brandon began his City Light career as part of the pre-apprentice program. “I’m currently in an out-of-class position as the journeyman assigned to Safety, Health and Wellness (JSHaW). It’s my job to work with crews at our service centers and be an advocate to make changes for the better, “Brandon explained. “Each craft – line, network, tech metering and stations – has its own JSHaW representative. I’m assigned to line which is exciting. I get to work with groups like safety and engineering to help push projects forward. I like it quite a bit.”

Brandon grew up in the Mill Creek area and attended Shoreline Community College where he earned an associate’s degree in Arts & Sciences. “I was accepted into the University of Washington and was just about to transfer, but I changed course and applied for the pre-apprentice lineworker program.” He lives in Bothell with his wife Kristal and their two sons, Sean and Brian.

In this week’s (spot)Light, Brandon talks about his work at the utility, his family and hobbies.

“My family and I like to travel. We’ve been to Japan twice and are planning our third trip. It’s an awesome country and has so much great food. We also like going to Canada. Norway and Hawaii are also on our travel list. I also enjoy woodworking. I inherited a bunch of tools and since I like to work with my hands, I started to build things. Nothing too involved, but I built our bed frame and a few tables.”

“Cooking is popular in our home. My mom and grandma were good cooks, but I didn’t get into it until I started cooking with my wife. She’s a tremendous cook. We do everything – from making our own pasta noodles to baking doughnuts from scratch. I also like to cook fish. My uncles and I take a fishing trip to Alaska just about every year. We visit a town called Soldotna and fish for sockeye salmon along the Kenai River. I like to do nice barbeques with the fish I bring back!”

“I’ve worked in multiple capacities at City Light, from powerline clearance with vegetation management to the docks where we build, maintain and troubleshoot powerlines. I’ve also been involved in different training opportunities. I helped develop our tower rescue program and still do tower rescue. It’s also been fun to work with our apprenticeship team. I’ve participated in some of the outreach efforts where we go to schools and talk to kids about our careers and how being a lineworker is a viable career path. I recently got involved with Grassroots Safety because I care about City Light getting better and safer for the people who work here, myself included. It seems like a good path to make change.”

“I enjoy my work – it’s very satisfying. It’s nice to see a project through completion; to see the results of your labor. Storm work is also very satisfying. It’s the most fun because people are happy to see you for a change! Most of the time, we’re either invisible, in the way or turning off people’s power. But with storm, we’re everyone’s best friend…their heroes…because we’re restoring power. And those reactions are fun.”

Seattle City (spot)Light: Armand Shahbazian

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Armand Shahbazian joined Seattle City Light in 2015 as an intern in Network Services Engineering. He continued his work in Street Light Engineering and was later hired on the Distribution Services Engineering team. He recently accepted a new position back in Streetlight Engineering! “I’ll be working on new capital improvement projects throughout the city,” Armand explained. “Installing new street lighting on the waterfront and re-doing some of the lighting on 23rd Avenue in South Seattle. One of our group’s larger projects is the installation of 5G antennas on streetlight poles. I’m going to be super busy!”

Growing up in Bellevue, Armand moved a short distance to attend college at Seattle University where he studied electrical engineering. “I just finished my first quarter back at Seattle U where I’m pursuing my master’s degree in public administration!”

In this week’s (spot)Light, Armand shares how he found City Light, his role at the utility, and range of exciting hobbies.

Armand enjoying one of his favorite activities!

“When I was in undergrad, I applied to a scholarship through the American Public Power Association. I was selected and part of the requirement was to meet with a sponsoring utility that happened to be City Light. I met the director of Energy Delivering Engineering which is pretty much the team that I work with now! I shadowed the director for a little bit and it really piqued my interest in the utility.”

“Thankfully all of my positions have meshed together in a way. I interned with Network Service Engineering which covers all of downtown Seattle’s services. One of my biggest projects was working on the machines that freeze the soil for the seawall construction. It was so cool seeing the impact of my work! Street Light engineering covers City Light’s entire service territory so having the network experience was very helpful because we had to use similar resources. It was super nice to have that background. In distribution, I connect people to our grid but in a different system.”

“I’m super pumped for my new position! It’s a lot of plan reviewing. When there are large capital projects, businesses have to apply for a permit from SDOT and City Light reviews the plans. We make sure that they’re going to build something to our standards and regulations.”

“I really love to ride motorcycles! I do that whenever the weather is nice, so in the Northwest, that’s basically spring and summer. I also enjoy going camping and backpacking. I try to take six camping trips per year along with one to two backpacking excursions. I’ve traveled to Canada a lot this year and have really enjoyed exploring the area. I still need to visit Banff National Park. That’s on the bucket list for sure! Surprisingly, I haven’t done much in Washington yet. I’ve done more international traveling up to this point, but I definitely need to see more of the United States. Last year I took a trip to Boston and rented a car to just drive around and state hop along the coast (Maine, New Hampshire, etc.). It was so beautiful!”

Seattle City (spot)Light: Nicole Schultz

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Nicole Schultz has worked at City Light since 2011, but her City career began in 1997 as an intern for Seattle Police Department (SPD). She continued with the City by joining Seattle Municipal Court in 2001 and then the Mayor’s Office in 2002. She is now a Senior Marketing Strategist on the Communications Team where she’s served the past eight years. “My main focus is marketing conservation programs to our residential customer base,” Nicole explained. “My work covers a plethora of topics like energy efficiency, how to lower your bill, ways to save energy, different types of technologies like appliances, lighting, solar and our Green-Up program.”

Nicole was born and raised in Seattle. “I’ve lived in the Seattle and Shoreline area pretty much my whole life,” Nicole shared. A true local, Nicole attended Edmonds Community College before transferring to the University of Washington where she majored in Sociology. She recently moved to Lake Forest Park with her son Jackson and two dogs, Buddy and Swayze.

In this week’s (spot)Light, she talks about her community, her role at City Light and shares her favorite hobbies.

“Before getting into marketing, I wanted to be a police officer. I minored in Society Injustice and one of the requirements was to have an internship. So, I interned at SPD in the Crime Survivor Unit. I loved it so much that after my internship was complete, I stayed on as a volunteer for three years!”

“I love to golf. It’s one of my favorite things to do. I go to Alta Lake Golf Resort as much as I can. My dad is the one who got me into golf – he was the golfer. When I was ten years old, he would sneak me into the Jackson Park Golf Course. That’s how I learned, and I became hooked. I take my son Jackson golfing, too. He can play an 18-hole golf course!”

“I’m also very active in my community. I’ve been involved with the Shoreline Little League for many years and currently serve as the president. After my term is up, I plan to stay on the board. I love the community. It’s so much fun watching Jackson and his team. I also love to gamble and going to casinos. I’ve been lucky and have had two big wins on scratch tickets!”

“I’m big on family and spend almost all my time with Jackson. He’s the main reason for everything I do. In fact, one of my rituals is to take a quick walk to Jackson Street. It’s reminds me why I’m here and provides me with a sense of gratitude. It reminds me to be grateful for where I am and is motivation to keep on going. It works out since I also love to exercise and try to move as much as I can!”

“One thing I’ve always liked about my job is that I’m always learning. It’s constantly evolving because we must keep up with new technologies. But it’s more than knowing the new gadget on the market. It’s also about keeping up with best practices and understanding how the industry is operating and functioning. And people always want to save money! A huge part of my job is telling our customers how they can save money. So, it’s not a hard thing to talk about.”



Seattle City (spot)Light: Nathan MacDonald

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Nathan MacDonald has worked at City Light for two years. He’s a part of the Communications division where he works as a Senior Public Relations Specialist. “A lot of my job is positioning the utility as a thought leader within our industry and as a subject matter expert for local media along with other publications,” Nathan explained. “I’m also the editor of our Light Reading newsletter and manage the social media account for Skagit Tours.”  

Born in Canada, Nathan moved to Texas when he was eight years old. He studied integrated marketing and communications at Abilene Christian University in Texas and later attended Florida State University to earn his master’s in integrated marketing communications with a focus in multicultural marketing (he’s a huge Florida State football fan).  

In this week’s (spot)Light, Nathan talks about his journey to Washington, a range of hobbies and his passion for promoting others. 

Nathan and his wife Megan

“I met my wife Megan in choir at Abilene Christian University. She grew up here and I fell in love with Washington when I first visited in 2007. It was just too gorgeous not to live here! In 2015, I accepted a job with Edmonds Community College, so we made our way to the Northwest. It took us seven days to drive across the country in a moving truck with our car on a trailer. We got our truck stuck twice on the trip! Once in West Monroe, Louisiana on an abandoned road and the second at a truck stop in Canton, Texas. It was a character-building trip and one we’ll never forget.”  

“My wife and I took up hiking this year. We’ve done Bridal Veil Falls, Hurricane Hill in Olympic National Park and others near the Skagit Hydroelectric Project. I still really want to do the Diablo Lake Trail that starts at the North Cascades Institute and eventually overlooks Ross Dam. That’s one I’d really like to do if not this fall, then sometime next year.” 

“Growing up in Texas, I’ve always been a huge fan of barbecue. A few years ago, I started smoking my own briskets! They take around 14 hours to smoke so we invite friends over, hang out and eat. When I turned 30, I took a barbecue tour across Texas. We drove about 1,300 miles in four days and ate at six to seven barbecue stops across the state. We hit up some of the classics including Franklin Barbecue. It usually has a three-four hour wait but it was worth it!”

“Most of my career prior to City Light was in higher education. Being in the public sector and being a public servant is something I’ve really enjoyed. One of my biggest values is to promote good and promote others. This job gives the opportunity to promote the amazing work that we’re doing. Our Communications team is incredibly talented and creative which is something that really drew me to this position. I enjoy being one of the utility’s storytellers; there are so many cool projects, initiatives and human-interest stories to tell. I hope people will continue to share their stories with us. Not only do they enrich our work, but they also help City Light shine as an example of a premier utility and City department.”