Powerlines Blog Seattle City Light

Powerlines

News and Updates from Seattle City Light

Seattle City (spot)Light: Jeff Fisher

by

Jeff Fisher will celebrate his one-year anniversary working for City Light in July. “My official title is senior aquatic ecologist and strategic advisor,” Jeff explained. “My job is a bit of a meld of straight technical fisheries and water quality work with policy support focused on broader Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Clean Water Act issues that could affect the utility’s operations.”

Jeff’s father served in the Navy Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps in Hawaii. After his resignation, their family moved to Seattle in 1966. “I am essentially from Washington, though I have lived in many different states and a few different countries.” He currently lives in Olympia with his wife and two teenage sons. “Having grown up in Magnolia, I was ready for a change- and more affordable real estate, so we moved (to Olympia) in 2000.”

In this week’s (spot)Light, Jeff talks about finding City Light, his unique hobbies, and more about his work at the utility.

“I went to the University of Washington where I received my B.S. in fisheries biology, went on to get my master’s in aquatic pathobiology from Stirling University in Stirling, Scotland and earned my Ph. D in environmental toxicology from Cornell. I actually saw the position for City Light posted when I was living overseas in Ireland and working at Ireland’s Marine Institute. Given my background with ESA policy, the desire to get back and do more on the ground research, some family desires to return to the U.S., and my connection to the Skagit basin from early childhood, it seemed like a really good fit.”

“What’s nice about Olympia is the proximity to Puget Sound, the Olympic Mountains and the less crowded portions of the Cascades. Also, as an aquatic scientist who wanted to find a way to ‘keep my feet wet,’ I had the desire to find property where I might start a shellfish farm—which I did back in 2006. Some of my other hobbies include playing a bit of guitar, making wine, and I love to ski, fish and kayak- hanging out with my family is right up there too.”

“Much of the policy-focused work I do is related to regulatory actions on the Columbia River that may affect some of our operations. On the Skagit, my work is primarily focused on supporting the ongoing relicensing effort as part of the ‘Fish and Aquatic’ team, and I am particularly focused on reservoir related research that includes furthering an ongoing study with Bull Trout to better understand their movements and behaviors within the Skagit reservoirs.”

“The Environment, Land and Licensing business unit is very deep with talent and experienced scientists and managers—several of whom I have known for many years. There seems to be an expert in just about every relevant discipline, so it makes for a very collegial environment. It doesn’t hurt that the field work I do on occasion happens to be in one of the most scenic environments in the country, if not the world.”

Seattle City (spot)Light: John LeCompte

by

John LeCompte has been with City Light for twelve and a half years. After spending nine years providing energy efficiency incentives for commercial and industrial customers, and the next two years working on emerging technologies, John was recently reassigned to the newly-formed Electrification and Strategic Technology Division. “We are focusing on bringing new technologies to City Light and its customer-owners with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and modernizing our grid so we can offer more sustainable, reliable, equitable and customer-centric services.” 

Originally from Seattle, John has also lived in Eastern Washington, Arizona, Idaho, Colorado, Vermont and Boston. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from UW and a master’s in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University.  He is a licensed professional engineer, and holds certifications as a Certified Energy Manager, Certified Building Commissioning Professional, and Certified Measurement & Verification Professional.

In this week’s (spot)Light, John talks about his hobbies, his new work, and what he loves about City Light.

A person smiling for the camera Description automatically generated

“I currently live in West Seattle and I love the combination of a densifying suburb and sleepy semi-isolated neighborhood (more so now with the bridge issues), while all being within biking distance to work. I started practicing karate in 1983 and currently hold a 7th degree black belt in a peaceful, traditional Okinawan karate school- it really helps me frame life’s challenges as opportunities to grow my perspective and abilities. I also love Ultimate frisbee–a fantastic way to get a solid aerobic workout with good spirit, as well as rock climbing when I have the time!”

“I have worked in several areas of engineering and construction, having owned my own engineering company at one point, but City Light offered me the opportunity to give back to my home city. Most recently, my team has joined several other City Light employees in the Utility Next effort, a very focused mission to propose projects to get the economy rolling again in the aftermath of COVID-19. It’s very exciting, but all-consuming! In parallel to this work, I’m also serving as a shop steward to the members of PROTEC17, the largest union of City employees, where I am involved in efforts to improve employee morale and organization effectiveness through a collaborative approach. I feel I’m part of meaningful work in both of these roles, and I am honored to be working with teams of dedicated professionals working to help our city.”

“City Light offers the chance to be a part of significant work to rein in climate change, and I love that I can be a part of that alongside others who want to make a difference. Right now, I feel extremely lucky as a City employee to have continuity of work and income in this time of historic unemployment. We are able to use our position as a utility to prop up other struggling industries and people and this simple fact makes me feel grateful to City Light and responsible to my fellow Seattleites.”

Seattle City (spot)Light: Gina Baxter

by

Gina Baxter is a Senior Analyst in City Light’s Financial Planning Unit. She’s lived in the greater Seattle area her entire life, and currently resides in Gig Harbor with her husband.

Gina had 13 years of experience in the utility industry prior to joining City Light, and she always wanted to work for a public utility. In February 2019, she made that happen when she joined the City Light team. Since then, she has been working on the utility’s financial forecast, conducting financial analyses to support strategic planning, capital financing, utility fees, and electric rates.

In this week’s Seattle City (spot)Light, Gina talks about her hobbies, why she was attracted to City Light and her team.

City Light’s Gina Baxter with her husband and dog.

“My favorite activity is attending a variety of concerts. My first few jobs, prior to starting my career, were working at local recording and post-production studios in the Seattle area. I still have a strong interest in the music industry and supporting artists at all levels. My other interests vary significantly, but also include listening to podcasts, reading, creating terrariums, volunteering, and walking our dog around the neighborhood.”

“Throughout my career, I’ve worked with utilities in specialized areas of work and studies, but I’ve always had a desire to work at a public utility where there is a connection to the local community and a mission to serve the public. I became interested in becoming a part of the team at City Light due to it being an organization that values environmental stewardship, innovation, diversity/equity, and excellence.”

“There are a lot of talented individuals at City Light that go above and beyond, work collaboratively with others, and are continuously striving for excellence. City Light offers great work-life balance and opportunities for growth. I couldn’t have found a better team!”

Seattle City (spot)Light: Brian Hempel

by

Brian Hempel joined Seattle City Light in February 2020—just in time to get acquainted with his office space before the COVID-19 response mandated social distancing and he began to work from home. Born and raised in Southern California, he also lived in Buffalo, New York, before returning to SoCal and finding his way to the Pacific Northwest.

As the Safety & Technical Training Coordinator for City Light’s Workforce Development team, he ensures training standards meet or exceed compliance and verifies the accuracy of training information. In this week’s Seattle City (spot)Light, he talks about the journey that brought him to City Light, his educational background and life as a single father.

Inweb Network 5.18.20 Brian H
Brian Hempel with his daughters, Brooke and Mackenzie.

“I was really attracted to City Light because of its commitment to providing clean, green energy. I worked for a larger company in the energy industry prior to this, and you can tell that the only thing that mattered was their earnings sheet. Here at City Light, you can tell that the customers and company culture is important to everyone.”

“I am a bit of a non-traditional learner. I joined the United States Marine Corps on the day of my 18th birthday and was in the Marines from 1999-2003. After my enlistment, I became a police officer in Southern California and was in law enforcement for approximately 6 years. I attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale for my Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Workforce Education and Development, graduating in 2012 and 2014 respectfully. In 2019, I completed a Masters Degree in Organizational Leadership from the University of Oxford, and I am currently a PhD Candidate at California Baptist University studying ‘Leadership in East African Conflict Zones’.”

“My favorite activity is getting to travel with my daughters Mackenzie (12) and Brooke (10). We have a goal to visit all 50 states by the time Brooke turns 12, and as of today we have been to 45 states with just Hawaii, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, and West Virginia left on our list. I also enjoy watching my daughters play their respective sports. Mackenzie plays club volleyball and, in the fall, will start her fifth year. Brooke plays soccer and has been playing for six years. It is fun to watch them develop and get better in their sport as the years go by.” “Between work, raising two daughters, and grad school, personal hobbies are at a minimum, but I do enjoy playing golf, cycling, and fishing. Being new to the area, I’ve got a lot of exploring to do this summer.”

Seattle City (spot)Light: Bob Ornstein

by

Bob Ornstein has been with City Light for a year and a half. He serves as a Senior Program Manager in the Customer Care and Energy Solutions business unit.  His passion for environmental issues began to take shape while earning a liberal arts degree from Bowdoin College in Maine. He later earned an MBA from UC Berkeley.

“As a program manager in the CCES Division, I’ve helped roll out a few new City Light offerings.  Last year, I launched City Light’s pilot program for residential EV charging and worked across the utility to bring the program to market, with help from an installing contractor and an EV charging company,” Bob explained. “I made sure customers were happy once they enrolled. It was a lot of fun to get the program to market. I also helped release City Light’s Large Solar program this year. Lately, I’ve been spending time helping design a new residential customer service team.”

In this week’s (spot)Light, Bob discusses his hobbies and what he enjoys about working at City Light.

Originally from Portland, Ore., Bob and his family moved to the Seattle area in 2017 for his wife to pursue a job opportunity. His family moved to Bainbridge Island in 2019 to enjoy a little more space and the quiet that the island provides.

 “We live right next to The Grand Forest, which has nice hiking and horse trails. Bainbridge has excellent public schools for our two young girls. When I was commuting, it was nice to come home to such a beautiful setting,” Bob recalled. “With no commuting, I get to enjoy being here all day every day. When commuting starts again, maybe I’ll get to ride in on an electric ferry! Growing up in Portland, I had a chip on my shoulder about Washington and never envisioned I would live here. It has been great so far.”

Bob is a fierce competitor on the tennis court. His tennis connections even helped him land a job at one point.

“I’m a win-at-all-costs tennis player. I’ve played most of my life and have been on men’s league teams forever. I enjoy wearing out and surprising my opponents, and of course, winning, Bob explained. “Most of my career has revolved around environmental/green issues. There was a bit of a hiccup in that career when through a tennis connection, I ended up getting a job in Germany working for the former head of the FBI for a few years.”

While Bob enjoys his work as City Light, it’s the relationships he has made with his colleagues that have made this job truly special.

“City Light offered me the opportunity to work on EV charging programs, which sounded exciting. This utility has super friendly people who I like on a personal level. When we were all together working at the 901 5th Ave office, I worked in a quad of cubicles, which I liked to say was the best cubicle quad at City Light. I enjoyed coming to work to laugh and work together with my cubicle friends.”

Seattle City (spot)Light: Pavle Trifunovic

by

Pavle Trifunovic will celebrate 14 years at City Light this year. He serves the utility as an overhead crew chief in the Utility Operations & Engineering business unit. “My crew includes five people,” Pavle explained. “Together, we set and transfer poles. We also tend to customer needs and emergency jobs every day.”

Born in Sarajevo, Bosnia, Pavle was living in South Africa before joining his wife in the United States. He currently lives in Kirkland with his family and has a degree in electrical engineering from Middle Tennessee State University. “I was always interested in electricity and how everything functions and is connected in the grid, building, or on the print, also it is my field of work.”

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

“My family loves skiing, but now our main sport is hockey. For me, to learn anything new is hard, so learning a new sport, especially one where you stand on less than 1/6 of the inch steel edge is even harder,” Pavle explained. “My kids play hockey; they started when they were four years old. They’re now10 and 13, and I did not want to be left out when teams play parents against kids games. Our favorite team is Pittsburgh Penguins, and we can’t wait for our own hockey team next year!”

 “I enjoy going on vacations with my family. Some of the places we’ve been include Aruba, Croatia and Cabo. We are planning to go to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico this June.”

“I learned about City Light through my professor at a local community college. I found the apprentice program and applied to it. That’s how I began my career here! I am journeyman lineman by trade and after six years, I took the position of crew chief for Over Head department, also I am helping out as a temporary supervisor when needed.”

Seattle City (spot)Light: Donna Sherrill

by

Donna Sherrill celebrated 38 years at City Light last month. As part of the Financial Services business unit, Donna works on the general accounting team. “I’m responsible for ensuring that billings for construction projects are generated promptly by the Accounts Receivable Billing team,” Donna explained. “I like to think of myself as an overall problem solver for complex billing issues.”

Originally from Sioux City, Iowa, Donna moved to the northwest with her family when her dad relocated for work. She currently lives in Tukwila and enjoys the diversity of its population and proximity to activities.

“I met my current husband, a lifelong Washingtonian when I was a sophomore in high school and we’ve been together ever since,” Donna said. “I love living on this side of the mountain with the comfortable summers and the generally mild winters.  It’s nice to live somewhere with four seasons.”

In this week’s (spot)Light, Donna talks about her hobbies and why she enjoys working at the utility.


Donna is an avid reader and an active swimmer with a penchant for a good book that’s filled with suspense and intrigue. 

“I’m currently reading books by Lisa Jackson. Most of her stories take place in the Pacific Northwest. 

Lisa has a vivid imagination and keeps you riveted to the end. 

My mother never learned how to swim, so she made sure to have her children take swimming lessons (in a lake by the way) so we hopefully wouldn’t drown and could enjoy our summers.”

Donna graduated from business school with a degree in accounting and attributed her high school math teacher for her interest in numbers. 

“Mr. Fulton instilled a love of numbers in me,” she recalled. “I knew I would always be able to find a job in the accounting/bookkeeping field to maintain a comfortable lifestyle.”

After being with the utility for nearly 40 years, Donna continues to enjoy the rewarding challenge of her work. 

“My work requires addressing a list of challenges as they arise while determining how to resolve them,” she said. “I also enjoy meeting a variety of individuals throughout the city and discussing the internal and external concerns we face. It requires researching and analyzing the situation to find a solution. During my years in Accounts Payable, I determined a customer had been billing us monthly and quarterly for the same service. After discussing with the customer and obtaining a credit, quarterly billings were agreed to. It’s a joy to help our customers have a positive experience with City Light.”

Seattle City (spot)Light: Paul Nissley

by

Paul Nissley Joined City Light in February 2019 as a Data Scientist/Strategic Advisor under Aliza Seelig in the Resources Planning, Forecasting, and Analysis group. 

Born in The Dalles, Ore., Paul and his family moved to Mount Vernon when he was two years old. “We moved for my dad to take a new job with the Natural Resources Conservation Service,” Paul shared. “I graduated from Mount Vernon High School, after which I moved to Bellingham to attend Western Washington University on a full scholarship for soccer and to major in mathematics. After college, I moved to the Tri-Cities to work in the nuclear energy industry and complete my MBA at Washington State University. However, I missed the west side of the mountains too much and decided to come back to my real home.”

In this week’s (spot)Light, Paul talks about his hobbies and what he enjoys about his job. 

A person smiling for the camera Description automatically generated

“I live in West Seattle as I enjoy being walking distance to my sister, nephews and soon to be niece. I enjoy playing soccer, hiking and exercising when I can, as well as reading about all things related to clean and sustainable energy.”

“I wanted to work at City Light because I am very passionate about responsible energy use and generation and want to help find ways to continuously improve how we do that in our business and society.”

“I am a member of the Resource Planning, Forecasting, and Analysis group. We’re developing the 2020 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which the state of Washington requires City Light to submit every four years, along with submitting an IRP progress report every two years in between the main IRP. This plan helps communicate to the public our long term (think 10+ years) resource strategies for City Light to provide safe, reliable and affordable energy to our customers.” 

“I like working at City Light because I am very passionate about responsible, sustainable, and affordable energy use, and there are so many people that share the same passions that I have here. It is fun to be a part of and responsible for the energy infrastructure of the Seattle area.” 

Seattle City (spot)Light: Judy Blinder

by

Judy Blinder has been a dedicated Seattle City Light employee since 1993. “My whole time here, I have worked in the Finance Division,” Judy explained. “When I  started, we were three organizational units:  Budget, Rates, and Financial Requirements and Economic Analysis (FREA). Eventually, Rates and FREA were merged together to form the Financial Planning Unit and now, instead of just focusing on the financial forecast, I also work on the cost allocation and rate design components of the biennial rate-setting process. I do a lot of other economic and financial analysis as well.”

Originally from the Washington D.C area, Judy came to the Northwest to attend Reed College in Portland Oregon. “I have an MBA in finance from Seattle University and I am a Chartered Financial Analyst, but before that, I went to Reed, where I majored in French Literature,” Judy shared. “I really wanted to experience being somewhere far away from D.C., and I loved being outdoors, so this was the perfect place for me!”

In this week’s (spot)Light, Judy talks about her connection to electric utilities, her background and her embodiment of the “culture vulture”.

Judy and her husband at their contra-band class.

“I come from a family with a background in electric utilities. My dad worked for the American Public Power Association for 30 years. During my undergraduate years, he helped me get a summer job at a law firm that represents plaintiffs in lawsuits against energy, telecommunications, and transportation companies. This familiarized me with electric utilities and helped me understand how they function. He was a trainer, specializing in engineering and operations but also covering the cost of service analysis and rate design, funny enough. Toward the end of his life, we were able to have in-depth discussions about mutually familiar areas of our work, which was nice.  We never did come to an agreement on nuclear power, though.  Dad: for it.  Me: against it.”

“I started learning French when I was in second grade and have really built upon my understanding and knowledge of the language. I still maintain my French fluency and use it a little bit just for fun! I am part of a French-language book group. I also occasionally use my language skills to do volunteer work. I believe that everyone in Seattle should feel welcome here, so I do a little translation for the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, usually for African immigrants from francophone countries.  I am also in the Seattle Language Bank, which results in my occasionally receiving requests to translate information or help French-speaking callers.”

“I also consider myself to be a ‘culture vulture’ and a ‘book-worm’. I love going to plays and movies, reading and of course, in the Pacific Northwest, going outdoors and exploring.  I am a subscriber to the Seattle Symphony and love folk music. I am a guitar player and participate in a band that plays for family-friendly contra dances. Benaroya Hall is one of my favorite places to attend music performances.  I would also like to give a shout-out to the Couth Buzzard Book Store and Café; they turn their back room into a concert venue on weekends and provide great underground performers with an affordable venue. I am  really looking forward to Wintergrass, an annual winter folk festival in Bellevue.”

Seattle City (spot)Light: Nate Burns

by

Nate Burns has been with City Light for two years as of last July. He is a part of the Finance unit where he runs the business case program. “Projects that cost more than a million dollars have an extensive approval process, including oversight by City Council,” Nate explained. “Project managers and engineers come to me with ideas on how to spend our capital and I help them through the process of actually applying for it.”

Nate lives in Seattle with his dog Charles (a Chihuahua, Yorkie, Australian Cattle Dog, and Jack Russell mix). He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from Vanderbilt and later an MBA from Notre Dame.

In this week’s (spot)Light, Nate talks about his work at Seattle City Light, his hobbies and why he likes working at the utility.

Nate and Charlie at Mount Si

“Before coming to City Light, I was a Senior Finance Manager at Microsoft, where I managed the P&L for several cloud products. Because I majored in political science, I was always interested in doing something in public service. So, when this position opened, I was initially attracted to it,” Nate shared. “I would say that we get 20-30 projects done through the business case program each year. One of the projects we’re working on is the facilities at Boundary Dam. They don’t have a big enough meeting room for everyone; right now, they’re meeting in the cafeteria, so they want to provide this space. They also want to upgrade some of their other facilities that are in need.”

“I am the son of a sailor and an actress. I was born in San Francisco and grew up in Minnesota and then I’ve kind of lived all over since then. I went to college in Nashville, and from there I lived in Phoenix, San Diego, Indiana, Detroit, Taiwan, Germany, Chicago, and now Seattle.”

“I like to say that I have a pretty diverse set of interests. I love cooking and cook most days. I’ve gotten into making simple meals but varying the spices, which makes it completely different. My favorite thing to prepare now that I live in Seattle is grilled salmon with Leipäjuusto and vegetables. Two of my favorite winter activities are skiing and Scrabble, and this winter, I’d like to improve my speed at both. I’ve recently gotten into skinning, or uphill skiing, which combines my love of skiing and hiking. I’m passionate about fitness in general, and my favorite competitive event is indoor sprint rowing. Last year, I took third place at Seattle’s annual Ergomania competition, and this year, I’d like to translate that skill into rowing on open water.”

“City Light has some of the most amazing people. I love that everyone here has a good sense of the mission. At a lot of companies, I think people can step over each other for their own personal accolades. Here people don’t tend to think in that way. There’s a common purpose in helping our citizens and the greater good and that’s what I really like about working here.”