Irina Rasputnis has worked at City Light for nearly two years as the Executive Director of the Lighting Design Lab which is part of Customer Energy Solutions (CES). “I’ve worked in lighting and energy efficiency for over a decade,” Irina shared. “With my engineering background, I intentionally pursued jobs that were environmentally focused.”

Originally from St. Petersburg, Russia, Irina studied chemical engineering at Northeastern University in Boston and urban planning at Tufts University. She lives in Tacoma with her husband Patrick and their three-year old daughter Raya.  “My husband and I met on a layover at the Denver airport when I was on my way to a Department of Energy conference!” Irina said chuckling.

In this week’s (spot)Light, learn about Irina’s cross-country bike ride, passion for community building and finding her niche.

“When I first entered the job market, green tech was a big buzzword. I secured good jobs, but I wanted to do exciting things right from the get-go. The roles weren’t interesting; it wasn’t the kind of work I wanted to be doing. So, I took a year off and did a cross-country bike ride. During that time, I was supposed to figure out what I wanted to do, but I was more focused on my ride and where I was going to sleep! A lot of people opened their doors to me and shared different resources. It got me thinking about communities and I decided that I wanted to be a community builder.”

“But I didn’t really know how to do that. I started attending different lectures and universities to learn more. I was introduced to an urban planning graduate program at Tufts University. It was fascinating, but I still didn’t see a role for myself. Then I discovered the field of energy efficiency. It had a technical component but also the policy side that’s connected to how people function in society. It felt like the niche I needed to pursue.”

“Being in the industry, I knew about the Lighting Design Lab. I liked the work they were doing and had worked with people there that I respected. But it wasn’t until I met my current manager, Edward Smalley, at a national conference that I really became interested in working there. He painted a picture of the Design Lab that matched up with my hopes for what I wanted to pursue. It got me very excited.”

“I used to be an avid cyclist. I’d do long-distance and multi-day rides, like my cross-country trek. It’s been hard to get back into it since my daughter is still young. She’s not steady on a bike but she’s working on her scooter skills! I also played in bands and really enjoyed that. I wasn’t any good, but I looked like I was having fun and that’s what allows the audience to have fun. So, it didn’t matter to me if I was good! I play the bass clarinet. I like playing goofy music, stuff that’s fun. I’ve been wanting to start a CES band, but it’s been tough working with everyone’s busy schedules. I’m open to starting a City Light band. Reach out if you’re interested, but you have to like goofy music!”

Todd Newcombe has been at City Light for 18 ½ years. He’s part of the Customer Operations teams where he works as an Office Aide. “I do a lot of data entry and computer-based work,” Todd explained.

A native Washingtonian, Todd grew up in the Federal Way area where he currently lives. “My family still lives in the area,” Todd shared. “I very much enjoy spending time with my three nieces and my brother and sister-in-law. It’s nice to just hang out – I cherish the time.”

In this week’s (spot)Light, Todd talks about his friends, his work at City Light and shares a few hobbies.

“I heard about this job through Scott Richter. He and I have been friends since elementary school. His dad was the one who told me about the position because he thought it would be a good fit for me. Scott encouraged me to apply. In fact, he said that if they didn’t hire me they would be making a mistake!”

“I went to Federal Way High School and was part of the employment transition program. It provided a lot of training and gave me a strong sense of community and a good network of people. I like being around people and knowing what they’re all about. It’s fun to talk with others and discuss different topics. They get to know me a lot better that way, too.”

“I like to watch movies and listen to music – I like soft-rock. I’m also excited to see the new Lion King movie. As for sports, I’m a Mariners fan and also watch the Seahawks.”

“I like my co-workers and the friends that I have at City Light. It makes me feel very confident in what I do. I’m grateful to have a job like this – to be around the people at work, day after day. It makes me feel very happy to come to work and very excited to do what I do each day.”

Katie Zook has been at City Light for nearly six years. She’s part of the Transformation and Customer Experience team where she works on renewable energy accounts. “I administer annual incentive payments and assist in billing corrections for customers who participate in one or more of our renewable energy programs, through either having solar panels (or other renewable energy sources) on their homes or businesses or by participating in one of our Community Solar Projects,” Katie explained.

Katie is originally from Colorado (go Broncos!) but moved to Washington when she was young. She studied accounting and business management and has worked in utilities for 14 years. Katie lives in South Everett with her boyfriend James, 11-year old son Gavyn and puppy Whittaker. “Gavyn named our puppy after mountaineer Jim Whittaker, the first American to summit Mount Everest,” she shared.

In this week’s (spot)Light, learn about Katie’s hobbies, love of the outdoors and her role at City Light.

“I love the outdoors and traveling. I’ve been to several countries, 43 states and am the first to say yes to a road trip. My son and I went on a five-week road trip last summer across eight states and 5,000+ miles.  We camped, hiked national parks (we visited eight!), went to the Bonneville Speed Races, enjoyed hot springs and spent countless days surfing up and down the California coast.”

“Gardening is another hobby of mine. Currently, I have over 40 types of veggies, fruits and herbs in my garden! My other happy place is our off-grid property in Wenatchee where we ride dirt bikes and quads, hike and spend time with family and friends. I also love kayaking, rock-climbing, snowboarding and hiking. Someday I plan to hike the Pacific Crest Trail.”

“My job is to calculate annual incentive payments for certified incentive customers. While that sounds simple, a lot of behind-the-scenes work goes into data analysis and database creation, maintenance, reporting and quality control. I love that our work supports sustainability in the Northwest. It’s exciting when customers enjoy the benefits of these programs and see how they support renewable energy in the region! I also enjoy working with data. To me, data tells a story all its own; it directs and supports so much of what we do. It’s up to us to use it to make informed and successful decisions.”

“I absolutely love the people at the utility. We truly are a melting pot and are very diverse in our cultures, skillsets, personalities, hobbies and backgrounds. It’s refreshing to see this all come together in a respectable manner; it truly makes coming to work easy. I’m constantly learning from my co-workers – whether it’s job skills, hobbies or how to make their favorite family recipe that’s been passed down through generations.  I have seriously never worked with a more driven, motivated and compassionate group of people who take pride in their work and just simply do what needs to be done. In an industry that is quickly changing and adapting to new technologies and business models, it’s refreshing to see all the people behind the scenes that consistently keep everything moving and come up with new innovative ideas.”

Isiah Williams has been at City Light for six years. As an Office Aide, he works in the mail room where he delivers mail, packages and paper to City Light employees at the Seattle Municipal Tower. “There are about five of us in the mail room,” Isiah said. “I meet so many people delivering the mail. It’s the best part of my job. It’s fun to go around and interact with different people every day.”

Born and raised in Auburn, Isiah is a true Washingtonian. “I still live in Auburn. In fact, I live in the same home I grew up in!” he shared. He has two older sisters and a niece and enjoys the sense of community in his hometown. He also loves the beauty of the Northwest. “I enjoy all the scenery here – the trees, the water. It’s nice.”

In this week’s (spot)Light, Isiah talks about his hobbies and shares what’s on his bucket list.

“I love sports. Football is my favorite. I love the New England Patriots. Obviously, one of my bucket list items is go to Boston for a game! When I watch baseball, I follow the Angels. Locally, I play basketball for Auburn Parks in their Special Olympics. I’ve been doing that for eight years. Usually, I play a forward or center. It’s really fun. I also do cycling and softball.”

“I like spending time with friends and family. And going to the movies. I also like traveling. In the last three years, I’ve been to Las Vegas, California, Michigan. In California, we went to Disneyland and Universal Studios.  Couldn’t get to an Angels game, though! Oregon is one of my favorite places to visit. We have family there and we always go the beach. That’s a special spot for me.”

“I went to Auburn Mountainview High School. I did a school-to-work-program which connected me to Vadis, a program that helps students with disabilities with job placement. That got me to City Light. When my mom got the call that there was an opportunity for me at City Light, well, it was too good to pass up. When I first started here, the people were so welcoming. I was able to learn my job easily and, soon, my responsibilities began to grow. I really like it here. If it’s possible, I continue to like my job more and more each day!”

Joseph Fernandi will celebrate five years at City Light in August. He’s part of Customer Energy Solutions (CES) where he serves as an Energy Management Analyst Supervisor. “I supervise a team of program managers that oversee the design, development, and ongoing management of demand-side management programs in our commercial portfolio,” he explained. “We build and manage programs and services to help our customer owners meet their energy needs and maximize energy performance in their buildings – and work closely with a network of contractors and service providers that enable this work.

Joseph grew up in New Jersey but also lived in the Phoenix area for 18 years before moving to Seattle. “I’ve always been drawn to the Pacific Northwest. My brother and his family have lived here for 20+ years so I visited often,” Joseph shared. “I knew I wanted to end up here for the better part of ten years, but it took a while for the stars to align. Surprisingly, a number of my friends also moved here from Arizona which made the transition quite easy.” He lives in Greenwood and loves the proximity to Green Lake and surrounding neighborhoods.

In this week’s (spot)Light, learn about Joseph’s musical background, energy career and more!

“I come from a musical family. My dad and four half-siblings sing and play guitar or piano. I didn’t get the singing gene, but I’ve played the drums for 15+ years and was in two different bands in Arizona. I play a lot less these days, but still love music and going to shows. I’m also a big sports fan and have picked up favorite teams from various places (Sounders season ticket holder, Phoenix Suns, Washington football team, etc.). I also play an absurd amount of ping pong. Outside of that, I enjoy spending time with my girlfriend Kelsey and dog Chloe!”

“I graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in sustainability. After spending five years in energy consulting working with utilities, I decided I wanted to sample life on the other side of the fence working for a utility. I was drawn to the region as a result of its sustainability leadership, shared goals around energy & climate and excited by the network of passionate and capable folks with a common vision. When I saw an opening at City Light, it was a no-brainer. Dream job.”

“I enjoy the people at City Light. We have an incredibly talented, creative, and dedicated workforce. We also have the privilege of being part of a City network and responsibility to do what’s best for our customer-owners. I appreciate our mission and vision and feel connected to broader sustainability goals at the City, state, and even regional level. I feel fortunate to support the work of our team, which is a critical component of providing value to our customer owners, especially as the value proposition and role of the utility is changing rapidly. I also appreciate the unique challenges here in our City around rapid development and population growth, equity, affordability, declining load, and a rapidly changing landscape to name a few. Working with smart people to solve difficult problems and fulfill ambitious and meaningful goals is about all you can ask for professionally.”

Maneet Jain has been at City Light for 14 years but began his City career 23 years ago. “When I started working at the City, I was in the Parks department. I really enjoyed it; in fact, that’s where I met my wife!” Maneet shared. “Opportunity brought me to City Light. I wanted to apply my degree and there was room for growth.” Maneet is part of Transmission and Distribution Operations (T&D Ops.) where he manages two work groups: field operators and planning and scheduling.

Maneet was born and raised in Seattle. “My family lived in Licton Springs, right by the North Service Center,” Maneet said. “I have fond memories walking to the service center and paying the bill with my dad.” He graduated with a degree in business management from the University of Washington and lives in Edmonds with his wife Kelly and their two daughters, Meena and Nyla.  

In this week’s (spot)Light, Maneet talks about his career at the City and family time.

“We’re a big Husky family. We go to lots of games and events – trying to breed that pride young! We keep busy on the weekends with all sorts of activities. There’s always something to do! I coach my daughter’s basketball team. We get outdoors and try new hikes. Our favorite getaway is the Oregon coast, particularly Manzanita and Cannon Beach. We love to hang there and just veg out. I also want to take them up to Skagit and check out that north loop.”

“My dad worked for Parks. He retired last year after 20+ years of service. I’ve always been around public service. I was part of the City’s summer youth employment program. I worked at the community centers and helped run the basketball and youth programs. I later moved on to grounds maintenance – that helped me pay for college! After that, I joined City Light’s Customer Care team where I worked for twelve years in different capacities. Things like credit and service representative (both electrical and customer), meter reading, technical metering operations, streetlights, LED engineering and capital improvement projects.”

“The last two years I’ve managed three groups in T&D Ops. The field operators at the System Operations Center are our first responders; the eyes and ears for our dispatchers. They let the dispatchers know what’s going on and troubleshoot things like flickering lights and car pole accidents. I also managed civil construction for the utility, both in the city and at our hydro facilities. Basically, any infrastructure that needs to be put in place. Lastly, I manage planning and scheduling. We plan and schedule work load, so we can meet our customers’ demands and expectations.”

“I fell into management. I attended UW as a civil engineering student but switched majors after taking a few business classes. I like being part of the solution, but I also like working with others and getting their perspective. I do a lot of that at City Light. I work with cross-functional teams and gather input from different backgrounds and disciplines. I really like our service work and problem solving. It’s been amazing to have had a variety of roles and responsibilities. I’ve enjoyed it. Not to mention, the camaraderie you build working with different people across the organization.”

Kyler Flores has been at City Light for more than five years. He first joined the utility as an intern and was later recruited by his former colleagues to return as part of the Distribution Mapping Team. “I supervise the Looped Radial Distribution Mapping Team,” Kyler said. “There are eight people on my team. They’re located at our service centers, Seattle Municipal Tower and the System Control Center.”

Born and raised in Washington state, Kyler attended Edmonds Community College and the Universal Technical Institute for Automotive Technology before graduating from Seattle University with a degree in civil engineering. “At Seattle University the motto is to develop the whole person, because of that, it is required to take courses on Ethics, Philosophy, and Theology,” Kyler shared. These courses gave me a broader perspective on how my actions affect the environment, people, and communities and I’m grateful I had to take them.

In this week’s (spot)Light, Kyler talks about his family and life at City Light.

“I live in Everett with my wife Kirn and two children Mata (two years old) and Suhavee (five months old). I like to enjoy the moments I have with my family, especially my kids since they grow and change so quickly. I play soccer on Sundays in a league in Everett. I actually played soccer for two years at Edmonds Community College. I also love to read and watch anything Sci-Fi. Frank Herbert is my hero.”

“An internship is what first attracted me to City Light. It was posted as an electrical, mechanical and civil co-op. A year into it, I found out there were no mechanical or civil aspects! What kept me around were my colleagues and the challenge of learning about the utility and its systems, applications and procedures. The same notion brought me back to City Light, but the second time around there was an updated Geographic Information System (GIS). There were opportunities to streamline processes and supply our internal and external customers with information they had been needing and requesting.”

“My team has many responsibilities. We maintain the as-built electrical model of the Looped Radial Distribution System in GIS; maintain overhead and underground structures and transformers in Work and Asset Management (WAMS); maintain transformer to customer connectivity and underground drawings and respond to general requests for maps. The data we maintain is seen in City Light’s quarter section maps, Advanced Grid Analytics, Outage Management System, CurrentView, WAMS, and Customer Care and Billing. Currently, I’m reviewing our processes and focusing on improvements and efficiencies, so we can meet customer needs.”

“I enjoy the people at City Light. I believe people are genuine about their commitment to provide a quality product to our customer-owner and it’s contagious. I also enjoy the challenge. Things have been done a certain way at City Light for many, many years – no matter the division. With new technology, there’s an opportunity to change our processes, to maintain data that has not been previously maintained, and to provide additional information in a user-friendly way to our internal and external customers. It’s challenging to reach across well-established silos to convince others to do things differently. But I believe it’s worth the effort because in the long run, we’ll be able to provide a higher quality product to our customer-owners.”

Hillary Winchester celebrates five years at City Light this month. She has always been part of the Joint Use Engineering group, but recently started a new role as a Strategic Advisor on the Customer Experience Improvement Team. “In Joint Use I was an Associate Electrical Engineer where I reviewed and engineered application requirements, handled process updates and consultant work,” Hillary explained. “I loved it but am also excited to support the utility’s strategic initiative in my new role; something different!”

Originally from Virginia Beach, Hillary graduated from James Madison University with a Bachelor of Science in engineering and a minor in mathematics. “I mostly studied design and environmental engineering, but also took classes that had a sustainability focus,” Hillary said. “In 2018, I completed an MBA with an emphasis in Project Management from City University of Seattle.”

In this week’s (spot)Light, learn about Hillary’s family, her hobbies and her work at City Light.

“I met my husband in college. He was stationed in Virginia but got transferred to Washington state. We had a long-distance relationship and got married two weeks after I graduated! I moved here right away and love it. We live in Lynnwood with our kids, cat and dog and enjoy that we can easily be in the city or the mountains depending on which direction we drive. We do a fair amount of hiking and camping, so it’s nice to be so close to such gorgeous scenery.”

“I love to bake, cook and spend time with my family. My daughters are at an age (3.5 and 1.5 years) where we can play outside, so this year we’ve been visiting new parks every weekend. It’s been a lot of fun. We love being outdoors, even if it’s a quick neighborhood hike or working in our garden. This year we tried cabin camping and my girls had a blast. I also bake cookies for CLEA and often bring treats into the office…if my husband doesn’t claim them all first! I like to bake cakes and macarons but I’m always trying new recipes.”

“Joint Use is a unique body of work. Every job was different and often a challenge. Over the last five years, our program has grown exponentially due to the introduction of 5G to our city. We play an integral role in the implementation process and are constantly evaluating how to make our processes better and more efficient. I’m excited for my new role because I’ll get to work with a part of the utility that is important to me: our customers. The challenge of delivering better experiences for our customers and leveraging new technology will be rewarding.”

“When I moved to Seattle, I kept a close eye on city and county engineering jobs because I liked the idea of working for a public entity. I didn’t know much about City Light before I started working here. I love City Light for a variety of reasons: the people, the emphasis on excellence and the environment, and our commitment to our community. Everyone I meet is passionate about making the utility better and serving our customers in new ways. During my time here, I’ve realized that being part of a public utility is incredibly fulfilling.”