Favorite Parts Of Working In The Utility Industry As A Director Community Relations
Rhonda finds working at the utility both unique and intriguing, especially the opportunity to learn about electricity and its role in powering cities, a stark contrast to previous experience as a nonprofit executive. The most enjoyable aspect, however, is connecting with other corporate funders at conferences, allowing Rhonda to gather "best practices across the nation" from diverse industries and apply them to the utility world, making it "something special."
Community Relations, Corporate Social Responsibility, Utilities Industry, Leadership, Best Practices
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Rhonda Staley-Brooks
Director, Community Relations, Outreach & Support
Sacramento Municipal Utility District
California State University Sacramento
Executive Masters Business Administration
Psychology
Energy & Utilities
Communication and Marketing
Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Greek Life Member, Transfer Student
Video Highlights
1. Learning about the intricacies of electricity and how it powers cities has been an intriguing aspect of the role.
2. The opportunity to connect with peers at conferences and learn best practices from various industries (e.g., FedEx, Amazon) enhances the utility's operations.
3. The unique position of working for a utility while also being a corporate funder adds a special dimension to the role.
Transcript
What do you enjoy most about being in your industry?
It's different than anything I've ever done before. I'm a former nonprofit executive and ran two of the nonprofits here in town. Coming over to the utility was very different because I didn't really know what SUD did.
I knew I paid my SUD bill, but I didn't know what they did. So it's been a very interesting journey for me to learn about electricity and how it runs cities. That's been very intriguing.
In my specific world as a corporate citizen and funder, I've been able to go to conferences and meet other people in my same position. That has been tremendous because you get best practices across the nation, not just in my industry. These are best practices from FedEx, Amazon, and all these other places that make your utility world something special.
So, just the uniqueness of working for a utility and also being on the side as the funder is what's most interesting to me.
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