Meet Kelsey Lewis, Our January Employee of the Month 

Kelsey Lewis came to the PUD in February 2021 during a worldwide pandemic. She was the first person that Customer & Energy Services hired during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it took more than a year for her to meet some of her co-workers in person.

But that didn’t stop Kelsey, Program Manager III, from making an impact at the PUD. She jumped headfirst into a variety of projects and made an immediate mark on several programs, including the PUD’s Strategic Energy Management programs and the El Sol al Alcance de tus Manos community solar project.

Kelsey’s exceptional leadership, collaboration and strong community relationships have helped her deliver programs that make a meaningful difference for the communities we serve. For that, as well as her willingness to share knowledge and embrace new challenges, Kelsey has been named the PUD’s January Employee of the Month.

“Kelsey quickly went from being new on our team to a leader,” said Jeff Feinberg, the PUD’s Senior Manager of Energy Services. “She didn’t let her tenure keep her from jumping right in and contributing and doing a great job on everything we put in front of her. Half of the time when she says ‘yes’ to doing something I ask her to do, I wonder if she even knows what all that entails. But she goes right after it and always does a great job.”

“Kelsey is a perfect example of the lengths that Team PUD goes to in order to help our customers,” said John Hoffman, our Chief Customer Officer. “She has an incredible work ethic and cares so much about the communities that we serve. Whether you’re a colleague, customer or vendor, Kelsey will go above and beyond to help and ensure you are set up for success.”

Kelsey leads the PUD’s Strategic Energy Management (SEM) programs, which account for a large amount of our customers’ yearly kWh savings. She works with customers, Energy Management Engineers and Key Accounts to make sure everyone who is eligible can participate in the program and is constantly working to improve the commercial (CSEM) and industrial (ISEM) offerings for customers.

She is also a CSEM leader in the region, serving on the leadership team for the Northwest SEM Collaborative and representing the PUD at the regional level.

“Kelsey has been very helpful with big picture strategy related to energy management, but she also doesn’t shy away from helping with gritty issues,” said a representative from Edmonds College, a CSEM participant. “That attitude makes us feel like Snohomish PUD cares about us.”

“All of Kelsey’s programs provide a direct benefit to our customers,” said Program Manager Sheri Miller. “The Clean Buildings Accelerator, Industrial Strategic Energy Management and Commercial Strategic Energy Management programs offer direct support to customers to become more energy efficient to reduce their bills. Kelsey is always willing to help where she can. She strives for excellence in everything she does and is a pleasure to work with!”

In addition to her day-to-day work, Kelsey took on managing community outreach and engagement for El Sol al Alcance, the PUD’s newest community solar project. Kelsey engaged local artists and spoke with local community members to ensure the project instilled pride and a sense of ownership with those in the community.

Local elementary students provided brightly colored hands and suns for the project and one artist said they are even considering a career path in education after working with Kelsey.

“This entire project is above and beyond Kelsey’s ‘day job.’ It is a labor of love,” said Suzy Oversvee, a Program Manager at the PUD. “She does it because she is passionate about energy and social justice, and ensuring the PUD shows compassion for the community in how we develop and construct this project. Kelsey is very kind, thoughtful, driven and impact-oriented.  She does not shy away from hard problems or crucial conversations. I have so appreciated her on our project team and am proud to call her a friend and colleague.”

“What I find truly inspiring about Kelsey is that going above and beyond isn’t an exception but it’s her standard,” said Account Manager Eddie Haugen. “Kelsey has a deep belief in the work she does. She’s passionate about leading programs that help our customers save energy while contributing to a healthier planet. To me this is exactly what working at the District is all about. Kelsey plays a vital role in these efforts, and her genuine commitment to the mission not only drives her success but also inspires those around her.”

Kelsey said that some of her favorite memories at the PUD have come from working on the community solar project, including a recent visit to the community garden next to the site to invite gardeners to an open house. She met two gardeners that spoke Korean and used Google Translate to invite Mr. and Mrs. Kim to the open house – and get them some information about putting solar panels on their roof.

“I love working for a public organization,” Kelsey said. “Knowing that the PUD’s mission aligns with my personal values makes it easier to navigate day-to-day challenges.”

Kelsey also had another strong impact on a vendor when she received customer feedback about a potentially culturally insensitive name for a shared software platform. She utilized PUD resources and reached out to the vendor to share the feedback. She worked the vendor to help create a mutually beneficial solution. Her boldness to speak out inspired the vendor to change the name of the software and has increased further collaboration with all.

“What I find truly inspiring about Kelsey is that going above and beyond isn’t an exception but it’s her standard,” said Eddie Haugen, Account Manager II. “Kelsey has a deep belief in the work she does. She’s passionate about leading programs that help our customers save energy while contributing to a healthier planet. To me this is exactly what working at the PUD is all about. Kelsey plays a vital role in these efforts, and her genuine commitment to the mission not only drives her success but also inspires those around her.”

Kelsey grew up in University Place and went to school at the University of Washington. Before joining the PUD, she worked as a process engineer for Sonoco, a recycled paper manufacturing company that takes recycled cardboard and turns int into packaging like Pringles containers.

In her spare time, dance has been Kelsey’s lifelong passion. She grew up training in ballet and tap before graduating into Latin styles like salsa and bachata. Brazilian Zouk is currently her favorite and she participates in a Latin fusion performance team in Seattle.

She also loves to travel and enjoy nature, recently hiking parts of the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal.

“I’m truly honored to be recognized, and I want to thank my coworkers for taking the time to nominate me,” Kelsey said. “I know it takes effort to do that on top of everything else we’re all managing, so it means a lot. I’m grateful for our team’s support and collaboration – it makes the work we do so rewarding. Being hired during the pandemic made it harder to connect at first, but now I feel much more integrated and enjoy getting to know colleagues beyond just what they do at work. Thank you for making this such a great place to grow and contribute.”