Introducing Gwen Stevens

New year, new chapter – and a fun chance to get to know the person steering our cooperative forward. We’re thrilled to introduce Gwen Stevens, People’s Energy Cooperative’s new President & CEO.  You’ll hear about where she grew up, the family who keeps her grounded, and what has prepared her to lead an electric cooperative. You’ll also understand why “safety first, always” isn’t just a slogan – but a value and mindset.

Where did you grow up?

My roots are in Rochester, Minnesota, where my younger brother Bryce and I grew up. Our mom, Bobette, worked at IBM, while our dad, Garvin “Gar,” transported goods and later sold parts for local farm implement dealers. We lived in what I believe was the best neighborhood in northwest Rochester, where the spirit of neighbors helping one another shaped my commitment to service. A value both Bryce and I carried into our careers, me at an electric utility, and him as a captain with the Rochester Fire Department.

Growing up, after-school community ed programs, 4H, church activities, and sports filled my time. I played volleyball and softball at John Marshall High School and was honored to serve as captain for both teams. My involvement extended to student council as treasurer and participation in other various committees. Support from wonderful parents, inspiring teachers, and patient coaches made for a truly blessed childhood.

Tell us about your family.

My husband, Ken, and I have been married for over 30 years and live in southwest Rochester.  He has been in the automotive industry for his entire career.  For nearly 20 years we owned and operated Snap-on Tool franchises serving the local area. Ken is currently a district sales manager for MAC Tools.

Our three daughters, Kendra, Kayla, and Karisa, have kept our lives full of activities playing softball, shooting trap, and enjoying outdoor activities like camping, skiing (water and downhill), biking, fishing, and hunting.  I’m thankful our two older girls have made their homes in the area so we can continue to enjoy time together.  Our youngest is graduating this spring from Mayo High School.

What past jobs and/or experiences have prepared you for leading an electric cooperative?

The past job outside the Cooperative that helped prepare me was working at Schmidt Printing, a Taylor Corporation company, in Byron for over 13 years.  There I learned about general business principles and practices, customer service, communication, human resources, safe work practices, and the importance of energy efficiency and reliable power for manufacturers.  I also learned more about myself as a leader and was provided opportunities to hone my leadership skills.

Growing into my role as VP of Cooperative Relations over the past 14 years has prepared me the most for this role. I didn’t realize it at the time, but as I accepted opportunities for added responsibility over the years it provided me with building blocks to prepare for this wonderful opportunity to lead a great group of people.  The journey included:

• Starting out as an executive assistant to the President & CEO which taught me about board governance, the cooperative business model, and the challenges and inner workings of an electric utility.
   
• Coordinating and later leading our safety initiatives has taught me about risks our employees face, resources they need to do their jobs safely, and a few basics about the electrical system and field operations.
   
• In my communications role, I learned even more about the Cooperative and our industry through interviews and research for various projects.
   
• Managing member relations put me in direct contact with members and opportunities to learn about their concerns, what’s important to them, and how we can best serve them.
   
• Managing community relations enabled me to collaborate with local leaders in the communities we serve to better understand their challenges and how we can partner for mutual success.
   
• Working with local businesses through our economic development program has exposed me to the challenges these members face, how we can help them grow and expand, and the importance of helping them be energy efficient.
   
• Engaging with state and federal legislators to advocate for issues important to the Cooperative and our industry has helped me establish relationships with our legislators and better understand how to navigate those relationships.
   
• Managing our human resource department has enabled me to learn more about our employees, what they do, and the importance of each job at the Cooperative.

I also think the experiences of marriage, parenting, and growing up in a family and neighborhood that valued and demonstrated a spirit of service have also prepared me.  Marriage and raising children require humility, patience, empathy, compassion, kindness, communication, and perseverance. They also require being strategic, flexible, resourceful, and firm but fair. Qualities exemplified by the CEOs I have admired most in my career. 

Why is safety important to you?

As an athlete and active person, I have experienced injuries.  One required major surgery and involved a long recovery that resulted in a new normal. While it was not a traumatic event and we had support from family and friends, it still made life a little harder for me and my family.  It has also kept me from an activity I used to really enjoy and has altered my volleyball game, which affects my team.  My point is that I don’t want others to experience an event that would sideline them due to a work-related injury.  The goal is that everyone goes home at the end of the day in as good of shape or better than they came.  I also know how a broken body can lead to a broken spirit and that can have a ripple effect on others. 

What do you wish every member knew about the Cooperative?

The following are a few things I always hope our members know:

• Members are owners, not just customers. They elect a board of directors to represent their interests in decision making. Therefore, it’s important to have effective and wise leaders on the Board of Directors.
   
• Decisions are made locally, with a focus on member and community needs.
   
• We are a not-for-profit organization.  Therefore, rates are designed to cover cost of service, not to generate profit.  Any excess revenue (margins) is returned to members as capital credits.
   
• When and how members consume electricity has an impact on power costs. The reason peak alerts are communicated is to help keep costs down for everyone and avoid the need for expensive generation sources to be built.
   
• It’s been said that “electric cooperatives were born out of politics, and they could die in politics” if we don’t effectively advocate for issues that are important to us. Members can help engage in these efforts!
   
• We provide the communities we serve with value that goes beyond reliable electricity.

What do you wish every member knew about outage restoration?

When power outages occur, there is a methodical system in place to ensure safe restoration and that the power stays on. While it might be easier or faster to bypass steps in the process, that comes with risk to our team and the public we are not willing to take. Also, sometimes it can take a while to figure out the source of the outage, and it may require special equipment or materials to fix the problem so we don’t know how long it will take to restore service.

We always appreciate our members’ patience and support during outages. We will continue to communicate outage information transparently through multiple channels and do our best to include information about what caused it.

Bonus Round

1. Coffee Order – Dark roast with cream
2. Favorite Concert Experience – Hootie & the Blowfish in Mankato in the ‘90s and a close second was a summer concert in the park in Stewartville by a local cover band.
3. Favorite Pizza – BBQ Chicken from O’Neill’s Pizza Pub in Elgin
4. Favorite Dessert – Bunny’s Cake from the Canadian Honker
5. Favorite Minnesota Day Trip – Starting the day eating breakfast at Little Oscar’s on the way to going anywhere north of Rochester with my family and then eating dinner at either the House of Coates or Rancho Loco on our way home.