How long have you been with AVANGRID?

Based in Orange, Connecticut, I joined AVANGRID in June 2019 as a contractor safety manager in Environmental Health & Safety. I manage the Contractor Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) program across AVANGRID to ensure compliance with AVANGRID contractor requirements, in addition to federal, state and local regulation.

Why did you choose to work at AVANGRID?

After learning about the position, I think what most attracted me to AVANGRID was that I saw a great potential for growth professionally since it is such a young company. I also came to know that the company’s EH&S culture had a great reputation within the industry. There are also a lot of great people here.

I am really hoping to bring more people like myself into the safety profession, particularly at AVANGRID.

What do you like about your team at AVANGRID?

I like the fact that the team has many great and talented people. The field of EH&S is one that can be very challenging because you are dealing with human interactions, and you must have a team that can speak to different human characteristics. My team is very inclusive, supportive and collaborative and that is what I love about working here.

What does Black History Month mean to you?

I think it not only means a moment to showcase Black excellence, but it’s also an opportunity for continued dialogue and study of the all-encompassing magnitude of our history as Americans. There are still aspects that are a mystery to me.

From being a former Marine, knowing the Marine Corps history was second nature to me; however, our history as African Americans, is so much more complex than learning about the legacies of MLK, Rosa Parks, slavery and the Civil Rights Movement. Those moments in time are just scraping the surface of who we truly are as Americans. The struggles we have endured and the triumphs we have achieved are more than just a month of celebration.

For example, in speaking about continued dialogue and study, I think back to the Spring of 2020 when there was unrest in the response to the murder of George Floyd.  I was faced with not only the challenge of addressing the issue personally, but also starting the deeper conversation with my children, especially when they saw it play out on TV and social media.

My children spent most of their formative years living in Japan and upon returning to the United States, we moved to a suburban community in Virginia where they became used to a diverse environment. For them, the George Floyd incident was shocking and unexplainable.

My son found it hard to believe that the things he read in textbooks or saw in movies would play out before his very eyes. I really had to take the time to talk to my children on a deeper level about our history, why things are the way they are, how far we have come, the prospect of a continued growth from where we came from and why the continued drive towards excellence is so important.

How do you feel about AVANGRID’s commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion?

I am excited about it and the fact that we have BRGs [Business Resource Groups] and the role they will play in helping bringing Diversity, Equity & Inclusion to the forefront.

What has been one of the greatest influences in terms of where you are today?

I would have to say one of my greatest influences is the time I spent serving in the United States Marine Corps.

I was born and raised in Harlem, NY to a single mother with four sons and one daughter, and there were many debilitating circumstances that were very challenging to overcome.  At the time, the only “out” I felt I could use for survival or any chance to be successful was to join the military.

The Marine Corps built upon my strength of wanting to overcome and my desire to be successful.  I served for 22 years and my time with the Corps allowed me to learn to embrace the Marine’s values of practicing justice, judgement, dependability, initiative, decisiveness, tact, integrity, enthusiasm, bearing, unselfishness, courage, knowledge, loyalty and endurance.

How did you end up in Health & Safety?

When I enlisted into the Marine Corps, I was as a cook. With my previous background, I didn’t have too many choices, and I hated it, not because I felt it wasn’t my calling.

After several years of trying to perfect the art of cooking bacon, I knew I was supposed to do something different, but now I can say because of this experience that I make the best bacon in the world.

My path really changed when I had the great blessing of crossing paths with a young sergeant who became my mentor. His wise counsel led me to explore different opportunities in search of my calling. It started me on a path where I became an instructor in different areas within the Marine Corps. Then it led me to get my degree.

To pay back the Marines for my education this led me to be a Ground Safety Manager for 1^st Marine Aircraft Wing in Japan.  During my three-year tenure, I was awarded the General John D. Safety Award from the Navy League of the United States by the former Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus. Through the time spent serving and collaborating with my fellow Marines and civilian counterparts, I had found my life’s work! I discovered a passion for helping people navigate through their professions in a safe manner. It is definitely a far cry from perfecting the cooking of bacon.

On the tail end of my tour in Japan, I was selected to become the first Senior Enlisted Advisor at the Marine Corps Safety Division Headquarters in Washington, DC and the rest is history.

It seems like you have had many challenges in your life. How do you get through them and still have a great attitude?

I’ll answer in two parts. You asked me a question earlier about what played one of the greatest influences in terms of where you are today, and I spoke of the physical aspect.  The other side to that is the spiritual aspect. My belief in a Higher Power that carried me through many challenging times in my life and aided me in my attitude towards how I move through life.  Through all the adversities in my childhood, navigating through my career in the Marine Corps, and recently battling and surviving breast cancer, I know that He has always kept me moving forward. I can proudly say today that I am a breast cancer survivor! So, don’t give up, just keep going!

My second answer to this question is my kids. They are my greatest motivating factor, as I hope they look at me as a model of how to overcome challenges and adversities.

When I was in the Marine Corps, we had had a speaker address the enlisted Marines on the issue of leadership, ethics and morals.  When he was done speaking, he gifted all the Marines a mirror, which read: “Am I proud to tell my family what I did today?”

For me, it was like it came full circle when I saw it.  I have worked my whole career on how I wanted to reflect my life’s successes with those I encountered.  I wanted to show them that they could look at me as a reflection of who they can become. I think that is what has carried me through. I want to look into the mirror and have it reflect what I want to see.