Closed Circuit

By Philip Reed​

WAPA’s first All-Employee Meeting of 2022 was held Feb. 3. It was hosted by then-Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Kevin Howard, who was attending his final AEM. He retired later that month.

The event opened with Administrator and CEO Tracey LeBeau, who spoke about the State of WAPA. She also discussed the organization’s theme for 2022: Reflect, Recharge, Resolve. Additionally, she briefly addressed a potential return to the workplace.

“First, I want to address the elephant in the room, and that is workplace re-entry,” she said. “I know most of you have questions, especially as we adjust to continuous change. Just as I stated at the last All-Employee Meeting, we all want the same thing: to be safe, be healthy, provide for our families and perform meaningful work.”

She emphasized that updates would be provided as they become available.

Other topics included the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, better known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the organizational realignment of several functions that were previously under the Office of the Administrator.

Chief Public Affairs Officer Teresa Waugh then spoke about the rapid pace of change in communications and the upcoming 45th anniversary of WAPA’s founding. She was followed by Chief Strategy Officer Kerry Whitford, who discussed the approach and anticipated schedule of the new strategic plan.

Vice President of Information Technology Enterprise Applications Joe Fast then provided an overview of recent IT accomplishments and Chief of Staff Melissa Ardis facilitated a typically robust employee Q&A session.

“WAPA and customers started this incredible journey to serve the West with federal hydropower,” said LeBeau at the end of her presentation, “and we will continue to travel this road together into the future through a new strategic plan and refocused priorities.” 

Note: The author is a public affairs specialist. 

Last modified on March 5th, 2024