Claribel Solis
Claribel Solis is an accomplished electrical engineer with a focus on power and controls, currently serving as the Commercial Technical Sales Lead at Acuity Brands. Though she never imagined a career in lighting—expecting instead to work on power plants, transmission lines, or SCADA systems—Claribel’s journey into architectural lighting was a fortunate twist. She now leverages her engineering expertise to support complex lighting projects, specializing in architectural brands that require hands-on guidance. Her role includes providing sales support for a traveling team, assisting with technical questions, shop drawings, and proper product application, ensuring every project is executed accurately and efficiently.
At Acuity Brands, which encompasses nearly 18 or 19 brands, Claribel works with a wide range of sophisticated solutions, including outdoor architectural lighting, underwater applications, and DMX-controlled RGB color-changing systems. She helps customers select and connect the right equipment while ensuring a smooth, repeatable experience that encourages continued collaboration. Her focus on delivering practical, user-friendly guidance, even when managing technically complex fixtures, has made her a trusted partner for architects, engineers, and sales teams alike.
In addition to her technical expertise, Claribel holds a Real Estate Construction Project Management Certificate from NYU School of Professional Studies and a Lighting Design Certificate from University of Colorado Boulder’s Rocky Mountain Lighting Academy. Throughout her professional life, she has applied project management principles to every role, combining engineering knowledge, problem-solving skills, and leadership to drive successful outcomes. Colleagues describe her as approachable, competent, and collaborative—a professional who not only delivers results but also inspires confidence and fosters long-term partnerships.
• Certificate Rocky Mountain Lighting Academy, Lighting Design
• Certificate Real State Construction Project Management Certificate, Project Management
• Leading through Change
• University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez - BSEE, Engineering
• Society of Women Engineers
• Translators Without Borders
What do you attribute your success to?
I consider myself a Type A, control freak, perfectionist. I had to work twice as hard to get whatever I wanted professionally, and I'm still struggling. My dad is my mentor and I go to him for advice because he's an engineer as well and he works. He asked me this question years ago that made me pause - what has been the most challenging factor in your career, is it because you are Latina or because you're a woman? I said it's a woman thing. It doesn't matter if you're Black, Latina, white - it's a woman thing. I am blessed in a lot of ways and I have to be grateful for the opportunities I've been given and for the opportunity to do the work I do. But it's hard to be a woman in this field, super hard. I have a success story from 2012 when I was in a similar position at another company. I wanted to be closer to my son who was living in Texas while I was in New Jersey. I was doing a lot of projects in Texas, so I put together a business plan showing why moving me to Texas would be a win-win for the company. My immediate supervisor put the kibosh on that, so I went over him and went to his boss, who happens to be a woman. I told her my plan and she said put a business plan together. Long story short, they went for it. I got a promotion, I got a performance salary increase, they paid for half of my move, and I got to live in Texas with my son. All that by myself with support from my supervisor's boss, but my immediate boss did not support it. He had the nerve to tell me that I got to do that because of him, because he allowed it.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Talk to people in your field and ask questions, be curious, because you might have a sense of what is what you want or you might not. But experience of other people in the field might give you a better window of what is that that you want to do. I never in a million years thought I was doing lighting - I got here by accident. If I was young, what advice I would give my younger self is ask more questions about what are all the things that electrical engineers can do. You're never going to find all the answers, but I should have asked more questions to give me a better feel of the opportunities and the things that are available. I was just trying to emulate my dad and it turned out different, not in a bad way, but I think I missed a lot of opportunities because I didn't know they were there. I kind of focused on a couple of opportunities when there would have been a hell lot more. I would have done more asking questions.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I love my job because I like to help people - that's what I do. I help people to understand our products so it's easier for them to sell them. At the end of the day there's a lot of fulfillment, you feel kind of like you fulfill your purpose. I'm trying to help them not coming across like, oh, I'm an engineer. No, no, no. I just happen to have an engineering degree and a project management certification, but that's not who I am. I am a person that likes to help people, I like people, and when people kind of build that trust, people come back and ask you more questions. There's a lot of satisfaction that comes from that. Outside of work, travel takes me, it feeds my soul. I love traveling even if it's a short trip. I like water so I like to be around water. I like to read, I like to cook, and do things from scratch because I had a phase in my life that was traveling a lot and I was eating whatever I can get my hands on and it was not glamorous at all. So I appreciate quite a bit to have a home-cooked meal and do things as much as I can from scratch.