Her Story
About Lauren
Lauren Will serves as a key team member at Xcel Energy in Denver, Colorado, contributing to both utility management and electric vehicle initiatives. She began her tenure at the company in 2020, initially focusing on business energy assessments for commercial buildings to reduce energy use, implement better opportunities, and provide rebates across Colorado. Since 2024, she has expanded her responsibilities into electric vehicle management, supporting infrastructure projects and customer education on EV adoption. Lauren earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, and completed a master's program at the University of Denver in communication management and public relations. Her background in project management and communications has enabled her to lead efforts that reserved $80 million in rebates for EV charging infrastructure in a single year, a program her team built from the ground up while engaging over 600 customers. She values strong communication, transparency, and delivering quality experiences that simplify complex processes for customers while promoting environmental benefits.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Lauren
01What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't doubt yourself if you don't understand the technology. When I got into EVs, I honestly just landed into the role. I had project management background, and they hired me, and I had no understanding of EVs, or infrastructure, or engineering plans. I had to learn everything, even getting hired at the level that I'm at, and now I feel like I could take on the world with EV things, so don't let the lack of background scare you away from an industry you might have interest in. And continue learning, and continue asking questions, and there's never really a reason you shouldn't ask a question if you're concerned or confused. And be there for the other women as they enter as well. Try to be a support system and always remember what it's like when you first enter into that field, because it can be intimidating, but you will learn, and you are smart enough to do it. You just have to keep trying.
02What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The most challenging part is trying to get the knowledge out to customers about EVs. There's a lot of bad press for EVs, like they're so dangerous, they can explode, cost too much, impossible to charge for long-distance. Just really getting the knowledge out to the public of what a good investment it can be compared to gas, and what it can do for not only you, but the environment as a whole. Building trust with customers in the product and the process of installing the ability to charge at commercial buildings.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Trustworthiness is a huge one, and transparency and strong communication. My background is communication management, and I've always really valued strong communication about everything. If something's getting behind, if you at least know that, you can feel a little better with communication and updates. I like to do that with people. I don't need a higher quantity of projects, I just want quality experience for customers, and have a quality product at the end while helping as many people as I can. Positive experience, make it as simple as possible, and as human as possible in a world that's getting less and less human.
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