Influential Woman · Communications

Tracey Hewson

Customer Experience & Public Affairs Manager, Public Information Officer, City of Loveland Water and Power Department

Loveland, CO

2Awards received

Her Story

About Tracey

I started my career in the news industry as a reporter, covering business, government, and women's sports for several years. I then moved into a more executive role with page design and editorial governance. After having my son, I realized that working 50 hours a week wasn't going to work, so I transitioned to part-time communications work with smaller businesses like the Better Business Bureau and a local newspaper here in Colorado where I could have a more flexible schedule. As my children grew, I realized it was time to go back to work full-time, and I took a communications job in the utility industry where I've been for 18 years. My major responsibility is the oversight of the customer experience and public affairs team. I serve as the Public Information Officer, and my role includes our marketing division, our key accounts division, emergency and crisis communications, program development, and customer service. There are several different divisions under our umbrella. Looking ahead, I would like to take the emerging energy transitions that are going on right now and make them digestible for our customers - our residential customers that are trying to get kids to practice and pay bills and get to work on time. I want to make them aware that this is something that is going to change how they use a very valuable commodity, and make it understandable. It's very complicated right now and seems very scientific when we talk to customers, but for them to really understand it is going to take years and years of education and just conversation.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Tracey

01What do you attribute your success to?

I think a lot of it is how you're raised. If there is no other options, there's also a responsibility to your family. You know, raising children is expensive, and if they want to participate or do things that are just outside of school, that requires both parents to manage a house and manage their careers equally. So I think you just don't really have an option to fail. You have to succeed in a certain way because your responsibility is noticed. But you also owe it to yourself. You know, if you realize that you have a goal, there's nobody else that can accomplish that goal but yourself. You have no choice, really, if that's something you really want. You have to make it work.

02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

I would say don't be afraid to get out of your comfort zone. If there's a really great opportunity for you, don't be afraid to move away. Don't be afraid to go by yourself to a new place. Don't be afraid to ask hard questions and seek the truth.

03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?

The whole industry is changing with emerging energy transitions happening right now - how we receive our energy, how rates are structured, how customers will cooperate with utilities efficiently. The problem we have to solve is threefold: it's financial, it's reliability, and it's having enough energy to be sustainable for everybody that needs to flip a switch on. I would like to make these complex transitions digestible and understandable for our residential customers. Right now it's very complicated and seems very scientific when we talk to customers, but for them to really understand it is going to take years and years of education and just conversation.

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