Oregon public power utility Springfield Utility Board recently marked a new chapter as it thanked Jeff Nelson for his decades of leadership and welcomed its new CEO and General Manager Vanessa Barbarisi.
A returning Springfielder, Barbarisi recently completed her first days at SUB. Since joining the utility, she has been meeting employees across the organization, learning about SUB's operations and touring facilities.
"She looks forward to building relationships with employees, customers and community partners," SUB noted in a LinkedIn post.
Barbarisi joins SUB from PG&E in Oakland, California, where she served as Senior Director of Infrastructure and Operations.
She brings extensive experience in utility operations, strategic planning, financial management, and organizational transformation. Her career also includes leadership roles at Portland General Electric, where she helped utilities work through strategic challenges. She holds a bachelor's degree in Distributive Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder.
Barbarisi is committed to building on SUB's strong foundation, while preparing the utility for the future. “I’m very pleased to be back in my hometown, and to have the chance to give back to the community where I grew up. I can already see I’ll be working alongside a talented team that is deeply dedicated to the people of Springfield," she said.
