As a businesswoman, Hollie Geitner has always been a storyteller. In her current role as director of communications at Duquesne Light Co., Geitner is using that talent to illuminate the vital and ever-changing role of one of Pittsburgh’s largest utilities.

Duquesne Light Co. (DLC) is an electric utility that serves customers in Allegheny and Beaver counties. Geitner leads a team of communicators responsible for DLC’s more than 1,700 employees and 600,000 customers in Western Pennsylvania. As the corporate spokesperson, she elevates DLC’s visibility in the community as a provider of reliable and affordable electricity and as a good corporate citizen focused on sustainability, innovation, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and workforce development.

“We’ve been through a lot of change as an organization and the pandemic has really challenged us to rethink how we keep everyone safe while also keeping the lights on for customers 24/7,” Geitner says. “As we move towards being a utility of the future, our focus will be on ensuring equity for our customers and the communities we serve. In addition to helping our region recover from the pandemic through strategic grants and partnerships, we want to be an energy partner and advisor, helping others see the value in a clean energy future for all and working together to power the region forward.”

What advice do you have for other women in business? “Make a list of women who inspire you — friends, family members, leaders in the community, politicians, etc. Watch and observe them — pay attention to what they do, say, and how they carry themselves. This isn’t to become someone else, but to get clear on what you value in others and yourself. We spend so much of our lives not really knowing who we are but envying others and feeling ‘less than.’ By understanding what you like and admire in others, you’ll begin to see who you are on the inside and you’ll shine from within for who you are — uniquely you — and you’ll soon inspire others to be who they are as well. It’s an amazing and powerful cycle.”

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