The Quarter Century Club: 25 Years of Industry Commitment to MESA

Editor’s note: MESA is proud to honor the companies that have supported the program for 25 years or more with the second of a series of articles. The last issue covered HP and SBC. This article focuses on Pacific Gas and Electric Company (operated by the PG&E Corporation), whose top-ranking executives were directly involved in establishing the original MESA Industry Advisory Board.

PG&E powers MESA through the years

“PG&E’s ability to continue to meet the energy needs of our communities relies on the skills and talents of tomorrow’s educated workforce,

which includes engineers and technology workers,” said Russ Jackson, PG&E’s senior vice president of human resources. “For over three decades, MESA has proven its ability to develop these skills and talents and has helped PG&E diversify its workforce to represent the communities that we serve.”

PG&E’s support at the highest levels over the years has strengthened MESA’s integrity and allowed it to embark on new ways of improving California math and science education. The most recent examples of this support are PG&E’s selection of MESA as one of five non-profit organizations statewide to participate in a customer-driven philanthropy campaign, and the appointment of Jeff Butler, PG&E’s senior vice president of Transmission and Distribution, to the MESA board of directors.

“I’m proud to have the opportunity to serve on MESA’s board,” said Butler. “It provides an opportunity to bring together education and industry—particularly the energy sector—to meet the common goals of improving California’s educational opportunity and workforce development.”

Highlights of the company’s contributions include:

• 1978: PG&E Chairman Fred Mielke helps found the MESA statewide Industry Advisory Board.
  
• 1987–92: PG&E government relations manager Lawrence Baack serves two terms as MESA board chair, helping to hatch the MESA Advisor Training Institute (MATI), and calling for MESA to be implemented “in every school in the state.” With Baack’s support, PG&E agrees to loan executive Tim Kelly to MESA. Kelly makes numerous contributions, including implementing MATI, which is underwritten and hosted by PG&E at its San Ramon ­ Learning Center.
  
• 1992–2003: PG&E continues to make periodic financial and in-kind contributions to support MESA projects.
  
• 2004: PG&E sponsors MESA’s Northern California Student Leadership Development Conference and expresses its intent to underwrite the event for three years. With the help of 40 industry volunteers from 11 companies, the first conference teaches career success strategies to 130 students from 21 universities and community colleges.
  
• 2004: PG&E contributes $9,000 in scholarships to MESA Engineering Program students who are active in the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) and the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) at UC Davis, Cal Poly Pomona and UC Berkeley.
  
• 2005: PG&E selects MESA as one of five nonprofit organizations statewide to participate in a $30,000 customer-driven philanthropy campaign as part of its electronic bill-paying program. Customers who sign up for the e-bill program from July 1 to August 31 can choose one of five organizations to receive a contribution from PG&E. Organizations will receive a pro portion of the total based on the number of votes they receive. Butler joins the MESA board of directors.