“We developed this program that is now Living in Balance,” Garcia Sierra said. “At that point, it was The New Green Challenge. We recruited some families to work in that program. That’s when MGE became more real to me when I met Annette and learned more about Joann. And I had seen Joann before through some of the theater work that Sol was doing at that point.”

Garcia Sierra was looking for his own new challenge and wasn’t sure which direction to take.

“Energy had always been an interesting issue for me,” Garcia Sierra said. “We all need energy. Our community needs energy. Like Joann, I was drawn to the energy efficiency technologies and renewable energy. I studied applied economics and so energy is a big aspect of economic development. I wanted to see if I could find a role or a spot, if you will, in that world of energy. I thought MGE would allow me to explore that. And if I spent a few years there, maybe three years, it would give me good insight. But those three years went by very fast and I said that I would stay two more years. And then at that point, I said, ‘Never mind, I’m just going to do this work and forget about time.’ And it’s been 10 years.”

Through Living in Balance, MGE had developed an online presence utilizing videos and social media. When COVID-19 hit in 2020, RCS had to change its approach since it was used to engaging with the public at public events that suddenly stopped in March 2020. Yet people’s need for energy and sustainability information increased as families sheltered in place.

“For us, it was interesting because as a team we had to come together and said, ‘Well one of our strengths is to go out there and meet people out in the community,’” Garcia Sierra said. “’But all community centers, all organizations were closed. What do we do now?’ Luckily we had been developing this expertise in social media because we know that people engage in social media. There are a lot of good conversations happening in social media. And so, we turned to that and said, ‘Who is meeting virtually now? Is it possible for us to do virtual workshops in partnership with an organization?’ It turned out that became our practice for a while during those two years. Now we have this hybrid version of that. But in terms of connecting with customers, we had to really adapt to that situation as well.”

And the energy needs of their constituencies changed as well as income streams and lifestyles radically changed.

“We got more requests for assistance and information,” Garcia Sierra said. “How MGE dealt with people who fell behind also changed because the reality was so different. For example, we started promoting personalized payment plans, which were different than in the past. Those new plans were more flexible so people could maybe start a payment plan with a very low amount. And that wasn’t the case before. But we wanted to make sure that people at least had a plan and they were engaged in paying their bill because if not, the debt would accumulate over time and that was going to be more complicated at some point. Also, for example, we made sure they understood their AC situation and if they were a renter, who was paying for AC, hot water and those types of things. That’s where we were giving some tips for them to try and save energy, especially if families have young kids or teenagers who sometimes don’t think much about their energy use.”

What has kept Garcia Sierra at MGE has been the importance of the work and the diversity of the staff who are committed to having a positive impact on their communities.

“The time has gone really, really fast for me,” Garcia Sierra said. “It’s 10 years already? I know that there are other teams as well that also share that passion and that commitment for this community and customers. I think that has been a big part of it. But at the same time, the organizations that I work with, I see how beneficial it is when they have someone at MGE who can understand what the issues are in the community and can bring the issue up about energy and blend it all and provide the information in a way that it is understood. It makes sense. It’s easy to understand, especially in a place where people are feeling comfortable. This park is so meaningful because Penn Park is where we have a lot of gatherings. The last event that we had last year was one of the first events we did in person was a drive-thru event where people could drive through, stop at each stand and get resources. We prepared some energy-saving kits for people to take home with LED bulbs and other information such as how to apply for energy assistance. That event showed us how important it is to do that work. It is meaningful work. And that is what has kept me at MGE.”

On June 1st, Garcia Sierra took over for Kelley as the director of Residential Customer Services.

“Many times, people like me or people who look like me don’t get the opportunity to be in these positions of leadership,” Garcia Sierra reflected. “That’s why I am grateful to Joann and MGE that I’ve been able to bring myself to the work, but also grow and evolve and become a better person and manager and hopefully with all of that, a pretty good director. But I know that I stand on the shoulders of a lot of people in my own community who have been doing this work. They are the ones who have said, ‘Hire more Latinos not only in programming efforts or low-level