As Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative (NOVEC) welcomes Kristen Senechal as its new president and CEO on April 2, she becomes the only female chief executive among Virginia’s 13 rural electric cooperatives—a notable achievement during Women’s History Month. However, women have played a vital role in Virginia’s electric cooperatives since their inception.
Community Electric Cooperative (CEC), founded in 1938, had a woman, Louise Davidson, as its first president. Other influential women, such as Bettie Gwaltney and Gretchen Ellis, helped establish and lead the co-op in its early years. Today, women like CEC board chairman Jeannette Everett and other female leaders continue to shape the cooperative sector, demonstrating resilience, leadership, and dedication.
Beyond leadership roles, women have contributed to the cooperative industry in unique ways, from advocating for rural electrification to providing diverse perspectives in governance and policy-making. Women’s History Month serves as a reminder of their impact and an opportunity to inspire more women to explore careers in the electric sector.
When Kristen Senechal officially joins Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative as its president and chief executive officer on April 2nd, she will be in some rarified air. Senechal will be the only female chief executive among Virginia’s 13 rural electric cooperatives and, most certainly, one of a relatively small percentage of female chief executives in the electric sector nationally.
As the United States observes Women’s History Month in March, recognizing females’ achievements in a host of capacities, Senechal’s selection to lead NOVEC is a notable one. The relative uniqueness of her selection, even in this modern era, makes all the more remarkable the achievements of a handful of women who helped establish and lead Community Electric Cooperative nearly a century ago.
Upon its formation in 1938, CEC’s first president was a woman – Louise Davidson of Holland. One of her contemporaries, Bettie Gwaltney of Windsor, also was a driving force behind the cooperative’s creation and served as director and vice president for many years. And another woman, Gretchen Ellis, was CEC’s first secretary-treasurer.
“She knew that electricity was important for our part of the state and all its families,” Billy says. He describes his grandmother as not large in stature but, particularly after her husband’s death, a sizable presence of independence and determination. William Gwaltney eventually succeeded his mother in a CEC leadership role, serving many years as president of the co-op’s board of directors.
More recently, the role of board chair has been filled by another woman. Jeannette Everett, the current chairman, joined CEC’s board in the mid-1990s on the strength of her “civic-mindedness” and demonstration of competency and reliability at the local bank where she worked.
“I’ve loved it ever since I was selected,” she says. “It has opened a whole different world for me. I’m a competitive person, so when I discovered you can take classes and learn, I dove right in. I tried to get certifications as quickly as I could.”
Notwithstanding the fact that men historically have outnumbered women in electric cooperatives, Everett says, “I’ve never felt that I was not worthy of where I was supposed to be. The respect I’ve received from the male-dominated co-op world has been wonderful. All the CEOs and board members have been helpful and eager to help if I needed it or if I had some questions about my role.”
Among other women in the cooperative community whom she considers particularly notable, Everett names board member Roberta Harlowe of Central Virginia Electric Cooperative in Lovingston and Patricia Dorey, a board member with Delaware Electric Cooperative. Everett and Dorey both have served as chairman of the board of the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives, of which Community Electric Cooperative is a member. Harlowe, whom Everett describes as “very passionate” about co-ops, now has a VMDAEC scholarship named in her honor.
From her perspective as the wife of a cooperative executive, Nancy Harmon feels that women often play a significant role benefiting a co-op’s member-owners even though they are not actual employees.
“I have always looked at it as ‘My husband is helping our community’, rather than being upset that he wasn’t home,” says Harmon, who this month celebrates her 40th wedding anniversary with CEC’s current president and CEO, Steven Harmon. “When our children would ask, ‘Where’s Daddy?’, I would say, ‘He’s out working on restoring power and will be home later,’ and ‘He’s out helping people in our community.’” The Harmons grew up near Knoxville, Tenn., and Steven was a journeyman lineman when they married.
Nancy says that in her interactions with other spouses of co-op executives, she has found them to be very welcoming and supportive, knowledgeable about the electric sector, and often capable of bringing a different perspective to issues at hand than their spouses do.
“When Steve and I talk, I am able to see things that women see that men sometimes don’t,” she says. “That’s not a knock on anyone; God made us that way. I think it’s important to have women in all areas to help with that, in developing policies and procedures and understanding how the co-op is perceived by female members.”
As an example, Nancy says she played an encouraging role in CEC’s decision to allow all employees to wear blue jeans to work on Fridays – something she had experienced at a previous employer. Employees pay money into a designated fund when they do so, and that practice this year raised $800 and helped provide financial assistance for three deserving families.
Everett shares Nancy Harmon’s view that women can offer perspectives that men sometimes don’t provide. “Women's issues are not always so markedly black and white,” Everett explains. “I don’t want to say we’re more caring, but often women are more naturally that kind of way. “If there’s a technical issue, for example, since I’m not an engineer, I’m going to look to the men here to explain the technical part. But women can bring a different dynamic. On our particular board, one is a certified public accountant; another is a nurse practitioner, so we have diverse backgrounds and offer different dynamics to whatever the situation brings.”
Over the years since she first joined CEC’s board, Everett says she has seen a steady increase in the number of women attending regional and national cooperative meetings. “Women are seeing how important it is to be involved on a state or national level. It’s nice to see.”
Everett sees Women’s History Month as an opportunity “to showcase some of the extraordinary women in the co-op world, and a great way to educate everyone on what the co-op world is about. A lot of people don’t really understand the seven principles of an electric cooperative and what we stand for.”
She also sees the month as an opportunity to open the eyes of females, in particular, to potential careers in the electric sector.
“This is a field with a lot of opportunities,” Everett says. “I didn’t realize the job expanse of opportunities available in the co-op world until I got into it.”