PPL Currents.

After several years of planning and construction, the new 67,000 square-foot Da Vinci Science Center is opening its doors in the heart of downtown Allentown. The facility, which replaces its former location on the campus of Cedar Crest College, will make the experience more accessible to the community.

PPL Electric Right of Way supervisor Allison Sheehe’s interest in volunteering sparked while in high school. Growing up in Bloomsburg, she’d volunteer here and there, but helping her community following Hurricane Sandy made a lasting impression.

“Our town was hit very hard with flooding,” she said “I helped some residents clean out their homes, which was just devastating to witness. They were throwing away pretty much everything, including photos and things that can’t be replaced.”

Ever since her days at the University of Michigan, Wendy Stark always knew that she wanted to pursue a career in law; however, she did not envision that her journey would lead her into the world of utilities, and much less, into a leadership role. 

“Oddly enough, I was not at all interested in corporate work at the time,” recalls Stark, who serves as executive vice president of utilities,chief legal officer and corporate secretary of PPL Corporation. “My career trajectory was certainly not a straight line; it was more about navigating a pathway that has changed over time.” 

During Women’s History Month, we celebrate the many women here at PPL who are blazing trails and helping us create the utilities of the future. Together, we’re addressing energy challenges head-on by building smarter, more resilient and more dynamic power grids and advancing a cleaner energy future affordably and reliably for customers.  

Meet some of the amazing women helping us lead the way. 

We’re excited for what the future holds and looking forward to 2024.

Across our PPL family of companies, we’ve set a goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 while maintaining reliability and affordability for our more than 3.5 million customers in Kentucky, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

We’re pursuing a comprehensive clean energy strategy to achieve this goal, and as part of our strategy, we’re focused on driving innovation and advancing technologies that can be scaled safely, reliably and affordably.

Here at PPL, we fuel innovation and growth – and strengthen our company culture – by fostering an inclusive workplace where all individuals are valued and respected. Employees embrace being a part of our inclusive culture, and it’s one of the many reasons why we offer 16 different employee-led business resource groups (BRGs) across our family of companies. These resource groups provide opportunities for employees to network with coworkers across the companies, collaborate over shared experiences and volunteer in the community. 

PPL Tomorrow, a BRG established for young professionals in Pennsylvania, recently teamed up with United Way’s Emerging Leaders to host a networking event in downtown Allentown that brought together more than 100 local professionals, including many team members from PPL Electric Utilities and PPL Services Corporation. 

An engineer by trade, Thembi has held a variety of positions with PPL subsidiaries LG&E and KU – all with the common purpose of helping customers achieve their day-to-day goals , whether that’s finding ways to use energy more wisely, support the development of solar power, or find a convenient spot to charge their EVs.

“I love interacting with people, and my role gives me a unique opportunity to have a positive impact on their everyday lives,” shares Tillman.

In honor of Veterans Day, we take the time to spotlight two of our teammates who have served our country with great honor and distinction. 

Josue Aviles has always been fascinated with learning more about how things work. Here at PPL, he brings that passion and curiosity to his role as a substation engineer. “My team works on the design of the substations, making sure our equipment is up to code, and providing input on retirement and replacement of equipment to ensure reliability,” said Aviles. “Each day when I come to work, there’s always an opportunity to learn more about different areas of the company and how our teams work together to accomplish our goals.” While Josue takes great pride in the amazing work that his team does, he also sees a connection to the customers we serve. “It’s important to learn about what is impacting our communities so we can be part of the solution and improve their lives.”

International Women in Engineering Day honors women in the field of engineering by raising the profile of those changing the field one degree at a time. We celebrate the many contributions of female engineers both here at PPL and across the utility industry by highlighting one of our amazing team members.

Employees across our companies are passionate about giving back to our communities, and that takes shape in many ways. In honor of National Mentoring Month, we’ve asked employees to share their mentoring experiences and how their mentors may have positively influenced their career journey.

Tomorrow’s engineers and mathematicians need only a spark to get their imaginations – and their careers – headed in the right direction. Each year, the PPL Foundation honors outstanding STEM educators who provide that spark for their students.

Four teachers in eastern and central Pennsylvania were recently selected as recipients of the PPL Foundation’s 2023 STEM Educator Awards. This grant program recognizes teachers who have demonstrated success in designing and facilitating STEM learning that engages the next generation of innovative thinkers. The PPL Foundation has awarded $500,000 in grants through this program since 2003.