- Born in St. John’s Newfoundland, Canada, but raised in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador, Canada, and has one sister.
- Has a common law partner of five years, Zack Granberg, an equipment operator who she met in the trade. He started in powerline when he was 18 years old and knows the value of hard work. She says they make a good team, even though they work together.
- Enjoys interior decorating of their home, sightseeing, traveling, reading books, visiting her family on the east coast of Canada and going side by siding with her boyfriend and in-laws
- Works 10 days on and four days off as part of her shift work responsibilities.
- In the summer of 2018, she participated in the Enmax Powerline Rodeo Competition in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and was the first female to have ever competed in the event.
- She won Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Skilled Trades award and was featured in an article in the national post. She has also been a guest on the Line Talkers podcast and Powerline Podcast and will be featured on T&D World’s Line Life podcast in the future.
Early Years
My grandfather, who played a huge role in my upbringing, received his master status in the heavy equipment trade. His strong work ethic and "can do" approach was very motivating for me. When I was taking university courses at a local college, an opening became available in the powerline course. I quickly decided to make the switch. I wasn’t sure what to expect or what I was getting myself into, but after the first week, I really enjoyed line work. My uncle just so happened to be in the same powerline course. It was great to have a family member complete the powerline journey with me. Now I have another lineworker in the family besides myself.
Day in the Life
Line work brings us to a lot of places, where we work on different voltages and framing. We also meet all kinds of people. I’ve been lucky enough to work in distribution, climbing, tying in structures, to terminating underground dip poles, splices, switch cubes and transformers. I’ve also worked in the mountains doing H-frame structures and crossarm and glass changes. I’ve been a part of an erection crew of towers and clipping wings of towers to working on a helicopter stringing crew. I’ve also been dropped off on towers to working off ladders. Helicopter work was the most fun, exciting and rewarding hard work I’ve done throughout my career.
Memorable Storm
My most memorable storm was Hurricane Michael in 2018, which was my first time on a U.S. storm response. Another storm that stood out was Hurricane Henri, a storm in Detroit. After that storm, we headed to Louisiana for Hurricane Ida where we were working basically in eye of where the storm hit. We worked in swamps and saw alligators in floating bogs. It was the most devastation I’ve ever seen. Even so, I remember the hospitality from the people. They washed our clothes and came to our staging area to cook us meals at the end of the day after everything they had been through. I’ll always have a soft spot for that. Canada doesn’t get a lot of storms like in the U.S., and it’s great to feel the gratitude and appreciation from the people you helped following a storm.
Field Experiences
I’ll never forget working In Saskatchewan Canada, on a 35 kV Hendrix insulated cable line. This line consists of 225 structures with gang switches, delta three-phase/single-phase transformers and stringing of 2x fibers. Another memorable experience is working in farm fields. Rain days in farm fields makes for very fun and tiring kind of work day where wheels can get stuck and keep spinning.
Life in the Line Trade
The path to journeyman status has not been an easy one as a female in a male-dominated profession. It was very challenging and intimidating at times. Despite this, I have met some great mentors and friends who have encouraged and supported me. If you ever get to the point of feeling discouraged, accept it as a challenge, and push yourself. There are struggles, like not being able to lift heavy things, or being short when working at heights. All that stuff takes time. You just need to learn a different way to go about the situation or position yourself and not give up when things get tough. I would encourage all those with a passion for powerline to work hard, follow your dreams and reach out and seek support.
Future Plans
I love line work. I live and breathe it. Right now, I’m taking a break from field work and working in QA/QC coordinator position while working on my national safety officer ticket, What the future holds for me is uncertain, as many of the opportunities are driven by the economy. But I remain hopeful and optimistic, as the possibilities are endless. I am excited to find out.
