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Insights > Shining Moments: Entergy Mississippi Celebrates Women’s History Month
Shining Moments: Entergy Mississippi Celebrates Women’s History Month
03/26/2021
Women have performed critical duties for Entergy since the company's inception more than a century ago. One of the first organized efforts involving Entergy Mississippi’s female workforce took place in 1928, when a group of employees formed the Jackson Women’s Committee to help sell company stocks. During World War II, they sold war bonds.
But it’s been only in the last few decades that women have entered the leadership ranks and taken on more prominent roles. In recognition of Women’s History Month, we’re highlighting several shining moments in recent history that reflect women’s progress and their many contributions to the company’s growth and success.
Carolyn Shanks, who joined Entergy Mississippi in 1983 as an accountant, became the first female CEO of an Entergy operating company in 1999. In addition to sweeping improvements in customer service, she led restoration and rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Katrina. She also led the consolidation of Entergy’s regulated nuclear units and began the company’s non-regulated nuclear business efforts with plant acquisitions. Shanks retired in 2010.
Lea Turnipseed began her Entergy career as an intern. She is a certified public accountant and after working as an auditor for three years at KMPG Peat Marwick, Lea returned to work at Entergy Nuclear as a senior financial analyst in the nuclear business acquisitions group. Turnipseed later gained experience at Entergy Nuclear in accounting, investor relations and financial planning and strategy before becoming Entergy Mississippi’s finance director. She was named vice president of customer service in 2019 and currently serves on the boards of the Mississippi Economic Council, United Way of the Capital Area and Mississippi Manufacturers Association.
Tianna Raby joined Entergy in 2014 and became Entergy Mississippi’s managing counsel in 2017. She now serves as assistant general counsel, overseeing the regulatory legal work for Entergy Mississippi. Raby was named to Mississippi Business Journal’s Top 40 Under 40 in 2014. She also volunteers with the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyer Program. She was recently elected to serve a four-year term on the Mississippi Bar’s Board of Bar Commissioners.
Jeanine Brooks hired on with Entergy Mississippi in 1989, gaining experience in customer issues resolution, design, reliability, safety and project management while also earning a degree in business administration from Mississippi College. Brooks is among the growing number of women who have served in distribution management roles, including line supervisor and construction manager. She was named senior manager of distribution operations for Entergy Mississippi’s southern region in 2019. Last year, she moved to her current role as senior manager of utility safety for Entergy Corporation.
Robbie Kemp’s 35-year career with Entergy Mississippi includes experience in marketing, design, credit and collections, and customer service. As a region customer service manager overseeing Entergy Mississippi’s central and southern territories, she makes sure the company is responsive to customers. Kemp also takes an active role in supporting the community, including serving on the boards of the Community Foundation for Mississippi and the Madison County Business League and Foundation.
Glynda Reel, manager of regulatory affairs, began her Entergy career in 1996 as a lead accountant in the payroll department. She became a manager in 1998, overseeing payroll for all employees and the accounts payable and source systems accounting departments. Reel also led the transition that moved payroll from Jackson to New Orleans, relocating with the project. She later returned to Jackson, joining the Entergy Mississippi regulatory affairs team. Today, Reel manages the relationship with the Mississippi Public Utilities Staff, making sure the company provides timely and accurate responses to their information requests related to rate filings and audits.
Katrina Huttie learned about job opportunities at Entergy when the company sponsored a recruiting event at her college. Hired as an accountant in 1984, she was the first female certified public accountant Entergy Mississippi employed. She held roles in accounting, auditing and risk management prior to being named manager of regulatory affairs. Huttie is responsible for regulatory and rate filings and helping to set regulatory strategy. She is also certified as an internal auditor, fraud examiner and information systems auditor and serves on the board of the Institute of Internal Auditors’ local chapter.
Mary DeCuir, manager of resource planning, lacked utility experience when she noticed a job opening at Entergy, but that didn’t stop her from applying. She joined the company in 2008 after an 11-year hiatus from the workforce to raise her children. DeCuir embraced the challenges involved in learning a new industry as an analyst on the generation planning and analysis team. She applied her engineering and analytical skills to grow professionally and advance in her career. She moved to Entergy Mississippi’s operations planning team in 2014 before promoting to her current role.
Tinisha McMillion has worked in several areas of distribution since joining Entergy in 2004, including meter reading operations, the distribution operations center, safety and work management. She’s the most recent woman to take on a line supervisor role at Entergy Mississippi, a position she began in December 2020.
Kathryn Fisher is opening doors for a new generation of female leaders at the company. While Fisher can’t claim rights as Entergy Mississippi’s first female engineer, she does have the distinction of being the first female engineer with the professional engineer designation working in the company’s distribution operations center. Fisher joined the company in 2018 and moved to the DOC position in 2020. She follows in the footsteps of other women like Ruby Gibson-Gales, a senior engineer who worked in the DOC in the early 2000s and retired in 2015.
This month and throughout the year, we salute all the women of Entergy Mississippi and the many ways they power life for customers, employees, communities and owners.
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly described Kathryn Fisher as the first female engineer in Entergy Mississippi’s distribution operations center. According to available records, other female engineers have worked in that area but Fisher is the first female with the professional engineer credential to do so. We apologize for the error and have corrected it.
