Bright Employee: Felicia Smith, Director of Human Resources

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Felicia SmithWe’re proud of the intelligent, passionate, and hardworking people that make up the Bright Power team. Each month, you’ll get a chance to meet one of them, understand how they contribute to the organization, and what makes them excited to come to work every day.

Meet Felicia Smith, Director of Human Resources.

What are some of the things you like most about working at Bright Power?
The people and what we do to create an even playground for all thrive! It’s the game changer for me. I chose the people of Bright Power as they are natural resources that allow our company to nurture and grow. I love working with this group of conscious, open-minded visionaries. Everyone at Bright Power impressed me when I first met them. I continue to feel a sense of pride and a spark of creativity in working for this company. I go home knowing we are doing great things for the environment.

What are some projects and accomplishments you’re most proud of?
I am proud that I have been able to enhance the culture in every place I have touched! In organizations where I have headed up the HR department, I have been able to enhance cultures to allow people to thrive and bring the best of themselves to their work.

What’s something people might not know about you?
I am an avid bike rider and can ride for days and days! It allows me to get away from it all. I regularly ride from borough to borough.

Keeping Bright Power employees healthy and safe is more than just a job description for you. Tell us about how COVID-19 has changed your role and day-to-day.
Human interaction is a very important part of my job. It also was a big piece of what drew me to HR. Clearly, COVID-19 has dramatically changed that. Before, I would get a lot of joy from physically being around people in the office and chatting with them in the hallway. Now, I need to create that joy over video calls. It can be difficult to transition those in-person interactions over the internet, but seeing smiling faces on video calls makes a huge difference.

As an HR professional with a passion for creating and cultivating a diverse and inclusive culture, how do you see racial justice showing up in organizations?
Bright Power as a company is very into activism, but we are still in an industry that does not have that much diversity. We have to make a conscious statement in our hiring practices to show the industry where it needs to go. We are actively looking at ways to better recruit diverse talent to ensure that voices from all backgrounds are heard in the organization at all levels.

What’s the one service offering we have that you think is the most beneficial to clients and why?
The work we do to help green loan borrowers meet their green loan requirements is special. It usually introduces someone who is new to energy and water conservation improvements to the world of sustainability.