Preventing Wildfires Is Personal for Two PowerPathway Vegetation Program Graduates

Sean Kauffman was among the first to lose a home in the 2018 Carr Fire. Katie Mengali lost inventory and storage facilities for her former wine business in Sonoma County during the 2017 Tubbs Fire.

Both recently graduated from PG&E’s PowerPathway Entry to Vegetation Management cohort, held in partnership with Santa Rosa Junior College. Over a four-week period, the 15 program participants—selected from a field of 800 applicants—received basics on evaluating trees, assessing tree risk, inspection fundamentals and more. All graduates were hired through the IBEW Local 1245 Hiring Hall as vegetation management inspectors.

Besides experiencing wildfires first-hand and being in the same PowerPathway cohort, Kauffman and Mengali have one other thing in common: wanting to help their hometowns.

While the fires they experienced were not caused by issues with vegetation and utility equipment, they know the wildfire risk that vegetation poses and want to be part of the solution in mitigating that risk for the safety of their communities.

“This is important work,” said Kauffman. “My community came together for me, and all the communities came together for everybody. I definitely feel an obligation to give back.”

“I knew we were going to be faced with continuous tree problems with the droughts and the fires,” said Mengali, who was transitioning from winemaking to a career in arboriculture (the cultivation, management and study of trees, shrubs and vines). “We want to save what we have and make our community safe.”

‘A lot of respect for the work PG&E does’

Kauffman was in hazardous tree removal and had been trying to get a job with PG&E. “I’ve always had a lot of respect for the work PG&E does,” he said.

He decided to apply to PowerPathway to improve his chances of getting hired.

“This program is incredible,” Kauffman said. “It’s given an opportunity to people who may have been overlooked. It gives PG&E the opportunity to get some quality personnel on board, too. My friends have been very encouraging and proud of me.

“I believe I’ll stay in vegetation management because that’s what I like to do,” he added. “I like trees and to be outdoors.”

Right time for a career change 

Mengali had won numerous awards with her custom wines for clients. But the stress of the wine business had burned her out. Her husband, who was with Davey Tree, asked her to work with their fertilizer program and help in the office. When Mengali wasn’t handling paperwork, she went onsite with the crews and learned about tree care.

Late last year, Mengali graduated from the first-ever arborist training program held at Santa Rosa Junior College and shortly after was accepted into the PowerPathway cohort.

“Working with trees has been an amazing career change,” she said. “It’s rewarding to treat diseases, pruning off dead branches and giving the tree everything it needs to thrive. Between droughts, climate change and fires, California has a major problem.

“You drive up north and can see the devastation from bark beetles and fires,” Mengali added. “We need to respect and care for the trees that have survived these challenges. I’m doing my part not to let history repeat itself. I know every day I’m making a difference in the world we live in, and it gives you a sense of meaning and importance.”

A valuable career pipeline

Since PG&E created PowerPathway in 2008, more than 1,240 California residents have graduated from the program with 88% employed in the construction-utility industry, 69% self-identifying as minorities, 44% as military veterans and 11% as women. Over the last three years, 95% of PowerPathway graduates have been hired at PG&E.

PG&E has held 56 PowerPathway cohorts in fields such as Electric Operations, Gas Operations and Customer Care. The 2024 Entry to Vegetation Management program was the second of its kind held by the company.

“It’s very gratifying to see people in our hometowns getting ready for professional life and PG&E having something to do with that,” said Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer John Simon, one of the founders of the PowerPathway program. “It really feels good to be able to invest in our communities by investing in people.”