Booga K. Gilbertson | Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, Puget Sound Energy
The UW Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering (UW ECE) is proud to announce Booga Gilbertson, Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer of Puget Sound Energy, as our distinguished guest speaker for the 2020 graduation ceremony. The celebration will be held virtually on Wednesday, June 10 and will be presided by new ECE Chair, Professor Eric Klavins. Gilbertson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Washington, where she graduated in 1985, as well as a Master of Business Administration degree from City University of Seattle.
A longtime supporter of the ECE department, Gilbertson served on the ECE Advisory Board from 2012-2015 and on the Electric Energy Industry Consortium (EEIC) from 1995-2005, and has also been a regular speaker to ECE students about her career in classes such as the Leadership Seminar Series and Introduction to Professional Issues. Gilbertson is grateful for the strong educational foundation she received at UW ECE, which has opened many doors for her throughout her illustrious career.
As senior vice president and chief operations officer for Puget Sound Energy, Booga Gilbertson is responsible for electric and gas operations, including emergency response, maintenance and construction, grid modernization, electric and gas system operations and dispatch, system planning, project management and engineering. A passionate advocate for safety, she is responsible for safety operations and culture across the company. Since joining PSE, Booga has held a broad range of engineering, operations and management positions in planning, asset management, gas and electric design engineering, performance measurement, budgeting, project management, construction and maintenance, 24-hour control center operations, labor relations, technology and emergency response management.
In addition to her responsibilities at PSE and her volunteer roles at UW, Booga also serves as chair of the board of directors of the Western Energy Institute and on the Washington State University Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Executive Council. Additionally, she is the past chair of the Edison Electric Institute’s National Response Executive Committee.
Her work leading teams through complex, high stakes problem solving is what built her reputation as a highly effective and successful leader in the power industry. We look forward to hearing how lessons from her career can help our students stay resilient during the public health and economic crisis we face with COVID-19. Booga Gilbertson’s address to the UW ECE Class of 2020 is scheduled for June 10.