Edison International

Help us congratulate Edison International's 2025 #EdisonScholars. This year marks a milestone as the Edison Scholars Program reaches its 20th?anniversary. This shareholder-funded program provides financial support for STEM students who plan to attend colleges and universities.?? Click to meet our 2025 Edison Scholars. ??????? https://lnkd.in/gDE-KGvK?

As Southern California continues to recover from January’s wildfires, nothing makes me feel more hopeful for the future of our communities than talented young people like our Edison Scholars. Today, I was privileged to surprise one of our scholars, Matthew, with a $50,000 scholarship to help him continue pursuing his STEM career. As a freshman in high school, Matthew began studying environmental science at UC Irvine, identifying biomarkers in plants affected by increasing global temperatures and engineering fungi to harness their untapped carbon capture potential. Now he is considering college acceptance offers, including one from Harvard University. As an alum myself, I think that would be a great choice and can’t wait to see what he accomplishes. He already has his own podcast,?https://lnkd.in/gkFQFwFP. It’s worth a listen! Learn more about the other 30 gifted Edison Scholars being surprised in the coming weeks at?https://lnkd.in/gGR5zCap?and watch the video to see Matthew’s reaction. Congratulations, Edison Scholars! #EdisonScholars #STEM

Mike Backstrom has been promoted to SCE senior vice president of Regulatory Affairs and continues his role on the SCE Executive Council. Mike leads SCE’s regulatory strategy, advocacy and operations at the national and state levels. ? Mike joined SCE in 2005 as an attorney in the legal department, responsible for regulatory proceedings before the California Public Utilities Commission. ? He has held several leadership positions, including managing director of Energy and Environmental Policy, vice president of Regulatory Policy and vice president of Regulatory Affairs. ? Mike is a well-known leader in the policy space. He chairs the board of the Alliance for Transportation Electrification, a national nonprofit dedicated to accelerating the shift to electric transportation. He also serves on the advisory board of the California Heat Pump Partnership, focused on achieving California’s goal of installing six million heat pumps by 2030. ? Please join us in congratulating Mike!

Join us in congratulating Caroline Choi who was recently promoted to executive vice president of Public Policy and Corporate Affairs. Caroline oversees public affairs at federal, state and local levels; Corporate Relations; Philanthropy and Corporate Communications. She is responsible for the enterprise’s public policy and has shared oversight of Regulatory Affairs. Caroline joined SCE in 2012 as vice president of Energy and Environmental Policy. Because of her strong leadership and expertise, she was promoted to senior vice president of Regulatory Affairs in 2016. In 2019, Caroline was appointed to the Edison International Managing Committee?when she became the senior vice president of Corporate Affairs, assuming a dual officer role for SCE and Edison International. Before joining Edison, Caroline held leadership roles at Progress Energy (now Duke Energy) and worked in Washington, D.C. for former U.S. Representative Charles Taylor from her home state of North Carolina. ? Congratulations?Caroline!

Brian Chen has been promoted to vice president of project and field engineering at Southern California Edison (SCE). In this role, Brian leads engineering projects associated with all distribution, substation and transmission replacements, upgrades and expansions. He also oversees SCE’s transmission and distribution capital portfolio management and interconnection processes. In 2010, Brian began his Edison career through Edison International’s MBA Rotational Intern Program, focusing on finance. In his most recent role as the director of asset management and engineering, Brian oversaw the development of new grid technologies and solutions. Congratulations, Brian.

Mark Childs has been promoted to vice president of tax for Edison International and Southern California Edison (SCE). He is responsible for overseeing all tax functions at the companies, including audits and appeals, tax planning, disclosures, ratemaking and tax legislation. Mark joined SCE in 2010 and oversees all aspects of accounting for income taxes at Edison International and SCE. His responsibilities include managing income tax matters in regulatory filings.? Mark is active in several groups, including the Edison Electric Institute. Congratulations, Mark.

Karla Sayles has been named vice president of local public affairs at Southern California Edison (SCE). She leads the company’s efforts to build strong relationships with local governments and community leaders. Karla previously worked for the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), where she oversaw film permitting, tax incentives, location resources and on-location production support. She engaged with government and industry stakeholders to advance film-friendly policies throughout California as part of the California Film Commission. ? Previously, Karla was director of public affairs at Warner Bros. Discovery. Before that, she served as health deputy for Los Angeles County’s Second Supervisorial District and held positions at public affairs firms. Welcome aboard, Karla.

Today, we announced that former U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm will join the Edison International and Southern California Edison (SCE) boards of directors on April 1.? ? Granholm has leadership experience across a range of issues — from cybersecurity, physical security and clean energy resources to energy technology, safety and sustainability. She will offer guidance rooted in her understanding of the larger technical, political and economic forces shaping our industry. Granholm also has experience overseeing investments in projects to secure energy resources and develop the workforce needed for a safe, reliable, resilient and affordable clean energy transition.? ? She was Michigan’s first female attorney general and first female governor. Granholm also has California roots, having moved here with her family at the age of four, graduating with honors from the University of California, Berkeley, and later returning to her alma mater as a professor and senior research fellow.? ? Welcome, Jennifer Granholm, to Edison International, Southern California Edison and Trio!? ? https://lnkd.in/gn6Rnf6Z

We appreciate Los Angeles Times’ ongoing coverage of the devastating Jan. windstorms and wildfires in Southern California. Understandably, there has been a great deal of interest in the cause of the Eaton Fire. We recently submitted a relevant op-ed to the Times by Pedro Pizarro, president and CEO of Edison International, the parent company of Southern California Edison (SCE). While the Times declined to publish it, we are sharing it here: https://lnkd.in/gSi4Wzy5???

Adam Umanoff, Edison International’s executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, announced that he will retire this summer after 10 years with the company. Adam was instrumental in working with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s team to craft AB 1054, the landmark legislation protecting affected customers and allowing investor-owned utilities to manage their wildfire liabilities while promoting strong safety standards. He has provided valuable counsel on important efforts ranging from the SONGS decommissioning settlement to cybersecurity and environmental regulation.? In April, Chonda Jordan Nwamu will become Edison International’s executive vice president and general counsel. She will join us from Ameren Corporation, the parent company of electric and natural gas utilities in Illinois and Missouri. She also spent 15 years with Pacific Gas and Electric Company and welcomes a return to California and the opportunity to advance a reliable, resilient electric system and support Trio’s growth plans. Congratulations to Adam and Chonda!? #leadership??