LaRhonda Julien

LaRhonda Julien

In Celebration Of: Black History Month

Black History Month is recognized annually throughout February; highlighting the contributions and achievements of African Americans throughout history. IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) would like to spotlight LaRhonda Julien, an IEEE PES Senior Member who is also the Project Coordinator of IEEE’s Region 3 and the Vice Chair of the PES Atlanta Chapter. Though having a background in Industrial Organizational Psychology, the engineering industry is not new territory for LaRhonda as she currently works with many engineers as the Inspection Performance Specialist for Georgia Transmission Corporation. She considers herself a “non-traditionalist” and loves every aspect of being the voice for those who resonate with her and her story.

Someone who LaRhonda looks up to highly is her father.  Growing up, she often sat on his jobsites watching the work he did as a master carpenter. He often reminded her that education should be her focus so that she wouldn’t have to work so hard performing physical labor. LaRhonda’s father wanted nothing more than the very best for her and knew she would be successful at whatever she did. He wanted her to use her mind to achieve her goals and that very concept has stuck with LaRhonda ever since.

At the age of 16, LaRhonda found herself in a challenging position. Working at her godfather’s law office, she discovered her love for learning was in pursuing Psychology, not law. In college, she had a dual major in Psychology and Law. It was a lot to handle during that time. Ultimately, after 3 years she decided to take a break from school. Going back to her roots, LaRhonda started working as a project manager for a construction company doing residential work in New Orleans, on a project that strived to renovate 400 units in three of the worst housing developments in the country at that time. She then spent the next two years rehabbing them all. As time went on, LaRhonda found herself working her way up the ladder; from administrative work to leadership positions in residential, commercial, and then electric utility construction. Following her passion, she returned to school and earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Industrial Organizational Psychology. She was determined to reach this goal citing, “The path to success is a journey and it is never too late to start”.

LaRhonda shared, “So that common thread and theme has always been there, which is construction, which is building things…elevating. Whether it is in a physical structure or a person, that tends to be the thing. I think I am just driven in a way that once I get into something, I am going to do the best job of anybody who has ever done that job”.

LaRhonda discovered IEEE through a coworker who shared that the IEEE Power & Energy Society was looking for individuals who were interested in taking up open positions within their Atlanta chapter, and who also have valuable contributions. She decided to take up the opportunity and has not looked back since. LaRhonda believes in leveraging your brand, building relationships, and ensuring everyone has a voice for themselves.

“You have to bring your most authentic self to work and all of your spaces and you’ll find that it will be easy to make those connections and progress”.

When asked what IEEE PES means to her, LaRhonda shared:

“The first thing that I think about is the people. Because it is the people who are making the impact. The people are the organization. Being a part of the organization has allowed me to have that exposure to people who are in this industry, and who are solving problems not just for their companies but for the entire world. And I think that’s an exciting space to be in”.

LaRhonda went on to share her passion for meeting with various individuals within the engineering industry. She finds that when she has conversations with them, she feels as though she is on the cutting edge with them about what the next big discovery will be. She ensures that she contributes to the conversation and shares information with colleagues to be of value to the organization.

“People, excitement, love the networking…I am an uber-networker and an uber-connector”.

Looking ahead, LaRhonda hopes to continue to work on her personal growth and inspire it in others. She explains:

“I have a mission and I have a vision. My mission is to be all things to all men so I can help just one. I am using those positions to elevate other people…as a vision, I want to be a part of something bigger than myself and I can do that through IEEE and other organizations that I volunteer for”.

LaRhonda is very passionate about her volunteer work. She believes in helping others find their purpose and drive. She likes to volunteer in places where she is going to have the greatest impact, being very intentional about what organizations she supports and who she spends her time with.

She also shares: “I hope to continue to elevate myself so that I can help bring up those future inventors, innovators, and leaders through my current or the next leadership position. I have to get myself there so that I can guide others there as well”.

Looking back on her journey so far, LaRhonda shares that people consider her a great storyteller. She connects and networks through people, makes introductions, and helps people understand her story and how they can write their own story to influence change in their spaces.