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Name: Amanda Rome
Title: Executive Vice President, Group President Utilities, Chief Customer Officer
Education: Graduated with highest honors from Pennsylvania State University in 2002 with a double major in Advertising and Public Relations and Speech Communication. Graduated Cum Laude from Georgetown Law School in 2006.
Company Description: Xcel Energy is a trusted energy provider that delivers clean, reliable, and affordable energy to customers across the United States. Across our footprint, we operate in eight states and deliver electricity to nearly four million customers and natural gas to about 2 million customers. The company offers a range of services including clean transportation programs, energy-saving programs, and customer support. Xcel Energy is committed to building a sustainable future by investing in clean energy solutions and ensuring reliable energy delivery to its customers
Tell us more about your job. I have responsibility for the overall strategy and performance of Xcel Energy's four operating companies, which collectively provide power to individuals, families and businesses in eight different states. In addition, I oversee our customer-facing organizations: Customer Energy and Transportation Solutions, which manages things such as our Clean Transportation/Electric Vehicle programs and Data Center strategy; Customer Care which includes things like the Customer Contact Center that customers from any of our eight states can call when they have questions or need help; and External Affairs and Policy which is helping us achieve our environmental, social and governance Sustainability and Net Zero clean energy goals. In my previous role as Chief Legal and Compliance Officer, I was responsible for the company's law department and overall legal strategy.
Why is STEM important within your industry? Xcel Energy is responsible for delivering the products (in electricity and natural gas) that power our lives. From heating and lighting our homes to cooking our food to charging our phones - it is essential to our way of life. The lifeblood of our company is grounded in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Our co-workers use their STEM skills to design and operate the equipment that generates electricity as well as the poles and wires that carry that electricity to our homes, schools and community gathering places. We use technology to innovate to drive the clean energy transition as we dream up amazing new things like battery storage and how to harness the power of geothermal energy using the heat trapped deep beneath the earth's surface.
Why is STEM important to your job? Understanding the complexity of our system is key to running an energy company that delivers what our customers need - clean and reliable energy that is there when you need it.
What do you like best about your job? My favorite thing is being a part of a team. In this role, I get to lead teams of incredibly smart, hard working and dedicated people who are committed to finding better and better ways to deliver on our critical mission.
What are the most important skills needed in your job? There are probably dozens of important skills around reading, technology and problem solving. But what's helped me the most during my journey are three things: 1) I'm authentically myself and don't try and be anyone else 2) I'm trustworthy - I do what I say I'll do; 3) I don't pretend to know it all - I am willing to ask questions and learn from others.
Have there been times in your career where you've faced difficult challenges and how were you able to overcome them? Of course. I tend to take those situations on directly and right away. When a challenge pops up, rarely can you solve it just by waiting around. I take a moment to inspect the challenge and understand it - but I don't sit and admire the problem for long. Once I have a solution and have connected with teammates to get their input, I roll my sleeves up and get after it.
What advice would you give to girls of all ages who are interested in STEM? Challenge yourself - go beyond what comes easy or naturally. As a volleyball coach, I tell my girls that if you're not making mistakes, you're not getting better because you're not challenging yourself enough. Same is true in STEM or anything else...the growth happens when you're stretching.
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Joe Ruch is tracking one chance of rain and snow for the week ahead in Denver.
Watch meteorologist Callie Zanandrie's forecast.
Joe Ruch is tracking the next possibility of rain and snow in Denver
Denver Public School Board President Xóchitl Gaytán has been working with immigration advocacy groups to create policy changes that would add further protections for undocumented students.
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New items, such as a strawberry matcha loaf, represent the chain's latest effort to boost sales as part of its "Back to Starbucks" campaign.
Some 2026 Winter Olympics athletes say their winning medals are falling apart, coming detached from their ribbons.
Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, is one of the most-streamed artists on the planet.
Eddie Bauer, a 106-year-old retailer, points to declining sales and "tariff certainty" as factors behind its latest move to seek bankruptcy protection.
Months after Colorado State University started installing billboards around their Fort Collins campus against the wishes of the city, lawmakers are now looking to create legislation that would potentially force the university to have to take them down.
The CBI says 64% of human trafficking survivors are under age 18 and, under current state law, some of their abusers receive probation. A new bill under consideration would change that.
State and federal lawmakers went to Evergreen to call for changes to laws regarding how quickly social media and telecommunications companies have to respond to requests for information regarding credible threats.
Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyer said she would be willing to cooperate with a House panel's probe if President Trump grants her clemency, and would testify that he is "innocent of any wrongdoing."
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The Trump administration launched its new TrumpRx direct-to-consumer prescription drug listing site late Thursday, part of a push to offer medication at steep discounts.
The 2026 tax season is underway, and that comes with several new credits and deductions that could impact your return this year.
State and federal lawmakers went to Evergreen to call for changes to laws regarding how quickly social media and telecommunications companies have to respond to requests for information regarding credible threats.
Taming runaway U.S. beef prices will require more than stepping up imports, economists said. Here's the key to cutting costs.
New items, such as a strawberry matcha loaf, represent the chain's latest effort to boost sales as part of its "Back to Starbucks" campaign.
The owner of Wheel Fun Rentals is trying to figure out what to do with around 40 large swan boats and dozens of bikes after the city decided to take over rentals.
Denver drivers continue to be impacted by a change in how parking tickets are disputed. That system changed in September, when the city eliminated the ability to dispute parking tickets online.
Former Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen, who retired as chief in 2022, plans to announce next week that he is running for a seat on Denver City Council.
Colorado parents are raising concerns after a dispute between their school district and its water provider put the school's future firefighting water supply in question.
An Arapahoe County judge ordered Aurora resident Daniel Alexander Ashby to stand trial for felony assault, after witnesses say Ashby body-slammed defense lawyer H. Michael Steinberg in a courthouse hallway last December.
Newly released documents from the Lakeside Police Department say former Sgt. Howard Prince admitted to cheating on his time records, but also said that in an interview, the sergeant said he didn't know why he falsified his time sheets.