By Tony Khing

Adrienne Shelton has a way of putting herself in others’ shoes.

As a PG&E employee recently marking 20 years with the company, she works to resolve billing issues with large customers. In her hometown of Oakland, she’s on the lookout for ways to make a difference, volunteering at her church, her kid’s school, and as she says, “just anywhere.”

If anyone’s looking for an example of being empathetic, look no further.

‘Our customers come first’

As a customer success manager, Adrienne supports her coworkers who work with large agricultural and industrial customers. When someone has a billing issue that’s been escalated by an account manager, Adrienne works to “resolve these concerns before they become bigger issues.”

Recently, PG&E changed the billing format for customers who are manually billed. In the past, they got two bills: one that summarized everything and one that was more detailed and broke down the various billing components. The new format has everything on one bill.

“Some of our customers create internal reports based on how we presented the information,” said Adrienne. “But now, they’re not seeing the detail as they had in the past. They’ve had problems reconciling their books. Change can be hard. They’re used to seeing things in a certain way.

“I put myself in their shoes,” she added. “I ask myself what would make me satisfied? I make sure our customers come first.”

Besides being empathetic, Adrienne consistently shows characteristics valued at PG&E: tenacity, curiosity, and ownership.

“Much of my role involves encouraging people to accomplish tasks and working with internal partners to implement changes,” said Adrienne. “For example, I might say, ‘This customer requires their information formatted in a certain way. Even if only a few customers need this, it’s essential for them to balance their numbers and keep their businesses running.’

“I reach out to anyone necessary to ensure we can implement the change, and I don’t accept ‘no’ easily,” she continued. “I’ll escalate the issue as far as possible until I determine it truly can’t be done.”

Adrienne enjoys solving problems. When a customer explains their needs, she views it as an opportunity rather than a challenge.

“That’s part of why I enjoy my job,” she explained. “Each day brings something different, and we get to work out how to find solutions.”

Making a difference in the community

Not only does Adrienne practice being empathetic at work, but she also brings that trait to her community in Oakland.

“My church has a feeding ministry that feeds the community twice a week,” said Adrienne. “I go as often as I can. For Thanksgiving, I took my kids and family and we served dinner to the homeless.”

Adrienne has also been a member of the company’s Black Employee Resource Group for 19 of her 20 years. This past year, one of her ERG responsibilities was supporting the scholarship program, which provides awards to college-bound students.

“The students are very appreciative when they get their scholarship checks and have someone follow up with them,” she said. “It’s important to make a difference in their lives.”

Perhaps Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would be proud of Adrienne, who honors his legacy by making service a part of her life—not just for one day, but every day. On Jan. 19, Adrienne and her family will take the Celebration Train from San Jose to San Francisco and then participate in the annual march through the city to honor King’s birthday.

Her motivation is deeply personal. Her father grew up in segregated Arkansas, and his stories shaped her understanding of resilience, justice, and gratitude.

“It’s important for my kids to know their history and how fortunate we are to be in this time and place,” she said. “We’re so blessed to have many of the things we have. It’s important we don’t take any of that for granted.”

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