Celebrating Women’s History Month: Meet Kelly Wytas
March is Women’s History Month, a time to honor the women who have made significant sacrifices and contributions to society in the past and present. This year’s theme is #AccelerateAction, a celebration of the ways we build bridges between generations and move forward together. Throughout the month, Avangrid is spotlighting some of the amazing women in our workplace. Today, meet Kelly Wytas, Program Manager Instructional Design, Technical Training. Kelly recognizes the sacrifices that her mother made for their family and how that’s motivated her to this day. She also shares her strategies for making “me” time—which, for her, also includes writing a book!
Can you tell us about your career journey and some of your biggest milestones or achievements?
My career journey started as an educator in the state of Connecticut. I completed 7 years as an educator before I decided to make a huge career change and join the aerospace industry with Raytheon Technologies. I was a project coordinator in their legal department and my first project was to support a document retention program between the United States and Canadian legal teams. My largest achievement from this role was being part of a project team that helped negotiate a companywide, multimillion dollar contract. Unfortunately, after I had been in this role for a year and a half, there was a workforce reduction because of COVID. Three and a half years ago, I again took another leap of faith and applied to a job in the energy sector; I joined Avangrid’s Technical Training department as an Instructional Design Program Manager.
I believe that every position I have held (inside and outside Avangrid) has shaped who I am and where I am today. I love learning, I love teaching others, I love facilitating so being able to help the different business units within Avangrid create trainings that fill their need and educate learners is absolutely rewarding to me.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry today?
Knowing that there are statistically more male-dominated industries than female industries, the advice I would give to young women today (entering any industry) is that if it so happens that the answer given to you is a ‘no’, let that fuel you to become better and do better. There is always a solution, and a ‘no’ is just a steppingstone to a different solution in another direction.
Which women in your life have served as important mentors or role models, and what did you learn from them?
My mother has served as my role model and my biggest advocate. I say role model because I know the poverty she came from and how she vowed never to pass that on to our family. I know she gave up a lot of who she is for our family to never ‘go without.’ To this day, she wishes that she did things different—went to college, got that better job, stood up for herself more. This is where the advocate comes into play; she has always pushed me to go after what I want. Even if it is a conceptualized idea, she will always tell me to go for it and for that, I thank her.
What strategies do you use to maintain a healthy work-life balance, especially with the demands of a professional career?
There are several strategies that I use to maintain a healthy work-life balance. I go to therapy once a week. I know if I do not go weekly it bottles up quickly and my therapist is great in giving me suggestions on how to look at situations in a different light. Another strategy is that I live by my calendar. If there is anything that must get done, it goes into my calendar. Being the mom to a toddler and having two elementary school-aged stepsons, it’s hard to find ‘me’ time so I also schedule that into my calendar. Lastly, for my own personal growth, I’m writing a book. A little side project—just something for myself.
What do you hope future generations of women will achieve or experience in their careers?
I hope that future generations of women will feel more empowered to pursue their passions without reservation. In addition, I would like to see future generations of women experience true equality from opportunities in their career, to equal pay, to advancement in more leadership roles.
What does Women’s History Month mean to you personally?
To me, Women’s History Month means that we should continue forward with paving the way that the trailblazers of women’s rights have set for us. It’s a reminder of how far we have come and that we aren’t going anywhere—there is still work to be done.
