As the 2021 chair of Entergy Women’s Leadership Advisory Council, I’m excited to share that our work in advancing the company’s diversity, inclusion and belonging initiatives has seen great success. The WLAC partnered with our internal Women’s Employee Resource Group to pilot two mentoring programs specifically for female employees because as the world changes, we believe the face of the utility business needs to change as well.

The company continues to invest in programs that introduce girls to careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. And we work closely with colleges, universities, vocational, technical and other training programs in our service territory to increase the pipeline of talent – both male and female – into careers at Entergy and other companies.

But we’ve also got to make sure that once women get their feet through the door at Entergy, they remain, and are supported as they develop and grow their careers. At Entergy, we believe that to be truly successful, we must recruit and maintain a diverse workforce that leverages the unique talents and perspectives of each individual. The potential benefits are infinite, but we must also continue developing that workforce so employees feel valued and empowered to grow their skills and further their careers.

We intentionally established two distinct programs in order to meet the needs of the women in our company who are not only in different roles and business functions, but who are also at varying stages of their career.

Working with the WERG, in phase one of our effort, mentors were paired with female high-potential individual contributors, supervisors and managers for one-on-one, yearlong mentoring partnerships that include monthly meetings, job shadowing and coaching focused on personal and career development.

Phase two created pods of four female directors and non-officer vice president mentees who were paired with four executive leaders, both male and female, with a focus on networking and exposure, along with individual development. Individually, each female employee was paired with one of the four leaders, rotating leaders who served as their mentor each quarter. The group also met collectively each quarter to discuss a mentoring topic.

By partnering with individuals with varying perspectives and experiences, participants enhanced their knowledge, skills and understanding of business and cultural issues. Both programs provided opportunities for employees to engage in continuous learning, build meaningful relationships and mentees will be able to identify potential roadblocks and develop attainable career plans that are rooted in advancement.

Mentoring programs like these are a vital component of our DIB initiatives because they create more visibility for women with leaders throughout the organization, thereby expanding their perspectives and increasing their exposure and opportunity to be considered for career advancement.��

While these pilot programs come to an end, I want to let you know that this is just the beginning of our work to further engage women in our business. The WERG will renew the one-on-one mentoring program for individual contributors in January with a new, larger class of mentors and mentees. And the WLAC will continue to collaborate with our human resources organization to maintain intentional focus on the sponsorship and development of emerging female leaders.

Mentorships are critical to women’s professional development, and we are committed to making sure all our female employees have access to the tools and resources they need to succeed.

Laura Landreaux is president and CEO for Entergy Arkansas.​

Participant Experiences

“Working in a collaborative environment is incredibly powerful for women from across all levels to continue to grow professionally. The act of mentoring and the idea of seeking out a mentor looks different to everyone. It’s continually sharing ideas, knowledge and opinions openly to help carry a positive work environment throughout the entire company.” – Entergy New Orleans Vice President of Customer Service Sandra Diggs-Miller, Mentor

“Discussions were candid and built on trust. We had confidence in each other to openly share what was on our collective minds. It was so refreshing, particularly because the program began at the start of the pandemic and during a time of civil unrest in 2020. The mentees shared insights and experiences that will make me a better leader – and someone they can contact at a moment’s notice as an advisor and an advocate.” – Chief Supply Officer Marlon Merritt, Mentor

“I have been fortunate to be part of both programs – one as a mentor and the other as a mentee. For me, it was not relevant which role I portrayed, I learned equally from both opportunities. I find the programs to be successful because there is mutual trust, transparent dialogue and sincere interest.” – Director of Continuous Improvement Strategy & Transformation Amy Amerson, Mentor and Mentee

“Mentorship programs and fostering diverse workgroups are the backbone of our success here at Entergy. Lifting up future generations to prosper is the responsible thing for us to do as leaders at this company. When every voice is heard and supported, we’ll know we’ve truly arrived as a corporation.” – Entergy Louisiana President and CEO Phillip May, Mentor

“This program has enabled me to meet, engage with, and learn from senior leadership who I hadn’t previously interacted with, and connect with an employee in a completely different part of the business.�� The conversations have been candid and meaningful, and a great opportunity to learn and grow.” – Director of Utility Initiatives Kristin Dalrymple, Mentor and Mentee

We understand this has been a very difficult and trying week for our customers who lost power. Many of you are working from home because of the coronavirus pandemic. Some of you lost food you could ill-afford to replace. Some are elderly or have elderly parents who are especially dependent on electricity. We understand. By the time we close the books on this one, the 3,308 workers in the field will have replaced 1,375 broken poles, along with all the electrical components that go with them, and re-strung hundreds of miles of wire, all while social distancing to avoid contracting and spreading the coronavirus.

This was the worst storm damage we’ve dealt with in 20 years, and we hope it’s another 20 years before one of that magnitude happens again. But we want you to know that if another storm hits our state today (as called for in the forecast, unfortunately), tomorrow or next month, we’re ready for it. We always hope for the best, but we plan for the worst.

Thank you again for your understanding and support, and thank you for being an Entergy Arkansas customer.

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Laura Landreaux

Entergy Arkansas President and CEO

These are unprecedented times for all of us, and at Entergy Arkansas we take the health, safety and security of our customers, communities, employees and business partners very seriously. We are committed to powering our customers and communities regardless of the circumstance.

I wanted to personally share the steps we are taking to ensure we continue to deliver on our commitment to provide safe, reliable and affordable power to our customers. We understand that the energy we deliver is essential to managing through the COVID-19 crisis.

Safety is a core value for our company. That means the safety of our employees, customers and communities. We implemented our incident response plan nearly two months ago to ensure the safety of our employees and operations. These steps include education around self-checking for symptoms, telecommuting, social distancing and other precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. We will continue to monitor the situation and implement any recommended public health measures as directed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, we are committed to working closely with local, state and federal authorities as the crisis unfolds.

From the power plants that generate electricity to the power lines that deliver electricity to your home, we are making sure that we have the employees available to ensure the reliable operation of our system.

For service that requires an employee to enter your home or business, we ask for your patience and cooperation as we implement new protocols/procedures that ensures the safety of our customers and our employees.

Additionally, as we prepare for spring storms, we are taking the steps to ensure that we have the people and resources to respond to outages as the severe weather season begins.

We are also taking steps to help our customers through these challenging and uncertain times. Effective March 16 Entergy Arkansas has suspended service disconnections for 30 days. We encourage customers to make payments on their account if possible, and we’ll be working directly with customers to make payment arrangements if they are unable to pay in full. Customers requiring such arrangements should call 1-800-ENTERGY (800-368-3749) or visit .

For payments, please visit us online at /payonline to make a payment at no charge, pay by phone at 800-584-1241 ($2.95 fee) or by mail to Entergy Louisiana, P.O. Box 8108, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70891.

In our 100 years of serving our customers, we have faced many challenges together. But we have never wavered in our commitment to do everything we can to support our customers and the communities we serve. This pandemic is no different. Entergy Arkansas will be there to keep the lights on and our future bright.

Sincerely,

Laura Landreaux
President and CEO, Entergy Arkansas, LLC