August 8, 2023

A change agent is defined as a person who promotes and enables change to happen within any group or organization. Perhaps no one at FirstEnergy better embodies this description than Linda Moss, president, Maryland Operations.

Linda recently announced that she is retiring from the company after a career that has spanned 36 years and touched nearly every corner of our service territory. When reflecting on her time in the utility industry, Linda emphasized that her success can be attributed to the people she’s met along the way.

“My journey at the company has really been a product of the wonderful employees I’ve worked with through the years,” said Linda. “Every good thing that has happened during my career – the successful projects, the professional advancement and the lifelong friendships – is a result of the many coworkers who supported me and provided the tools I needed to be successful.”

Linda joined the company in 1987 as a distribution engineer for Potomac Edison. She spent three years performing staff engineering functions at the company’s corporate headquarters in Hagerstown, Md., then relocated to a field office in Frederick, Md., after accepting a job as a planning engineer. It was at this point that Linda’s career took a turn toward leadership.

Linda participated in a ceremonial puck drop to kick off a first responders charity hockey game – the Battle of the Badges – in Reading, Pa., in 2020. The game was sponsored by Met-Ed, and proceeds from the event benefited the scholarship funds for local police and fire departments.

“When Potomac Edison, Mon Power and West Penn Power merged to form Allegheny Power in 1996, I was promoted to a team leader, responsible for overseeing daily work for line crews, designers and an administrative assistant,” recalled Linda. “It was the first time a female had been awarded this position at the company – an achievement I was honored to have earned.”

Over the next 12 years, Linda ascended through a number of management positions, learning about different departments, and enhancing her teamwork and communication skills. Some of her more memorable moments include participating in a job swap program with Transmission Planning, successfully adding two new service centers in Potomac Edison’s service territory and earning her black belt in 6-Sigma® – a set of techniques and tools used to improve business processes by reducing defects and errors, minimizing variation and increasing quality and efficiency.

Linda was a guest speaker during a 2018 Leadership Luncheon hosted by the Women in Leadership EBRG in Greensburg, Pa. Linda has served as the executive sponsor of the organization since its inception that same year.

In 2008, Linda was presented with her next major assignment – building the new Transmission Operations Center in Fairmont, W.Va. According to Linda, it was a unique opportunity that tested her abilities and took her skills to the next level.

“During the three years I worked on the project, I learned not only what it means to be a leader, but also how to lead through others,” explained Linda. “We accomplished a lot at the facility, including being the first to employ high-tech security features like retinal scanners and revolving security doors. The successful completion of the project opened the door to future leadership opportunities for me.”

As the Transmission Operations Center project was wrapping up, the FirstEnergy-Allegheny Energy merger was announced, and Linda was named a director, Operations Support, in the new organization. The next few years took Linda to Ohio – where she served as regional president, Toledo Edison – and then to the Keystone State as president, Pennsylvania Operations. In 2019, she was named regional president, Met-Ed, and finally ended up back where her career began as president, Maryland Operations, three years later.

The ATHENA Leadership Award, which Linda received in 2015, recognizes individuals who strive toward the highest levels of personal and professional accomplishment, excel in their chosen fields, devote time and energy to their communities and forge paths of leadership for other women to follow.

Linda’s career truly has come full circle, and as she reflects on her time with the company, there are some other achievements that stand out in addition to her professional accomplishments. One of those achievements is helping to launch the Women in Leadership Employee Business Resource Group (EBRG).

“Women in Leadership was just the third EBRG created at FirstEnergy after Helping Women Grow and Veterans and Allies, and it’s part of a significant culture change within our organization,” said Linda. “We started the group with 13 women at our Greensburg (Pa.) office and it is now 800 members strong. I’m so proud of what this group has accomplished in a short amount of time, and I hope it’s an initiative that will continue to have an impact after I retire.”

Linda is also very proud of receiving the ATHENA Leadership Award from the Toledo Chamber of Commerce in 2015. The award celebrates the ATHENA nonprofit organization’s mission of supporting, developing and honoring women leaders.

Linda still has the clipping from the company newsletter that announces when she joined the company on Sept. 1, 1987.

“Being presented with the ATHENA Award was such a meaningful moment for me,” continued Linda. “The process of choosing a recipient is not taken lightly, and I’m just so privileged that they decided to honor me with the award.”

Linda added that she was able to make it through all of the relocations, job changes and other challenges with the help of some amazing mentors and the love and support of her family. In retirement, she plans to spend more time with her kids and grandkids, and her husband, Jerry, whom she met while working at the Frederick Service Center.

“The company has not only given me a great career, but it also allowed me to meet the love of my life,” said Linda. “I owe so much to the people who not only helped me to achieve my goals but allowed me to support the career aspirations of women at the company. I hope that my time here has made it a better place for the next generation of employees.”