WE ARE HERE, AND WE MATTER.

“Choosing to self-identify our sexual orientation is one way for each of us to stand up and be counted. To show our colleagues that we are here, and we matter.”

From day one at Edison International, Drew has been open about being gay. But it wasn’t always this way earlier in his career. “There was a time when I didn’t tell people at work that I was gay. As a result, I often felt isolated and cut off. Thankfully, that was many years ago.”

Drew gets why some employees may not be ready or feel comfortable choosing to self-identify. Whether it is a disability or their sexual orientation, he shares that letting friends or colleagues know more about oneself is something that happens continuously. “Once you are comfortable doing it, you realize that most people are glad to find out more about you and want to engage with you personally.”

Drew has been at Edison for four years. In addition to his role as senior vice president of strategy and corporate development, he is the executive sponsor for the Lighthouse Employee Resource Group whose mission is to engage LGBTQ+ and Ally employees in personal and professional growth. The group also seeks to promote inclusion and acceptance of LGBTQ+ employees. Drew firmly believes that it’s up to all of us to create the kind of company we really want to work for. “I think the most important message I can share is that you can be yourself at work and be successful and happy.”

We asked Drew a few questions about his career and work at Edison:

What do you love most about working at Edison?

I believe that in order to address climate change and move towards a sustainable economy, there needs to be a transformation of how we produce, use and consume energy. Electric utilities sit right in the middle of that transformation and have a huge role to play as the electricity supply becomes cleaner and more parts of the economy are electrified. That is why I took this job at Edison – so I could be involved in leading and shaping how the company and the industry make that transformation happen. I love that every day I get to work on setting our strategy and helping us to make it happen.

What’s the one career move you’ve made that you’re most proud of?

When I was a relatively new law partner, my firm asked me to move to London to help start up a new office there. This was 2001 and my firm did not provide benefits like health insurance to same-sex partners – in fact no one had ever asked them to do this before. For me to agree to the move, the firm had to adopt a policy offering same-sex partner benefits to everyone at the firm. I also had to apply for a visa to live in the UK for Michael as my partner. At the time, the UK had just formally recognized same-sex domestic partners and Michael’s visa was the first one that the UK embassy in Washington, DC had ever processed for same-sex partners. The three years was sort of life changing. The move changed my life professionally and personally.