Making a Splash in Management

When Whitney Ray first explored our leadership and management coursework, she already knew her ultimate goal.

“I knew I wanted to be in a leadership position at some point,” she says. After working in the private sector and then for a nonprofit, Whitney joined East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), where she is now a supervisor in the Water Conservation Division. The move into public service also gave her the opportunity to pursue the leadership education she had been considering for years.

“Immediately, I thought, ‘Now’s the time. It’s time to take some coursework,’” Whitney recalls.

That decision soon aligned with a major career milestone. Within her first year at EBMUD—and after completing some of her coursework—Whitney earned a promotion into her first position managing people. As she continued through the certificate, she was able to apply what she learned directly to the challenges of her new role.

Managing Change at a Century-Old Utility

One course proved especially relevant: Managing Change and Ambiguity in the Workplace.

Working within a century-old public utility means navigating established processes and a certain amount of bureaucracy. Whitney says the course helped her think differently about improving inefficient workflows while bringing employees along through change.

“That one felt immediately applicable,” she recalls. “That course really gave some very tangible skills that you could apply to help bring along a team in changes.”

She even drew on those lessons during the interview for her promotion, discussing change management and opportunities to improve work processes.

The concepts continue to shape how she approaches organizational change today, particularly with the importance of communication and employee buy-in.

“If you at least tell them about the changes up front, communicate with them, get their buy-in, hear their concerns, acknowledge their concerns,” she says, “employees are better prepared to move forward. As long as they felt heard, you’ve got the buy-in.”

I have a very clear understanding of what type of leader I am and how I use my skills to try to be as effective a leader as I can

Finding Her Leadership Style

The program also gave Whitney language for the kind of leader she wants to become. She particularly identified with servant leadership and strategic leadership.

Servant leadership reflects her desire to empower employees: “Really focused, like the team-focused style, and empowering the team and trying to be a support and a coach to my staff.”

Strategic leadership helps her connect employees’ day-to-day responsibilities with EBMUD’s larger mission. That perspective is especially important in water conservation, where the division is tasked with reducing water use while operating within a utility whose revenue depends in part on water sales.

Whitney focuses on “thinking about the bigger picture, long-term planning” and helping staff understand “how we fit into the organization.”

Active listening has become another important part of her leadership toolkit—both public-facing and internal. Recognizing that divisions within a large utility can become siloed, Whitney began proactively scheduling check-ins with other supervisors and work groups.

“I have over the last few years worked to break down those silos,” she describes. The goal is greater information sharing, cross-functional collaboration and identifying “where our work overlaps and where we can be supporting each other more.”

Effective leadership is very intentional. They’re not just managing and they’re not just leading. It’s clear that you need both.

Leading Through the AI Era

Whitney sees change management becoming even more important as artificial intelligence enters the workplace.

At EBMUD, she says employees largely view AI as a tool, but its adoption raises questions particularly relevant to water conservation. AI-generated landscape designs, for example, could affect the landscape architects, horticulturists and designers who work in the conservation space. Employees are also considering the resources required to power AI.

“It’s balancing those concerns that our staff have around AI, around how resource-intensive a technology it is,” Whitney says. “We are literally in a role of being stewards of a natural resource.”

For Whitney, navigating those competing considerations reinforces why effective leadership requires more than technical expertise.

Preparing for the Next Leadership Opportunity

With her certificate in hand, Whitney is looking toward the next stage of her career: eventually leading EBMUD’s entire Water Conservation Division.

The biggest lesson she’ll carry forward is that management and leadership aren't interchangeable.

“Effective leadership is very intentional,” Whitney muses. “They’re not just managing and they’re not just leading. It’s clear that you need both.”

For students beginning the program, she recommends bringing that same sense of intention.

“Go into it with an open mind,” Whitney says. “Having some intentional goals set for yourself ahead of time will help you be better prepared to get more out of the classes.”

For Whitney, that goal was understanding what leadership looks like in practice. Now, she says, “I have a very clear understanding of what type of leader I am and how I use my skills to try to be as effective a leader as I can.”