Bio

Vanessa Edmonds Bio Vanessa Edmonds is a utility industry strategist, Founder of Appos Advisors, and Co-founder & Executive Director of the Utility 2030 Collaborative (U2030). Most importantly, she is a messenger of best practices and practical wisdom to help utility companies overcome challenges on their transformation journey. In 2016, Vanessa founded Appos Advisors, a go-to-market (GTM) strategy, marketing, and communications firm that also provides leadership and team coaching. It earned its credentials as a WBENC-Certified Women’s Business Enterprise and has supported companies like SMUD, Liberty, Future Grid, Salty Insurance, Rivian, Harris Computer Systems, Future Grid, Oracle, Avertra, and Energy Marketing Conferences. With a passion to help utility leaders excel, she co-founded U2030 in 2019 and has served as its executive director since its inception. It is a diverse family of utility company leaders and technology partners building relationships, providing training, and developing how-to resources to make transformation decisions through new ways of thinking and working. In three years, it has attracted nearly 170 active utility professionals from more than 40 companies and is expected to grow by another 22% in 2023. With deep experience supporting IOUs, municipalities, and cooperatives that provide energy and water, she dedicates herself to aligning leaders and teams towards common transformation goals through speaking engagements, coaching, and industry publications. Vanessa’s unique understanding of change management communications and empathy equips her to offer practical solutions for overcoming fear and inertia and getting buy-in from stakeholders and team members. A graduate of Portland State University, Vanessa also holds a certificate in Digital Transformation from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. She currently serves on the board for PurpleBox, an internet security firm, and previously served on the board of the Atlanta Chapter of the Women’s Energy Network as its Director of Communications. Vanessa and her husband, Matt, live in Alpharetta, Georgia, and have three children and two dogs.