Get to Know: Jeanne Pelletier, a True Model of Sustainable Living

Head of Internal Audit – Manager, Corporate Audit, Electric Power Research Institute

Most of Jeanne Pelletier’s coworkers at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)—a nonprofit energy research and development organization—would be surprised to learn that she spent the first ten years of her career as a dental hygienist. She loved the patients and the relationships she built with them. But she felt pulled toward work that better aligned with her love of detail and, maybe even one day, her passion. Fast forward to today, and Jeanne has achieved this goal. As the lead of the internal audit team at an institute committed to, among other things, energy efficiency and carbon reduction, she is able to combine her passion for protecting the environment with her love of data analysis and the insights that come from it to improve systems and processes.

Her path to this point began in her home state of Massachusetts. After leaving dentistry, she took a financial auditor role at KPMG in Boston. In 1998 she was offered a two-year project in California. No big deal, she figured, I can go on a little two-year adventure.

As these things tend to go—especially for those of us raised in climates where shoveling snow is the norm for several months a year—Jeanne fell in love with the California sunshine. She would eventually leave KPMG—but not California.

At EPRI, she leads her team through audits to ensure all departments are operating in accordance with policy. They also conduct audits to discover how teams are adapting to or adopting new information and tools (artificial intelligence, anyone?), the insights from which Jeanne and her team surface to leadership. In turn, leaders can use this information to influence new policies.

While not everyone at the EPRI Palo Alto office knows each other by name, odds are high a good number know Jeanne by face. Or, perhaps more precisely, by bike. Environmentalist that she is, Jeanne lives by her belief system. While you will never hear her preach or shame, she is a model for a truly sustainable life. For her entire California career, she has biked to and from every job she’s had where the distance has allowed it and used public transportation where it hasn’t. Every day, Jeanne bikes the five miles to EPRI—undeterred by the fact that it sits at the highest point in The Research Park. Eventually, most every EPRI employee will see her pedal up that last, steep climb. Naturally, the commute home feels like a breeze.

Next time you’re at Costco, keep an eye out for Jeanne and her husband. That SRP hill has nothing on the challenge—and satisfaction—of securely loading up two bikes with Costco-sized goods, something she and her husband do on the regular. And if you’re curious about swapping your car for a bike to commute to work, Jeanne knows how to plot a path to avoid the busiest streets for a calmer, safer, and cleaner ride. In fact, she’s already shared this wisdom with coworkers whom she’s inspired to bike to work.

We’re excited for you to get to know Jeanne Pelletier, yet another person who makes Stanford Research Park a unique and special place.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

I'm a CPA by training, but I am not into numbers all day. I lead a team of auditors, and we do both financial and operational internal audits. It's a nice mix of numbers and processes. Each day is different, which I really enjoy. Auditing is gratifying because my team and I get to do work that really affects change within the institute.

What is a risk you took that paid off?

When I was certain I didn’t want to be a dental hygienist any longer, I decided to enroll in evening business classes at a local community college. And I fell in love with accounting—I know, this makes no sense to a lot of people! But I’m really detail oriented, so it fits my personality. I decided to take a risk—and take on student debt—and get two master’s degrees, one in accounting and another in taxation. I’ve worked for several of the “big four” accounting firms. This risk shaped up to give me a great career and work that has sent me all over the world, which I love because I love to travel.

What city do you consider your hometown?

Webster, a very small town in Massachusetts, right near the borders of both Connecticut and Rhode Island. In the early 1800s, Webster was founded by Samuel Slater, called by some the “father of the American Industrial Revolution,” due to his invention of linen and wool mills. Until manufacturing began leaving the US in the 1970s, Webster was a manufacturing town, and most of its factories were powered by water, interestingly. In Slater’s day, thanks to a very large lake in Webster, it was the weekend place to be for those who lived in surrounding cities.

It was a nice childhood. It was very idyllic. We’d play in the lake. We’d take off on our bikes, and, as long as we were home by the time the church bells rang at 6pm, we were OK. Most of my family is still there, and I still consider it home.

What is your personal passion?

Not harming the environment. I grew up with Depression-era parents. They were constantly reminding us to reduce, reuse, recycle. So doing what I can to reduce my impact on the environment is very natural to me. I don’t get on my soapbox and tell people how to live their lives. But I try to influence people through how I live my life. I bike everywhere I can. My husband and I run almost all our errands on our bikes. I also have a plot in a community garden. I will walk around my neighborhood distributing the organic vegetables I grow there.

Who inspires you?

My family. In particular my dad and two aunts. My dad lived independently until he was 94 and only recently moved into assisted living. He’s so sharp. He’s very up on things. He reads the Wall Street Journal every morning. He’s a great example of how to stay engaged as you age.

And then I have two aunts on my mom’s side, one is in 87 and the other is 92. They’re totally independent and busy. I can even text with them! They’ll text me pictures of their latest projects, and I just love it. It’s just so refreshing to see people still enjoying and engaging in life as they age. They all have really positive attitudes, and I find it so inspiring. They’re a model of how I want to be and live at their age.