Education: Bachelor of Science, electrical engineering, Gonzaga University.

What drives/inspires you? My career has been guided by my interest in helping people and solving challenging problems. Given the importance and complexity of balancing the need to provide reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy, I've found working in the energy industry meets those two interests and has been extremely rewarding.

What advice would you have for others looking to follow a career path similar to yours? I recognize that Ted Lasso may have made this advice overused, but I would still say that some of the best ways to grow and advance in your career and in life are to “be curious” and learn how to ask good questions. Like many other industries, the energy industry is extremely complex. To really understand the impacts of decisions you are part of, you need to be okay asking questions to support continuous learning, help test assumptions, and to understand different perspectives.

If you had to choose an alternative career path and money wasn't relevant, what would you do? I would be a high school math teacher. I enjoy being part of the moments when things click for someone. Our youngest daughter is in high school, and I love working with her on her math assignments. Math becomes even more applicable in solving real-world problems in high school, and I really enjoy getting to help connect the theory of math with real applications for people.

Do you have a favorite quote or motto? "Do one thing that scares you everyday." —Eleanor Roosevelt

Heather Rosentrater became the first female president of Avista Corp. in the power company's 134-year history last year. The 46-year-old, fifth-generation Spokanite has worked her way through the corporation's ranks after starting as an engineering technician at Avista Labs while still an undergraduate at Gonzaga. 

In addition to serving in leadership at one of Spokane's largest publicly traded companies, Rosentrater chairs the Second Harvest Inland Northwest board and serves on the boards for YWCA Spokane and Urbanova.