Lily comes to CREA with more than 20 years of communication, writing and organizational experience. She began her career as an FAA aircraft dispatcher for Cayman Airways in Miami, Florida.

After relocating to Colorado in 1998, she continued her dispatching career in law enforcement support services. For the last 10 years, Lily has worked for various governmental agencies connected with public safety.  She also has eight years of public safety experience, which includes emergency dispatching, NCIC/CCIC regional training and Federal Emergency Management Agency training.

As a staff member of the CREA Loss Control Department, Lily provides support in safety, training and regulatory compliance issues to all cooperatives and our department staff.

In addition to a supporting role as the Administrative Assistant she has assumed direct responsibilities in the MSDSOnline service as an Administrator, and will help manage the RESAP (Program) as a Co-Administrator.

Dan Whitesides 
dwhitesides@coloradorea.org

Dan started his utility powerline career in 1985 by attending Electric Lineman Training at Texas State Technical Institute, Waco, Texas.

In 1986 Dan began working for Sam Houston Electric Cooperative Association,  Livingston, Texas, then Gulf States/Entergy Corporation, Texas in 1995. He extended his career when he moved to Colorado and started work for the City of Gunnison through 2011.

Dan's knowledge and experience includes power lineman work from distribution level, secondary and primary voltages to 345 k.v., voltage conversions, reconductoring, switching orders, grounding procedures and storm restoration work.  Safety and training has been a large part of Dan’s duties over the years and includes job briefings, switching and grounding procedures, PCB Program recordkeeping and maintenance and Hotline School Rubber Gloving classes.

Active membership and certifications of statewide and national organizations includes Mesa Hotline School (MHLS) Safety Committee, Grand Junction, CO, co-member of the Advisory Board for the Rocky Mountain Line School (RMLS), Colorado Springs, CO, the Certified Loss Control Program(CLCP) and National Utility Training  and Safety Education Association (NUTSEA).

As a staff member of the CREA Loss Control Department Dan provides Job Training & Safety support, including classes and programs to 21 Rural Electric Cooperatives in Colorado.

Cynthia Wollen
cwollen@coloradorea.org

Cynthia began her career in the electric industry in 2004 as a groundman and was accepted into the Mountain States Line Constructors Apprenticeship Training Program (MSLCAT) in the fall of 2005.  This program took her to Wyoming, Utah and Colorado, where she earned a certificate of completion and journeyman-level status upon graduation.  She then continued her career as a journeyman lineman in Wyoming and California.

In addition to assisting at the apprenticeship school in Helena, Montana, Cynthia worked in California as a contractor and was later employed by Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) in the position of Compliance Inspector.   Her continuing education includes attendance at the National Training Institute (NTI) in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with the goal of improving her skills to instruct in the classroom and field.

As a staff member of the CREA Loss Control Department Cynthia provides support in safety, training and regulatory compliance issues to these cooperatives;

• San Isabel Electric Association, Inc., Pueblo West, CO
• Y-W Electric Association, Inc., Akron, CO
• Mountain View Electric Association, Inc., Limon, CO
• K.C. Electric Association, Inc., Hugo, CO

Greg Burrell 

gburrell@coloradorea.org

Greg began his career in the utility power industry directly out of high school when he was hired by Sioux Valley Energy, South Dakota. During his career at Sioux Valley Energy he worked as a right of way crewman, apprentice line-worker, and journey line-worker, Line Superintendent and Manager of Operations. Greg left Sioux Valley Energy to work for South Dakota Rural Electric Association for over 10 years, where he completed his tenure there as the Director of Safety Training & Loss Control.

During his career Greg has also spent and maintained over 20 years as a Volunteer Fireman and EMT.  Active membership and certifications of statewide and national organizations includes Mesa Hotline School (MHLS) Safety Committee, Grand Junction, CO, Certified Loss Control Program (CLCP) and National Utility Training and Safety Education Association (NUTSEA) and co-Area Administrator of the Rural Electric Safety Achievement Program (RESAP).

• Empire Electric Association, Cortez, CO
• Grand Valley Power, Grand Junction, CO
• La Plata Electric Association, Durango, CO

 
Randy Westberg
rwestberg@coloradorea.org

After graduating in 1983 from Mitchell Technical Institute in Mitchell, South Dakota Randy started his career in the utility power industry working for a municipal in Kansas. During the summer of 1989 he began work at Sumner-Cowley Electric Coop in southern Kansas then in 1995 joined the team at Kansas Electric Cooperatives in Topeka as a Job Training & Safety Instructor.

From 1997 to CREA in May of 2012 Randy’s experience includes a position for two years as Area Manager for a power line design company in Loveland, CO. The remaining 14 years were as an instructor for the Mitchell Technical Institute, Mitchell South Dakota. While there his instructor responsibilities included many aspects of the utility power industry including basic power lineworker skills, substation relays and design, transformer connections, SCADA and load management applications. He was also Department Head of the Power Line program and Division Head of the Energy Division’s Propane/Natural Gas programs. 

As a staff member of the CREA Loss Control Department Randy provides support in safety, training and regulatory compliance issues to these cooperatives;