Holly C . Kauffman
President – West Virginia Operations FirstEnergy Corp .
Katie Allie
Growing up in Charleroi , PA , Holly Kauffman ’ s childhood career goals evolved from running a horse ranch to being a nurse or teacher , choices that , in hindsight , show a natural tendency toward leadership and caring for others . When her mother encouraged her to research careers that matched up with her strengths and captured her interests instead of settling for the traditional female careers of the time , a whole world of opportunity opened up for her . “ My mother told me I could do anything , and I believed her ,” says Kauffman . Today , as the president of West Virginia operations for FirstEnergy Corp ., Kauffman says she got to where she is by setting standards for herself that exceeded those set for her by others .
After graduating from Penn State with a bachelor ’ s degree in computer science , Kauffman began her career at Allegheny Power , which became FirstEnergy Corp . in 2011 . She worked her way up through the company , starting out as a programmer analyst . With her career on track , she continued her education , earning a master ’ s degree in industrial engineering from
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