This month’s Employee Spotlight is…
Mini James – Senior Quality Assurance Specialist
1. Where did you grow up? Where do you reside now?
I grew up on a farm in the southern part of India, called Kerala. I moved to St. Paul, MN, in my 20’s and now live in South Brunswick, NJ.
2. What did you want to be when you grew up (when you were a child)?
Mini With her husband Bobby, Daughter Sarah and sons Kevin & Ryan
While growing up, I wanted to be a doctor. Their empathy and compassion really inspired me.
3. What guided you into the energy efficiency industry?
While I was looking for a job, I saw an opening at PSD, applied for it, and got it. I was not yet aware of energy efficiency programs when I first joined. Since then, I’ve learned so much about energy efficiency and how important it is to conserve energy for a better future. I’m glad that I got this opportunity to be a part of this industry.
4. What does a day in the life of Mini at PSD look like?
I work in the software development product group, as a quality assurance analyst. A day in my life starts with a Sprint stand-up meeting, followed by testing user stories for different projects to make sure they work as intended. I also closely work with the business and development teams and have daily QA meetings.
5. Our company has five core values (Integrity, Passion, Collaboration, Vision, and Making an Impact). Which of these values resonates most with you and the work you do at PSD?
The value that resonates most with me is collaboration. It’s important to communicate and work well with everyone on a day-to-day basis, especially with different teams, so that we can efficiently achieve our goals.
6. What is your favorite PSD-related memory?
My favorite PSD-related memory would be traveling to Ithaca for PSD’s 25th anniversary. It was great to meet everyone in-person, especially when oftentimes we are online.
7. What do you do when you aren’t at work? Any interesting hobbies?
Outside of work, I love to spend time with my husband and three children. You can also find me walking local parks or hiking trails and in the summer, tending to my vegetable and flower garden. I love learning to cook different cuisines as well!
8. Do you have any pets?
Mini and her family doing Canoeing in Maine
I don’t currently have any, but I grew up with two dogs, a few cows, and many chickens and goats. I would love to have another dog in the future.
9. What is your favorite holiday?
My favorite holiday is Christmas. I’m Catholic so its an important time of the year for me, along with decorating the house, Christmas caroling, baking traditional fruit cakes, and spending time with my family.
10. Favorite travel destination? Or dream travel destination?
My favorite travel destination is Yosemite, California. Anything having to do with nature and the outdoors is perfect to me, and I really enjoyed the waterfall and mountaintop views. I hope to travel to Italy in the future.
11. Favorite musician/genre?
I’m not particular about my music taste but listening to music in Hindi or my native language of Malayalam is my favorite.
12. What’s the top item that is still on your bucket list? Have you checked anything cool or fun off?
Most of my bucket list is related to travel: I want to tour Europe with my family, see the fall colors in Vermont, as well as visit northern India which has a lot of historical and beautiful sites.
13. What is an interesting thing about yourself that not a lot of people know?
My first job after graduating was as a professor at an engineering college. While I haven’t taught academically since then, I have been a teacher at my church’s Sunday School for the past 12 years!
Thank you, Mini! We appreciate you taking the time to do this and are excited to have people get to know a little more about our employees here at PSD.
