One Atlanta entrepreneur is on a mission to help young people of color break into the electrical industry—a field where women, and especially Black women, remain deeply underrepresented. Tonya Hicks, president and CEO of Power Solutions International, has spent more than 25 years defying the odds and now shares her success to open doors for others.
At Power Solutions International’s Atlanta office, Hicks introduces her interns to the world of electricity and opportunity. “We have an event coming. Why are y’all in the dark? They like being in the dark but that is why there is all this stuff but this is the interns’ office. It’s everything in here,” Hicks remarked with a smile as she showed off the workspace.
Intern Manager Brandon Benson explained, “Right now we’re preparing for our intern soiree, making sure that they have all the things they need for the retreat.”
Hicks, who launched her career at a time when women were often told they didn’t belong on job sites, credits her perseverance to her grandmother’s encouragement. “I saw electricians using math and doing calculations and I thought, I’m going to do that. My professor said they don’t hire women to do that,” Hicks recalled. But her grandmother reminded her of women’s strength and resilience during World War II: “She said women ran this country while men were gone to war… so it was never in my mind or in my heart that I couldn’t do this work.”
Now leading a multi-million-dollar company known for building solar and renewable energy projects, Hicks measures her impact by the opportunities she creates for others. One recent project, a hydroponics lab at Best Academy, provides fresh produce to a community considered a food desert. “I was part of this project basically from the start, since I was in 9th grade when we found the problem of our community being in a food desert,” said Best Academy student Mariyo Majette.
For Hicks, success means preparing the next generation to break barriers in fields once thought out of reach. “They are right there behind us waiting on us to pass them the baton,” Hicks said. “And I want to make sure they are ready.”
In addition to her internship program, Hicks also runs “She-E-V” and “Women Do Everything,” initiatives designed to help women find their place in the male-dominated electrical industry.
