BY Ana Gomez
Getting ahead in life through education is the family motto for Pedro Villegas, Director of Regional Public Affairs and Community Relations for SDG&E.
“Seeing how my mom and dad, both from very large families, got ahead through education without many resources was empowering,” said Villegas. “When they got to a goal, they went far beyond it, all through education.”
Villegas was born in Texas while his dad was earning his master’s degree in veterinary medicine. Shortly after his father finished his degree, Pedro and his parents moved to Colombia, his parents’ country of origin.
“My dad is a world famous chicken doctor from the coffee growing region in the mountains of Colombia,” he said.
Pedro’s father eventually got a job opportunity as a professor at the University of Georgia, where he also got a PhD. Pedro moved with his family to Georgia permanently, although he still traveled to Colombia in the summers.
“I was raised in Athens, Georgia, and it was a great experience because it was a college town. It is a good town in a good country, where there are families like mine from all over the world,” Villegas said.
It was through soccer that Villegas socialized with other kids from different backgrounds – Koreans, Brazilians, Venezuelans, African Americans, two brothers from Wisconsin, two Mormon brothers, and many other kids from families from the South and diverse places in the United States.
“Soccer was what united all of us who were not from the South with those who were,” he said.
The environment and economics were interests of Villegas since he was young, and that helped him choose a career path.
“I didn’t say that I wanted to be an astronaut or a policeman, but I knew what I was generally interested in. I liked international things,” he said.
At the age of 20, Villegas graduated from University of Notre Dame in Government and International Relations in three years and began working with economists and scientists from the University of Georgia. He worked on different projects – one to quantify the value of different recreation activities in national parks and another to analyze the atmospheric emissions from different types of fertilizers.
Villegas continued his studies at the University of Pittsburgh and transferred to the University of California, San Diego in 1995, where he earned a master’s degree from the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies while working at the Center of U.S.-Mexican Studies. That job, under immigration expert Wayne Cornelius, and a Foreign Language and Area Studies grant from the Center of Iberian and Latin American Studies helped pay for his degree.
“I studied something called ‘International Political Economy’ in Latin American countries,” he said. “It helped me understand why things that make economic sense may not translate to politics. It helped me to understand politics a little better,” he said.
In 1997, Villegas moved to Los Angeles to work for the nonprofit Pacific Council on International Policy for a year before moving to Sacramento for a job at the California State Assembly.
Villegas was the committee consultant to the Assembly Committee on Jobs, the Economy, and Economic Development and also staffed the Assembly Select Committee on California-Mexico Affairs. He went on to serve as Deputy Director of the Speaker’s Office of International Relations and Protocol for California, under two consecutive Assemble Speakers, Bob Hertzberg and Herb Wesson.
“Every day you have the opportunity to help, and participating in the legislative process, to make good ideas become a reality, that’s a good experience. But most of all, the experience of talking to 10 to 20 diverse groups every day that have an interest in a legislative decision, and finding a way to sift through them and balance those interests in a way that represents the public interest, the people’s interest, that was a great and rewarding challenge,” he said.
Villegas received the opportunity to work for Sempra Energy as a Government Affairs Manager in 2003. He worked in several Western states.
“I went to lots of states that I had not visited before and where I knew no one. I met lots of really interesting people. The thing about being a Colombian raised in a small town in Georgia in the 70’s and 80’s is that you learn to listen, understand, and talk to many different people in a respectful manner.
In 2007, Villegas became Manager of Regulatory Relations for SDG&E and the Southern California Gas Company. He moved to San Francisco to help represent these two companies on energy efficiency, natural gas, and customer issues at the California Public Utilities Commission.
“What I liked the most about this job was participating in a process where many, many perspectives on energy and environment are presented to the Commission, so that they can make a balanced decision that represents the public interest,” he said.
Villegas returned to San Diego in 2011 to marry his fiancée at the time, Susana Villegas, a communications professional from Mexico City and former San Diego City Council staffer. He became a parent to then 11-year-old son, Sammy, and started a new job as Director of Community Relations for SDG&E. “All that happened within a month,” he said.
As Director of Community Relations for SDG&E, Villegas helps non-profit organizations meet their goals, like teaching kids about environmental stewardship, helping communities prepare for emergencies, or inspiring kids to learn science, technology, engineering, and math. Last year, $8 million was granted by SDG&E to 600 different non-profits.
“Non-profits are built to do some things better than other types of organizations. It’s a real privilege to support the work of the nonprofit sector.”
In June 2015, Villegas added Director of Regional Public Affairs for SDG&E to his resume. He is responsible for the company’s relations with local governments in the County of San Diego. “What I like the most about my job is the opportunity to meet lots of people, understand and appreciate their points of view, learn from them, and help them meet their goals,” he said.
Villegas also serves on the board of directors of the National Conflict Resolution Center, Grid Alternatives, and Rise San Diego.