March 20, 2026 — Manatee County, Florida
In 1985, a 19-year-old woman walked into an energy company office and took a job drawing electrical poles and wires on paper. She had no grand plan, no family connections in the industry, and no roadmap to the top. Forty-one years later, Melissa Seixas is the Florida State President of Duke Energy — the woman in charge of powering millions of homes and businesses across one of America's largest and fastest-growing states. Her story, shared this Women's History Month, is as much about persistence and mentorship as it is about ambition.
✏️ The Beginning: A 19-Year-Old Draftsman in 1985
Seixas' career with the company started decades ago in 1985. "I was a draftsman, and I literally drew the poles and wires for the grid in distribution," she explained. Seixas was just 19 years old when she got her first job with the company.
In 1985, the energy industry was largely a man's world. Women in technical roles were rare. Women in leadership were rarer still. Seixas did not walk in with a plan to break barriers — she walked in with a willingness to work hard and learn from people who knew more than she did.
That orientation toward learning would define her career. From those early days drawing the physical infrastructure of Florida's electrical grid, Seixas developed something that textbooks cannot teach: a ground-level understanding of how energy actually gets to people's homes. Every pole, every wire, every transformer she drew in those early years was a lesson in the complexity of the system she would one day be responsible for running.
🤝 The Mentor Who Made the Difference: Art Gilmore
Early in her career, Seixas had a mentor who shaped her professional development in ways that have stayed with her for decades. She had a mentor, Art Gilmore, who has been with Duke Energy for 50 years and currently serves as a Senior Asset Design Engineering Technologist. He helped train her when she first started. "She's been very good to work with," Gilmore recalled.
The relationship between Seixas and Gilmore — spanning five decades of shared history at the same company — illustrates something the energy industry is still grappling with: the irreplaceable value of experienced workers who pass their knowledge to the next generation. Gilmore did not just teach Seixas technical skills. He modeled what it meant to show up consistently, to care about the quality of your work, and to invest in the people around you.
Today, Seixas pays that forward — championing mentorship programs and career development initiatives across Duke Energy's Florida operations. The student has become the teacher, and the cycle continues.
📈 Four Decades of Rising: From Draftsman to State President
Seixas' climb from draftsman to state president was not a straight line — it was a 41-year journey through virtually every corner of the energy business. The specifics of her career path reflect the breadth of experience that shaped her into the executive she is today:
- ✏️ 1985: Joined the company at 19 as a draftsman — drawing poles and wires for the distribution grid
- 📐 Engineering and technical roles: Advanced through a series of increasingly senior technical positions in distribution and grid operations
- 👩💼 Leadership roles: Took on progressively larger leadership responsibilities across Duke Energy's Florida operations
- 🏆 State President: Named Florida State President of Duke Energy — responsible for the financial performance, operations, regulatory affairs, and community relations of Duke Energy's entire Florida business
Her trajectory is particularly meaningful in the context of this year's Women's History Month theme: "Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future." One local leader helping drive that change is Melissa Seixas, the Florida state president of Duke Energy, who started her career with the company at just 19 years old.
⚡ What Duke Energy Florida Does: Powering 1.9 Million Customers
Understanding the scale of Seixas' responsibility requires understanding what Duke Energy Florida actually is. The company serves approximately 1.9 million customers across a large swath of the state — providing electricity to homes, businesses, hospitals, schools, and critical infrastructure across central and north Florida.
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of the largest energy holding companies in the U.S. It employs 30,000 people and has an electric generating capacity of 51,000 megawatts through its regulated utilities, and 3,000 megawatts through its nonregulated Duke Energy Renewables unit.
As Florida State President, Seixas is responsible for all of this within Florida — the financial performance, the regulatory relationships with state government, the community affairs, and the operational reliability that Florida's residents and businesses depend on every single day.
☀️ Clean Energy Florida: Building a Solar Future
Seixas is leading Duke Energy Florida through one of the most significant transformations in the company's history — the shift toward clean, renewable energy. Under her leadership, the company has committed to a substantial expansion of solar power across the state.
Duke Energy Florida has also announced plans to build four new solar energy sites that will add nearly 300 megawatts of clean power to the state's electric grid by early 2027.
The transition to clean energy is not just an environmental commitment — it is a business strategy driven by customer demand, regulatory requirements, and the fundamental economics of a rapidly changing energy sector. Florida's abundant sunshine makes it one of the most attractive solar markets in the country, and Seixas is positioning Duke Energy to capitalize on that natural advantage.
🎓 Investing in the Next Generation: $250,000 for Lineworker Training
One of Seixas' most tangible recent initiatives reflects her understanding — born from personal experience — that the energy industry's future depends on developing skilled frontline workers, not just executive talent.
Through the Duke Energy Foundation, Duke Energy is awarding Lake-Sumter State College, Seminole State College of Florida, Valencia College, St. Petersburg College and South Florida State College each $50,000 to support their electrical lineworker training programs.
"Lineworkers are the heart of our communities, helping keep the power flowing for our family members, friends and neighbors every single day," Seixas said. "I'm proud of Duke Energy's partnerships with such well-respected institutions and grateful for all they do to help introduce so many men and women to what I truly believe is one of the most celebrated and rewarding career paths."
The investment reflects a personal truth: Seixas began her own career at the level these training programs serve. By investing in the next generation of frontline energy workers, she is doing for others what her company did for her — providing a pathway into a stable, well-paying, and meaningful career.
💰 Serving Customers: Bill Reductions in 2026
Seixas' leadership is also visible in the direct impact Duke Energy's decisions have on Florida families. In early 2026, the company implemented rate changes that resulted in bill reductions for customers — a meaningful relief at a time when the Iran war has driven energy prices sharply higher across the country.
"Having operated in Florida for more than 125 years, we're deeply embedded in the communities we serve, and we understand the challenges our customers – often our neighbors – face in order to provide for themselves and their families," said Melissa Seixas. "We hope this bill reduction helps ease their financial burden, while we continue providing the reliable power they depend on every day."
🌟 What Her Story Means for Women's History Month
This year's Women's History Month theme — "Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future" — could not be a more apt description of Melissa Seixas' career. She has spent four decades literally building and then leading the infrastructure that powers Florida's future. She started at the very bottom of a technical career ladder in an industry that was not particularly welcoming to women. She rose to the top through skill, persistence, and a commitment to developing the people around her.
Her story carries a particular message for young women considering careers in technical fields: the energy industry — and specifically the skilled trades that form its backbone — is not just for men, and it is not just for people with four-year degrees. Seixas began her career with a drafting table and a willingness to learn. The rest followed from there.
📊 Key Facts at a Glance
- 👤 Name: Melissa Seixas
- 🏢 Title: Florida State President, Duke Energy
- 📅 Started at Duke Energy: 1985 — age 19
- ✏️ First job: Draftsman — drew poles and wires for the distribution grid
- ⏱️ Years with company: 41 years
- 🏆 Theme: Women's History Month 2026 — "Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future"
- 🤝 First mentor: Art Gilmore — 50-year Duke Energy veteran
- 👥 Customers served: ~1.9 million (Duke Energy Florida)
- ☀️ Solar investment: 4 new sites, nearly 300 MW by early 2027
- 🎓 Education investment: $250,000 to 5 Florida colleges for lineworker training
- 💰 2026 action: Bill reductions for residential customers during Iran war energy crisis
- 🏢 Parent company: Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) — Fortune 150, Charlotte, NC
📡 Sources: Bay News 9 (March 20, 2026), Duke Energy News Center (press releases), Chronicle Online/Duke Energy (November 2025), Morningstar/PRNewswire (March 19, 2026), Duke Energy official website.
🔄 Last updated: March 20, 2026.
🔖 Tags: Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida, Women in Energy, Women History Month 2026, Duke Energy President, Florida Energy, Lineworker Training, Clean Energy Florida, Inspiring Women
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