OMPA names new Assistant General Manager

Jennifer Smith has been named the Assistant General Manager for the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority (OMPA).

The Assistant General Manager’s role was created to assist the General Manager in leading the organization. OMPA’s current General Manager, Dave Osburn, has been in that position since 2013.

Smith, who joined OMPA in 2008, will continue to also serve as the Authority’s Director of Member Services, a title she has held since 2021.

Originally from Oklahoma, Smith joined OMPA as a Member Services Representative and later took over as Government Relations Representative in 2015, monitoring state and federal legislation for the Authority. She was then named as the successor to retiring long-time Director of Member Services Drake Rice, first serving as Manager of Member Services and then Director.

Smith was the 2022 recipient of the Drake Rice Customer Service Award and serves on a variety of boards and committees, including on the board of the American Public Power Association’s Demonstration of Energy & Efficiency Developments (DEED) and as OMPA’s ex-officio on the Municipal Electric Systems of Oklahoma (MESO) Board. She is also part of the APPA’s Mutual Aid Working Group, assisting Oklahoma’s Public Power utilities during emergencies.

OMPA, which was created in 1981 by the Oklahoma State Legislature, has had just three General Managers in its history.