Technical Talk with RF

ReliabilityFirst (RF) offers a regularly scheduled monthly call to provide entities and stakeholders with a forum for addressing topics and questions relevant to reliability, resilience and security.

While RF Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) will provide presentations and updates, they will not address entity-specific questions and issues. These types of questions can be handled offline by using the RF Assist Visit program. If you have any questions, please reach out to Mike Hughes, Entity Engagement Manager, 216-503-0617.

Agenda Topics 

The business case for prioritizing your mental and physical well-being 

Niki Schaefer, Vice President & General Counsel, RF 

• Although the demands that work and life outside of work place on our lives vary from person to person, we all share the common challenge of navigating them in a way that allows us to feel successful in our careers and in our personal lives. Every day we are faced with a series of choices in how we allocate our time and energy, yet often the pressures life puts on us make us feel like we don’t have a choice. That was the experience of Niki Schaefer when she suffered a stroke at 38 years old as a result of placing more importance on her career, parenting, family, friend and community obligations than she placed on her own mental and physical health. Niki will explain what happened and the lessons she learned on her road to recovery that helped her find health and happiness post-stroke. 

The value of workplace friendships 

Sam Queeno, Director, Physical Security, AEP, and Founder, Best Friend Friday 

• You may know Sam Queeno from his work as Director of Physical Security for AEP, but beyond his security expertise, Sam has another passion: the value of having a best friend at work. He started Best Friend Friday, a weekly video series that highlights best friends at work, in 2018, and published a book on this subject as well in May 2024. This passion project has grown to become a framework that can be used both to improve relationships in the workplace and beyond. Sam will discuss the “best friend at work” concept and the value it can bring to your organization.