Who's Behind Civetta

Hello! Gina Fischbach here. I’m the happy founder of Civetta Design. I've worked in the electric utility distribution design and project management industry for over 29 years and now offer my services to teams and individuals who are in the early days of their distribution careers.

I recently left my 19-year career at San Diego Gas & Electric to share my knowledge with the SDG&E contract design community.  My mission is to consult, coach and teach bright, new designers how to navigate SDG&E's contract design program, get organized, create quality designs & construction packages, meet schedules, earn respect and sooner than later - mentor others.

I was once in your shoes. It's hard to be new in a very niche industry, especially when there is no formal education program that teaches the specifics of what we do. When I got started in electric utility design, I had just moved from Boston to San Diego with a college education in pharmacy and art. Talk about being a fish out of water. I ended up in an entry level position as a project coordinator and quickly moved into design as I was most interested in the technical aspect of what I was working on. I moved up quickly but got only as far as my mentor was able to teach. Then I was offered a job at the utility and went through a short designer training program and was luckily assigned to work with a very experienced mentor.  This is when the lights (no pun intended) came on for me. I learned from one of the best and a great on-the-job training program.

As you may already relate, great on-the-job training programs and good mentors are kind of hard to come by these days. As such, it can take many years, tons of frustration, self-doubt, and trial and error before we can feel confident and recognized as a proficient designer when we're left to figure it out ourselves. So much time and understanding are lost when that's the case.

This is why I'm here. I'd like to offer a bridge to the gap. If one new designer can benefit from our mentorship, it may create a ripple effect. The more confident designers out there, who can share their newfound knowledge, the bigger the A-Team becomes.  That's what I like to call you guys - the A Team. Confidence and the ability to mentor others commands great value, recognition, compensation and maybe best of all - provides self-satisfaction.

You're already awesome as you are and where you're at. Just keep moving in a direction that makes you feel that way.

Wishing you happiness in your career,

Gina

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Our Approach

Gina's ultimate mission for Civetta is to help develop top quality electric distribution designers and design teams by providing insight on how to navigate SDG&E's contract design program & processes and offering comprehensive mentoring programs.

Civetta offers the highest quality coaching and development program available in San Diego. Since you can't learn this skill set in any school, why not learn from someone with over 29 years of experience?

Designers will learn how to:

  • Provide a top-quality product
  • Feel confident with every project turned in for review
  • Understand the ins and outs of getting a project through the process with less frustration and on schedule.
  • Earn a stellar reputation and earn more money.

Your clients and leadership will be proud and happy to work with you.

If you or your company already provide distribution design services for SDG&E, we wish you success.

Today, the San Diego electric utility design workforce is mostly made up of contractors. And there is a very small pool of experienced qualified contract designers and an even smaller pool of experts.

If you wish to step ahead of the learning curve, Civetta Design is your expert.