HERMISTON — Sonja Bogart, a Hermiston native with 20 years of experience working with electric utilities, is coming home to serve as chief operating officer of the Umatilla Electric Cooperative.

A graduate of Hermiston High School, Bogart has spent the majority of her career working with the Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association in Rockford, Minnesota, just west of Minneapolis. Since 2002, she has served as the utility’s vice president of customer service, sales and marketing.

“UEC is going through an exciting time with growth and opportunity, and I’m glad to be here,” Bogart said in a statement.

Bogart’s Hermiston roots run deep in her family. Her great-grandfather, Albert Prann, was an early Hermiston mayor and the town’s first drugstore owner. Robert Echenrode, UEC general manager and CEO, said that Bogart has knowledge and appreciation of the area, along with her breadth of experience at Wright-Hennepin.

“She has proven herself, rising to a high level in a well-respected cooperative,” Echenrode said.

Bogart has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Oregon, and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. She has two grown children: Allison, a pediatric nurse at the University of Minnesota children’s hospital; and Matthew, who works in the warehouse at Wright-Hennepin.