Family Time

TVA Benefits Strengthen Families

Erin Cardin and her husband, Taylor, matched on a dating app eight years ago. “You know, the old-fashioned way,” she laughed.

Erin, a Valley Alliance specialist, interacts with external partners in a variety of ways — from hosting fundraising golf tournaments to coordinating an international visitor program. Her influence reaches wide, whether she’s awarding scholarships to dependents of local power company employees or understanding cultural differences when welcoming visitors to various TVA sites.

Taylor Cardin is a manager of Field Design in Telecom Engineering.

“Funny thing is,” Erin shared, “My mom, who also works for TVA, saw Taylor at work one day and told me about him before I’d even shown her a picture of who I was seeing. I guess it was meant to be.”

What Erin and Taylor didn’t know was that TVA would continue to part of their family’s story.

Two years after they married, Erin and Taylor found out that they were expecting their first baby. News that is normally cause for celebration quickly turned into cause for concern when their son was prenatally diagnosed with Down Syndrome.

“I was suddenly in a high-risk pregnancy,” Erin said. “Then add on the fact that this was all during COVID and Taylor couldn’t be with me. It was scary.”

When their son, John, was born, he had to stay in the NICU for 16 days.

That’s when the flexibility of parental leave became a game-changer. Both Erin and Taylor had 12 weeks of parental leave to use, but it didn’t start when John was born. They could elect to take the 12 weeks anytime over the course of the first year.

“When John was in the NICU, I was just stuck — staring at the wall and worrying. The ability to use the leave intermittently allowed me to differ those days because I couldn’t be with him. Work took my mind off things,” she said.

The ability to use parental leave over the course of a year allowed both Erin and Taylor to adjust their schedules based on John’s countless therapy and doctor appointments.

“Having that time to dedicate to him and not have to worry about not getting a paycheck — that peace of mind meant the world to me,” Erin said.

And TVA’s commitment to its employees’ families doesn’t just start with parental leave. TVA is alongside its employees when they want to grow their families, too.

Erin and Taylor used TVA’s IVF benefits for their second child. They were able to utilize parental leave again for their daughter.

“I had another C-section with my daughter, and the recovery was longer than with my son,” Erin said. “If I would’ve only had six-week leave, I would’ve barely been physically able to function. TVA’s 12-week leave helped me get back into the routine of life and as a parent of two.

“And TVA supports all types of family growth,” she continued. “There are even adoption benefits. Opening it up to everyone to grow their family speaks volumes of this business.”

Serving the Valley region means serving employees, too. Employees are the extension of the mission, rooted deeply in our communities. Caring for employees only strengthens their ambassadorship.

“I had senior leadership reach out during times when I first came back,” Erin said. “The fact that leadership at that level cares and wants to make a personal connection is what makes TVA so great.”