The Kay Bailey Hutchison Center for Energy, Law & Business presents an informative panel moderated by Sylvia Kerrigan and featuring panelists Claire Farley, Stephanie Hildebrandt, and Dr. Peggy Wilson Ph.D. For more information, click on the flyer below:
When it comes to glass ceilings, there is probably none tougher to crack than the oil and gas industry. For decades the corner office has been the preserve of alpha-male CEOs with a high tolerance for risk.
Today, the maxim still holds true. In Oilprice.com’s list of the 12 richest oil and gas tycoons, not one is a woman. Recently though, Vicki Hollub, a 33-year veteran with Occidental Petroleum, made American corporate history by becoming the first female CEO of a major U.S. oil company.
Hollub, 55, will assume assume control of Occidental’s global oil and gas business, replacing current chief executive Stephen Chazen who will step down at the 2016 AGM.
While energy issues are important to men and women alike, women are playing a strategic role in the conversations. Some of these women will be featured at an upcoming conference on Oct. 14 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Omaha.
Sponsored by the Association of Women in Energy, a national organization for professional women, the Power Matters Conference will debut with informational sessions about choices and challenges facing various fuel resources in the Midwest. Experts in the areas of renewables, nuclear, coal, the energy markets, environmental regulation and organizational leadership will headline the event. Speakers include executives from Exelon, Tenaska, The Energy Authority, American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity and the American Public Power Association. An agenda and registration information can be found here.
“What is the future of coal and nuclear in producing electricity? What role does distributed generation play? How does the market work as our energy resources change? These are topics of interest to private and public energy businesses throughout the Midwest,” said AWE President Becky Motal. “Regardless the fuel source, those who generate, regulate, and market it have shared interest in how it affects our economy and our respective industries. The Power Matters Conference gives women and men the opportunity to gain knowledge on a broad spectrum of energy issues from recognized leaders shaping the energy debate.”
Rounding out the conference is motivational speaker Holly Hoffman, finalist in Season 21 of Survivor. Utility sponsors of the event include the Nebraska Public Power District, The Energy Authority and Tenaska Marketing Ventures. For sponsorship opportunities, click here.
Welcome to our newly designed web site!
Energy and technology are fundamental to success in the 21st century. We have re-crafted the AWE site to provide our members with a sense of the “energy, excitement and power” in our industry today.
Our goals were to provide our members and others with “virtual tools” to develop and enhance their capabilities in their own professions. The site provides members with an ability to virtually network with other women in energy, including a Board of Directors with recognized leadership abilities, and to gain knowledge across a broad spectrum of energy issues.
We also more prominently recognize our corporate sponsors for their support. These various companies, firms and individuals represent all aspects of the broad energy field, and they appreciate the value of women’s contributions to the energy industry.
Thank you for your interest! Take a look around the new place, and please consider membership in this great organization!
Professional women in energy meet to discuss the value of diverse fuel resources
Today’s energy industry is abuzz with debate over how to address climate change, increase the use of wind and solar, help customers generate their own electricity, and continue to provide enough power to keep industries and traffic lights operating twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
While energy issues are important to men and women alike, women are playing a strategic role in the conversations. Some of these women will be featured at an upcoming conference on Oct. 14 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Omaha.
Sponsored by the Association of Women in Energy, a national organization for professional women, the Power Matters Conference will debut with informational sessions about choices and challenges facing various fuel resources in the Midwest. Experts in the areas of renewables, nuclear, coal, the energy markets, environmental regulation and organizational leadership will headline the event. Speakers include executives from Exelon, Tenaska, The Energy Authority, Department of Energy, American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity and the American Public Power Association. An agenda and registration information can be found at www.awenergy.org.
“What is the future of coal and nuclear in producing electricity? What role does distributed generation play? How do regional markets work as our energy resources change? These are topics of interest to private and public energy businesses throughout the Midwest,” said AWE President Becky Motal. “Regardless the fuel source, those who generate, regulate, and market it have shared interest in how it affects our economy and our respective industries. The Power Matters Conference gives women and men the opportunity to gain knowledge on a broad spectrum of energy issues from recognized leaders shaping the energy debate.”
Rounding out the conference is motivational speaker Holly Hoffman, finalist in Season 21 of Survivor. Utility sponsors of the event include the Nebraska Public Power District, The Energy Authority and Tenaska Marketing Ventures. Other businesses can sponsor the event at www.awenergy.org .
“Power matters in this country,” said Motal. “AWE wants conference attendees to walk away inspired and to participate in the dialogue.”
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Jeanne Schieffer
Corporate Communications & PR Manager
Nebraska Public Power District
402.910.2313
Becky Motal
President
Association of Women in Energy
512.913.7067
becky@awenergy.net
AWE Board Member Tricia Berry with Women in Engineering Program – The University of Texas at Austin and Texas Girls Collaborative Project shares why “geek” language hurts efforts to engage girls in STEM.
Women on the Map, a new project of SPARK Movement hosted on Field Trip, a mapping app by Google — submit more names and amazing women to be added! https://www.sparksummit.com/onthemap/
Part of the women-in-energy article series
Kathleen Wolf Davis | Jun 18, 2014
Sallie Rainer, president and CEO of Entergy Texas, tells outsiders that her role is all about value. Top value: delivering power to 420,000 customers in Southeast Texas. But, there are others at play as well, including creating value for shareholders, employees and communities.
But, certainly, creating value through power delivery wasn’t Rainer’s dream job as a kid. It wasn’t what she always wanted to be, though, even as a kid, it sounds like she had the executive-level drive.
“I dreamed of being successful in whatever I did,” she said. “But I had no idea that I would ultimately become CEO of an electric utility. As a kid, I didn’t even know what an electric utility was. As I went through college and studied management and engineering, I began to develop an interest in the energy industry. It was during my first entry-level position at Entergy when I began to understand what impact the industry had in our day to day life. Today, I feel honored to be leading Entergy Texas in this very challenging industry.”
To do all that leading, Rainer’s day is a long one. It takes a lot of hours to juggle responsibilities that include everything from distribution lines to customer service, from government discussions to community contributions—along with the financial aspects. And all of that boils down to something else no kid thinks of when dreaming of the future—namely, lots and lots and lots of meetings: with employees, with community leaders, with officials (to keep them informed about issues), with her direct team and with other employees “to ensure they understand the vision and mission of the company and how they fit into the company’s success,” she said.
“Listening to the ideas and feedback from our employees is an excellent means of identifying solutions to improve how we do business,” she added. And she sometimes enjoys all those meeting—especially if they include participating on her favorite volunteer boards for area nonprofits. (So meetings aren’t always so bad.)
And her skill with all those meetings may come from one underlying realization: She really loves gaining insights into her company from outsiders and employees alike. “What I enjoy most about my job is talking to our front-line employees to understand how things are going in their local offices and to help them understand what is going on in areas of the company outside of their day to day job duties,” she said. “The men and women who keep the electricity flowing are dedicated to serving our customers, working in a very dangerous field, often in dangerous weather conditions. Their commitment to serve our customers is inspiring to me.”
Rainer’s commitment to serve both customers and employees blends seamlessly into a utility’s with a service business that, she believes, has the potential to grow by leaps and bounds over the next few years.With industries looking to expand or locate in the Gulf South, Rainer and Entergy Texas are focused on bringing those businesses into the communities they serve. “Over the next few years, we will be adding new transmission lines and other infrastructure to ensure that we can reliably meet the growing demand for electricity this creates,” she added. She admits, though, this focus may be a bit unique to Entergy Texas and depends, entirely, on high-levels of growth, which isn’t the norm for most American utilities. In this area, Rainer and Entergy Texas are facing a unique opportunity.
And speaking of unique opportunities, Rainer would like to encourage more women to join the energy industry and get into this business of creating value and serving a community, from technical areas to regulatory accounting, human resources, communications and even meter reading. “My advice for anyone entering the field would be to set goals, build strong relationships and don’t be afraid to take a position outside of the traditional career progression,” she said. “When I began my career at Entergy 30 years ago, I did not expect to be in the position I am in today. I have found every step along the way to be very challenging and rewarding.”
When Becky Motal announced her retirement as general manager of the Lower Colorado River Authority effective at the end of last year, most anybody who knew her likely had the same thought: This will never last. Sure enough, in February she was named president and chairman of the Association of Women in Energy, a relatively new nonprofit that aims to connect and unite women in the industry. And she’s got a consulting business. Some retirement.
“I’ve truly found a great interest in this from others in the industry” said Motal, who worked in a variety of capacities at the LCRA for more than 25 years. “It’s fun to be involved in the industry from a different perspective. So I’m staying really, really busy.”
Motal, 64, says her organization has about 500 active members, but “the potential is huge if we get the word out about the value we can create for our membership.”
All employees of companies that sponsor the association are automatically members. Roughly a dozen companies are sponsors; the group also has individual members that work for other entities. A key component of the nonprofit is to foster and encourage networking and information-sharing. Think of it, in part, as a sort of Facebook for female energy professionals. The organization was founded in 2010.
Anybody in the top job at the River Authority is bound to be criticized, and Motal got her share, including when the agency floated the idea of lowering Lake Austin’s level 2 to 4 feet to catch rainwater during this cursed drought. Homeowners said such a move would destroy their property values. So what does she miss?
“I really miss the policy discussions because there’s so much going on in the state relating to water and energy,” she said. “It’s real hard to make it rain. (Current General Manager) Phil Wilson has a tough job.”
CONTACT PATRICK BEACH AT 512-445-3603.
