Oilwoman Magazine January/February 2021 : simplebooklet.com

1Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comIN THIS ISSUEFeatureCover Story: Around the World in Thirty-Three Years: Paula McCann Harris, Former Global Director, Schlumberger: Rebecca Ponton .........................................................................................................................................................................32In Every Issue Letter from the Editor-in-Chief ............................................................................................................................................................................2OILMAN Contributors ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 2OILMAN Online // Retweets // Social Stream .............................................................................................................................................3Energy Data ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 3OILWOMAN ColumnsRound Table: The Energy Within Us: Rebecca Ponton ................................................................................................................................4Competitive Edge: Transferrable Skills That Are Game Changers: Amanda Rico, Ph.D. ...................................................................16Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Black History Month: Looking Back, Moving Forward: Kerrine Kafwembe Bryan ...............18Mentors on the Rise: Voices of Experience: Rebecca Ponton ................................................................................................................. 20She’s Got the Power! The Power of One: Paula Gold-Williams, CEO, CPS Energy: Rebecca Ponton .......................................... 22Workforce Training: Building an Inclusive Workforce Through Unconscious Bias Training: Tonae’ Hamilton .......................... 30Uncomfortable Conversations: Black Gold: Unleashing the Power of Black Women: JoAnn Meyer and E. Victor Brown .... 40Engineering Diversity: Agents of Change: Rebecca Ponton ................................................................................................................... 44NextGen: Engineering High-Tech Solutions, One Step at a Time: Rebecca Ponton ............................................................................ 48Xena Workwear: Krafting Workwear for Women Warriors: Rebecca Ponton ....................................................................................... 50Guest ColumnsA Day in the Life of . . . An Inventor and Patent Holder: Nelia Mazula ....................................................................................................8BookSHElf: Searching for Sarah Rector: The Richest Black Girl in America: Tonya Bolden .............................................................11Alternative Energy: Nuclear Energy Myths Versus Reality: Katie Navarra ............................................................................................12STEM in Action: Generating Excitement: Katie Navarra ..........................................................................................................................14Oilwoman Cartoon: Liz Montague..................................................................................................................................................................17Special to Oilwoman: Where You Lead, I will Follow: Eve Sprunt, Ph.D. ............................................................................................24Honorary Oilwoman: Dennis Kennedy, Founder, Energy Diversity & Inclusion Council: Dennis Kennedy ............................... 38Woman On Board! Paula Glover’s Holistic Approach to Leadership: Lucinda Jackson ..................................................................... 42

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2Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comJANUARY — FEBRUARY 2021PUBLISHER Emmanuel SullivanEDITOR-IN-CHIEF Rebecca PontonMANAGING EDITOR Sarah SkinnerASSISTANT EDITOR Eric R. EisslerASSOCIATE EDITOR Tonae’ HamiltonCOPY EDITOR Shannon WestCREATIVE DIRECTOR Kim FischerCONTRIBUTING EDITORS Vic Brown Kerrine Kafwembe Bryan JoAnn Meyer Amanda Rico, PhDADVERTISING SALES Eric Freer Diana GeorgeTo subscribe to Oilman Magazine, please visit our website, www.oilmanmagazine.com/subscribe. The contents of this publication are copyright 2021 by Oilman Magazine, LLC, with all rights restricted. Any reproduction or use of content without written consent of Oilman Magazine, LLC is strictly prohibited.All information in this publication is gathered from sources considered to be reliable, but the accuracy of the information cannot be guaranteed. Oilman Magazine reserves the right to edit all contributed articles. Editorial content does not necessarily reect the opinions of the publisher. Any advice given in editorial content or advertisements should be considered information only.CHANGE OF ADDRESS Please send address change to Oilman Magazine P.O. Box 42511 Houston, TX 77242 (800) 562-2340Cover photo courtesy of Deborah WallaceKerrine Kafwembe BryanA fellow at the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), Kerrine Kafwembe Bryan is also a lead power systems engineer at WSP USA, and co-founder of Buttery Books, an independent publishing house that produces children’s storybooks, that aim to tackle the lack of diversity in industry at the grassroots level. Bryan will be writing OILWOMAN’S diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) column. Connect with her on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/kerrine-bryan-p-e-399baaaAmanda Rico, PhDAn editorial specialist and resume expert, Amanda Rico, PhD, helps senior and executive-level professionals optimize their career proles, pivot to alternative career paths, land jobs and level up! Currently a columnist for the Houston Business Journal, she writes on the intersection between career trends, job search strategies, and the energy and petroleum industries. Dr. Rico, who holds a PhD in English from Texas A&M University, will be writing OILWOMAN’S Competitive Edge column, providing accessible, actionable advice to E&P pros. Connect with her on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/amandaricophdJoAnn Meyer & Vic BrownJoAnn Meyer is a change consultant with 30 years in the energy sector. Vic Brown is a content writer and strategist for tech, AEC and other sectors. Together, in their column, Uncomfortable Conversations, these two friends and writing partners discuss their own perspectives on DEI solutions in the workplace, both those that help us do better and some that only help us feel better without affecting real change. To learn more about Meyer, visit www.previseconsulting.com and connect with her on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/joann-meyer-previse. To learn more about Brown, visit evictorbrown.com and connect with him on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/evictorbrownLETTER FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEFCONTRIBUTORS — BiographiesRebecca Ponton, Editor-in-Chief, OILWOMAN MagazineHappy new year!Those words have never sounded better or more full of possibility than they do in 2021.OILWOMAN Magazine’s mission with every issue is to celebrate women’s achievements across the spectrum of energy and, with this rst issue of the new year, in observance of Black History Month in the U.S. in February, we place a special emphasis on the contributions of Black women in energy. In what is pure coincidence, and now has jokingly become referred to as The Paula Issue, we prole three prominent women who have made their mark on the industry. In our cover story, Paula McCann Harris gives us an inside look at her 33-year career with Schlumberger, which took “this little girl” from Sunnyside, Texas, around the world; in She’s Got the Power, we talk to Paula Gold-Williams, the nation’s only Black female CEO in utilities and power; and completing the trifecta, Woman on Board features Paula Glover, the newly-elected president of the Alliance to Save Energy, discussing the future of that organization as we move forward with the energy transition. These women comprise an important part of Black women’s herstory in the energy industry. In 1993, Hazel O’Leary became the rst Black and the rst woman U.S. Secretary of Energy and, as of this writing, remains the only Black and the only woman to hold that role. (Ironically, O’Leary, who had come from the utilities and power sector was also the rst Secretary of Energy to have a background in energy!) Until there is greater parity, and we can say “the rst person” to be appointed or elected to a position, it is important to keep putting these “rst women” at the forefront. Their stories help provide entrée for other women and keep these rsts from becoming the only. Let’s not limit our celebrations to one month of the year. Going forward (putting the adversity of 2020 behind us), let’s start anew and celebrate the achievements of women – regardless of race or color – in the energy industry (and beyond) whenever and wherever we can to create a more unied world.OilwomanMagazine OilwomanMag Oilwoman Magazine

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4Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comThe ve co-authors of The Energy Within Us share their experiences as Black women in different sectors across the spectrum of the energy industry and share their visions for the future.Joyce Hayes Giles – Corporate board member. Former senior VP of Public Affairs, Chair of the Foundation Board and Chief Ethics Ofcer at DTE Energy. Detroit, MICarolyn Green – President/CEO at Professional Environmental Engineers, Inc. St. Louis, MORose McKinney-James – Managing Principal McKinney-James & Associates. Chair of the U.S. Energy Foundation. Las Vegas, NVHilda Pinnix-Ragland – Corporate board member. Fortune 500 senior business executive. Formerly with Duke Energy Corp. Cary, NCTelisa Toliver – General manager, Renewable Power at Chevron Pipeline and Power. Board chair of AABE. Houston, TXRebecca Ponton: As a woman and, specically, as a Black woman, what is the biggest challenge you have faced in your career?Joyce Hayes Giles: One of the biggest challenges was having my voice/ideas “heard” by my male colleagues. Being the only female, small in physical stature with a soft voice, the guys would talk over me and exert the typical male dominance. I would share my thoughts/ideas but get no response as they continued to talk among themselves. When one of them would put forth the same idea I had articulated, there was immediate buy in and support. I began using physical and verbal cues. I authoritatively projected my voice and held my hand out in a “wait a minute” gesture while saying, “I’m NOT nished,” and stating how pleased I was that they liked the idea I had put on the table moments earlier. These tactics worked. Of course, I watched my emo-tions and tone to ensure I wasn’t seen as the stereotypical “angry Black woman.” Carolyn Green: My biggest frustration has been people assuming that I am the beneciary of “afrmative action” until proven innocent.Rose McKinney-James: Finding a sense of belonging! Walking into each room as the different one, the Black one, the only woman, and nding a degree of comfort to actively engage was a signicant chal-lenge. I’m so fortunate to have had role models in my life to help me navigate with a degree of condence. Over time, the reality of my journey became a part of my daily life. Hilda Pinnix-Ragland: As my energy career continued to present opportunities for promotion/advancement, the initial move from a traditional accounting/nancial career ladder to operations was met with uncertainty. After all, it was an area of comfort. Once the rst move occurred, I quickly developed the con-dence and courage required to lead oper-ations and believe in my abilities to learn. In fact, when my promotion to district operations manager as the rst woman and African American was announced, a deep sense of accomplishment resonated. I was taught to never give up. Telisa Toliver: Early in my career, the challenge was to dispel the unwritten rules [in order] to even be considered for future leadership positions in terms of gender, education and ethnicity. Being a Black women executive in the oil and gas sector deed the art of the possible. The challenge was knowing that perfection was the only route to achievement and then you still needed an ally, a sponsor and a bit of luck. Mid-career and later are about being in the “club” and connected to the right people at the right time. That is a little easier for those who are in the majority and have common experiences and backgrounds. The Energy Within Us By Rebecca PontonROUND TABLE DISCUSSION JOYCE HAYES GILES ENERGY INDUSTRY EXECUTIVE Detroit, Michigan | Joycehayesgiles@gmail.com | 313-220-0861 Joyce Hayes Giles is an energy industry executive with over 35 years of experience transforming organizations’ customer and philanthropic performance. She is skilled at connecting organizations to their key stakeholders and customers; and turning negative perceptions of the community to positive partnerships. With a deep understanding of the governmental and regulatory process, Joyce fosters positive interactions with regulators and legislators. She also thrives at building strong relationships while building a customer-focused brand for the organization. Most recently, Joyce served as the Senior Vice President the SVP of Public Affairs, Chairwoman of the Foundation Board as well as the Chief Ethics Officer at DTE Energy (DTE), a Fortune 300 diversified energy company. During her tenure at DTE, Joyce held numerous executive roles across supply chain management, quality management and human resources. At DTE Joyce developed corporate programs that built employee/community relationships resulting in over 22,000 employee volunteer hours across the state of Michigan; involving over 400 communities and more than 250 community organizations. The results provided benefits to the community while improving the company’s bottom line. She is also credited with moving customer satisfaction to first quartile levels above the industry benchmark, resulting in reduced complaints from customers through improved first contact resolution. Joyce has served in various leadership roles on numerous boards which currently include Health Alliance Plan of Michigan(Henry Ford Hospital System), Detroit Public Schools District Foundation, The Music Hall, The Charles Wright Museum of African American History and The University Of Detroit Mercy Alumni Board. Joyce has been recognized by and received local and national awards including “Top Influential Women in Corporate America”; Inducted into the Hall Of Honor by the University Of Detroit Mercy College of Business Administration; and in 2018 has been named as a Detroit Urban League “Distinguished Warrior”. Giles graduated from Knoxville College in Tennessee; MBA from the University Of Detroit Mercy and Law Degree from Wayne State University. Joyce Hayes GilesCarolyn GreenRose McKinney-James Hilda Pinnix-Ragland Telisa Toliver

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5Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comROUND TABLE DISCUSSIONRP: Over the course of time, how have you seen attitudes change toward women in industry and par-ticularly toward Black women?JHG: I believe progress is being made but not quickly enough. Barriers are broken as more women enter the upper ranks of management and show effec-tive leadership. The culture is changing, and men are more open to opportuni-ties as they have wives and daughters expecting and demanding equal op-portunities. Corporations, including the energy industry, need effective talent. Boards and the community are demanding accountability. Additionally, as women attain more leadership roles, they are determined to bring others along. That being said, Black women at the very top and on boards are still a novelty. I am hopeful that the current climate in our nation will bring about more progress.CG: I’ve seen more and more highly technical women in the industry, includ-ing Black women. However, the Black women still tend to be more buried within the organization, irrespective of their credentials and accomplishments, than their male and non-diverse female counterparts.RMJ: Slowly, I see a broader recogni-tion of the signicant contributions made by women. It’s really a function of math. As our numbers grow, we have a greater presence making us hard to ignore. The fact that we are typically better communicators, intelligent and well prepared makes us both a force and a critical factor in all key decision making. HPR: We have continued to evolve as women and African Americans with ups and downs. So much is directly related to the overall culture of an organization. The CEO and her/his team set the tone. I strongly believe 2020 opened up years of wounds and inequalities. At the same time, I am more optimistic about the future be-cause many Americans are ready for signicant change. Recently, California, Illinois and NASDAQ introduced leg-islation/policies for required inclusion of minority members on boards of directors. Finally, it’s well over 300 years since African Americans were enslaved. History lessons are essential to under-stand years of inequalities.TT: There absolutely has been progress in the industry, but we must do bet-ter. Some corporations and leaders are more progressive than others. I fully support and promote the advancement of women at all levels. Changing the hearts and minds of people is hard to measure, so I try to focus on the re-sults. Black women have not progressed at the same pace as others no matter what segment of the industry is refer-enced. The rationale for the outcomes is reasonably crafted. Changing those outcomes requires deliberate intent.RP: Historically, the energy indus-try (regardless which sector – oil and gas, utilities, etc.) has not been inclusive of women or minorities. When did you feel like you had bro-ken those barriers and “made it”?JHG: After many years in management level positions (supervisor, manager, director), and increasingly more respon-sibilities, I felt I had truly broken barri-ers when my CEO announced publicly at a conference I was attending (with a group of industry peers from across the country) that my Fortune 500 com-pany’s board had voted unanimously to appoint me to a VP/ofcer position of the company. The decision was made at the same time one of the company’s “up and coming” white males was ap-pointed to a similar level VP/ofcer position.CG: I never felt that I had “made it,” although there were times when I felt afrmed by my manager or my peers within the industry. Those times felt more individual rather than evidence of having reached a pinnacle, as it were.RMJ: Serving as a utility commissioner provided an interesting perspective. When you have the power to inu-ence economic and professional out-comes your impact is enhanced. Rising through the ranks to become a cabinet member and then CEO gave me the condence to feel that I had achieved and broken through a pivotal barrier. HPR: My selection as the rst African American woman ofcer for Carolina Power and Light Co. was truly a histori-cal day for me and for my colleagues. The promotion was in a “good ole boy” role as vice president of economic development. The glass/iron ceiling was broken! Rose McKinney-James and co-authors with TVA executives (L to R): TVA exec, McKinney-James, Carolyn Green, TVA exec, Hilda Pinnix-Ragland and Joyce Hayes Giles. (Co-author Telisa Toliver not pictured.)Continued on next page...

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6Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comTT: “Making it” is in the eye of the beholder and there is still work to do in terms of women in prot and loss (P & L) roles in the C-Suite. My career has been progressive and extremely reward-ing. The energy industry is an incredible and exciting place to work with tre-mendous opportunity. I have stopped wondering where I would be without the headwinds I’ve faced and prefer to focus on real solutions to improving the diversity in this industry. I still have higher barriers to break!RP: What is your best advice to young women, especially BIPOC, who want to join the energy indus-try?JHG: My best advice is that there isn’t a better time than now to bring their authentic selves and talent to the in-dustry. Diversity is being recognized and is a key value proposition. These traditional industries now know that diversity of race, gender, thought, etc., impacts the bottom line. The world is changing, our country is changing, and industries/corporations must do the same! If not, they can’t compete for talent and their business will suffer ac-cordingly.CG: If you want to make a real, tan-gible contribution to the future, work in the energy industry because nothing improves quality of life as much or as quickly as access to reliable, affordable energy. And because of energy’s link to climate change, you’ll be inuencing the environment, too. It won’t be easy, but it will be fullling.RJM: I encourage every woman to pursue her passion and purpose. It’s important to nd a path to do so with-out giving in to external pushback. That path should include seeking allies, men-tors and embracing your difference as a tool toward achieving your goals. HPR: Diversify your career skills to understand all aspects of the business: nancial, operations, customer service, regulatory and political. Listen actively to learn from experiences, continue to educate yourself on industry advance-ments and, by all means, master “navi-gation skills” up and down the organi-zation. Finally, stop and smell the roses on your journey.TT: The beauty of the oil and gas and the energy industry, in general, is that it is expansive and there is a multitude of functional disciplines to pursue. First, think about what you are passionate about and understand what segments of the industry align with that pas-sion. I would then pursue internships and join afnity groups that are feeder pools for the industry – groups like AABE, NSBE, SHPE, NACME, etc. Don’t be intimidated by the fact that you are in the minority. Building rela-ROUND TABLE DISCUSSIONEve Sprunt, Ph.D.Consultant | Author | Speaker evesprunt@aol.com | 925.699.4739 | www.EveSprunt.com

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7Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comtionships is key. Find someone you re-spect, regardless of their demographic, that can help you to navigate within the company you join. And, lastly, be con-dent in the value you bring to the table. RP: As we face this time of transi-tion, what does the future of energy look like to you? JHG: The future of the energy indus-try will offer limitless opportunities. I believe it will be more service oriented and customer focused. With the young-er generation being focused on the en-vironment, renewable energy will take a front row seat. Technology will also drive major change as it will in every in-dustry. I see exciting times ahead!CG: Moving to a carbon-free future is likely to turn the industry on its head. I think innovation and nimbleness will trump size and bureaucracy.RMJ: As an active and long-term advocate for climate, clean energy and sustainability, I see a future that will focus on those issues. I also see a future that looks to collaborate with all aspects of the energy continuum to nd paths to lean into innovation, consumer choice and equity. It’s critical that we pivot to an open and candid conversation on the path forward, understanding that nothing will be accomplished overnight and certainly not without an authentic and thoughtful debate. HPR: Women, and especially African Americans, will continue to propel themselves forward through the energy sector as mid-level managers, entrepreneurs, C-suites and boards of directors members. The future is brighter than ever.TT: I see the future of energy as an “and” world that embraces the clean energy transition, recognizing that our global population continues to grow. We will need all forms of energy to meet that growth. Climate change re-quires that we deliver that energy in a more sustainable way. Collaboration be-tween all industry participants, govern-ments and consumers will be required as the energy transition and our global demographics evolve. This industry fuels our basic existence and way of life with heat, electricity, transportation, fuel and other forms of energy. Our current environment creates tremendous opportunities to address the energy needs of those who currently don’t have access, to include communities of color in the clean en-ergy economy, and to unleash the talent and creativity needed to solve the criti-cal issues of today. With this book, we are issuing a call to action. While we are celebrating the careers of ve women in the energy industry, we can no longer afford the scarcity of African American women leaders and executives in the energy industry. The U.S. energy sector is experiencing signicant growth and creating op-portunities for investment and em-ployment. Participation in this growth is vital for African American com-munities. The door must be open for increased employment throughout the energy value chain; access to senior leadership positions; growth in Afri-can American-owned businesses; and increased representation on corporate boards. With the sheer number of career op-portunities projected over the next 30 years, this book is written as a call to action for deliberate and intentional efforts [to] be made to increase the progression of women in minorities at all levels and in all sectors of the energy value chain. Corporations, edu-cational institutions and professional organizations must collaborate to ensure an equal playing eld to dem-onstrate competency and to compete for career advancement no handouts, just an equal playing eld. To ensure readiness, we must invest our time and our money to support STEM educa-tion through all stages of academic and professional careers. We must also communicate that career opportunities and energy cover a myriad of profes-sional and blue-collar sectors. We must provide opportunities to increase the number of women and black tone businesses in the energy sector. And lastly, we must all recognize the tan-gible benets of visible role models and mentors to contribute to profes-sional success. Re-printed by permission from the authors. The Energy Within Us: An Illuminating Perspective from Five Trailblazers by Joyce Hayes Giles, Carolyn Green, Rose McKinney-James, Hilda Pinnix-Ragland and Telisa Toliver (Two Sisters Writing and Publishing LLC; May 2019). The Energy Within Us - EpilogueROUND TABLE DISCUSSION

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8Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.com6:30 am - I have been up for almost an hour. It’s the middle of fall in Houston and the mornings are as dark as night. This morning my former mentor and ex-Mozambican Minister of Natural Resources, Esperanca Bias, calls to congratulate me on my recent Society of Women Engineers (SWE) patent recognition award. I have always felt lucky that I was able to start my career in a country that had women in high positions of government power even in male-dominated industries. Mrs. Bias was the Minister of Natural Resources and Energy at a time when the Minister of Finance was also a woman. Mo-zambique boasted a history of women soldiers during the independence war which included the president’s wife at that time. In many ways, I took it all for granted. It would be years before I real-ized how far ahead of its time this little country was. I express my gratitude for the call. Before it ends, she requests that I visit Mozambique after COVID-19 to inspire the next generation of young women, which I agree to do.7:30 am - I check my messages and social media. These days are surreal, with reporters and old friends calling to congratulate me on innovations. 8:00 am - I sit in my home ofce to start my workday. Even before COV-ID-19, my days were mundane com-pared to the early years in my career. I work in engineering software, an indus-try I did not know existed until I got a job offer after arriving in Houston from a four-year stay in Africa. I had taken several software classes in the hopes of transitioning careers, and I was happy that I could combine my oil and gas experience with software. Prior to moving to Houston, I worked mostly between Mozambique and South Africa on a natural gas project that promised to be ground-breaking for both countries. Twenty years ago, the ambition was to reduce coal as input for the production of petroleum by about 20 percent in a process called coal-to-gas. This would be done by mixing Mozambican gas as in input to a South African coal-to-gas processing facil-ity. Mozambican gas is “sweet,” which means it is environmentally cleaner since it does not have any erosive chemicals like sulfur. Everything about this project was out of a chemical engi-neering textbook. It involved a very rare chemical process called Fischer-Tropsch and, at the time, South Africa was the only country leveraging this technology in large-scale facilities. I had learned in my classes that this process was not commercially viable, but here I was driving past several “goose neck” towers heading on a tour of the reneries conducted by the plant manager and several executives. It did not escape me that only a few years be-fore I would not have been allowed on this trip in South Africa because of my race. Now, here I was, bright-eyed and probably in way over my head. My only real accreditation, aside from a four-year engineering degree and an internship in the U.S., was that I was born in Mozam-bique, spoke uent English, and was at the right place at the right time. I was lucky. This period of my life was tough, but it was also very exciting. Everything was new and I was mostly allowed to explore and learn, something I took full advantage of. It wouldn’t be long before I was shut-tled to the middle of Mozambique to tour the region where the natural gas had rst been discovered by locals. The gas just seeped from the Earth and caught re. I can only imagine the superstition around this phenomenon. What did people think as the land burned for seemingly no reason? My tour was with several of my colleagues, all Mozambican geologists, who ex-A Day in the Life of . . . An Inventor and Patent Holder By Nelia MazulaDAY IN THE LIFEPhotos courtesy of Amalya Shandelman – www.amalyaphoto.com

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9Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.complained how, by observing the blackened land, you could tell that it had burned for days, if not weeks. It was a large area of land and what I would never have noticed suddenly became a fascinat-ing story. There are no records of the experiences of those local people. The geologists explained that this phenome-non could have happened over and over throughout the area. We walked until we arrived at a process-ing facility, which was small enough to t into a back yard or a university lab. This was the rst gas processing facility in the area, built with the help of the Russians. There were guards around the small plant and, unlike the renery in Maputo I had visited a few weeks earlier, it still looked very clean. There was a local technician, who explained the plant to me. He showed me a clear liquid that poured out when you turned one of the valves. He said it was con-densate. “Can I take some?” I asked. I was 22 years old and naïve; I was a silly little girl. This liquid was highly volatile and could explode with very little effort. Nonetheless, the combination of my naiveté and a friendly technician meant that I could ll up a one-liter Sprite bottle and drive 10 hours away with it to Maputo. This one-liter bottle was the basis of my condensate work in Mo-zambique and South Africa. I was put on a newly-formed conden-sate task force created by the Minister of Natural Resources and Petroleum and her two directors. During this pe-riod, I found out that Mozambique did not only have extremely clean conden-sate, but that it could be blended as-is into the fuel supply. My projections estimated that Mozambique, one of the top 10 poorest countries of the world, could reduce its fuel import by 20 to 30 percent. Before this work, the only idea was to are the condensate, or just burn it off at the plant. No one considered DAY IN THE LIFEContinued on next page...“Scientists explore the facts, they test and they observe; so that one day in the future, their work may save the world!”From engineers to plumbers, farmers to scientists, Butterﬂy Books present young readers with a series led by brilliant female role models that inspire them to believe that the world is their oyster. A great bedtime read and a useful teaching resource.www.ButterﬂyBooks.uk Award Winning Career Themed Children’s Picture Books

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10Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comDAY IN THE LIFEactually using it. It was such a rela-tively small supply of product that the cost of exporting it to South Africa to the nearest working renery made the product commercially unviable. There was also no way to transport it in bulk over long distances through Mozambique. The country did not have the infrastructure to sustainably transport the fuel long distances. That means someone would need to build the mode of transportation to com-mercialize the product. Subsequently, no one had even bothered to study it. The gas project was a major ground-breaking initiative. It would be years before I would pub-licly publish some of my work in the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) technical paper submissions. In this small industry, it would also be years before I met a gentleman who was in charge of exporting the condensate to Tanzania and reimporting it to Mo-zambique. Come to nd out, Mozam-bique did not have the nancing to update the fuel tanks in the country’s major ports to blend the fuel. Still today some people call me the “con-densate lady.” Aside from the name, the other thing that stuck was that I remained inquisitive and a “silly girl.” Years later, it was this same naiveté that caused me to sit in an elderly inventor’s ofce at one of my employ-ers and ask him what it took to write a patent. Jean-Jacques, an old French-man with 11 patents, was past the traditional age of retirement in the U.S. However, he had the energy and curi-osity of a child. We would talk about new ideas and he would share bizarre stories about how he used to make his own wine or his own sausages in his garage. I had so many ideas that it was a matter of time before one of my patent’s submissions came back. After the rst one, it seemed like I was receiving a patent every six months. I didn’t even bother unpacking them. Now my passion lies in helping oil and gas as it enters what is probably its largest ever digital transformation. 2:00 pm - I am meeting with a cus-tomer to align on a digital transfor-mation plan. I fumble to set up my camera and turn on a desk light in my ofce. I keep a jacket hanging on my chair so that I am always camera ready. Each meeting is a small walk through a major change for my customers and the entire industry. Not only will oil and gas become more digital, engineer-ing as a discipline is becoming more digital. What will that look like? How will we work? These small decisions will drive the future of this industry. 5:30 pm - Technically, my workday is done but today I have a board meet-ing where I sit as an advisor. Houston Community College is deciding on a new elective class on 3D CAD for 3D printing solutions that Siemens develops. I just wrote a position on this topic and submitted it to several Houston government ofcials. 3D printing is a fast-moving technology that I think soon will be as common as a microwave. 8:00 pm - I am taking more software classes and testing out my thoughts on a few old laptops in my house. 10:30 pm - One last check of mes-sages, social media and Google Alerts. I try to read a few articles every day on innovation. Stem cells and cloning are captivating. In a way (in my mind) this technology is very similar to 3D print-ing, especially the way synthetic stem cells are being used. If 3D printing becomes as common as a microwave, where will we get the building blocks? Perhaps synthetic “bio-like” material is an option? I am fascinated with the possibilities.

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11Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comBOOKSHELFPROLOGUE“Dear sir: After reading your account of the little girl, Sarah Rector, I am writing to state that I heartily approve that part of your statement which says she ‘cannot be hid.’” That’s how John A. Melby of Gary, Indiana, began his letter to R. S. Abbott, publisher of the Chicago Defender, a weekly paper. Melby’s letter was dated March 15, 1914.The day before, the Defender had run a front-page story on twelve-year-old Sarah Rector, raising the frightening possibility of a kidnapping. It punctu-ated the piece at points with the ques-tion, “Where is Sarah Rector?”Melby urged Abbott to do whatever it took to solve the mystery – even hire a detective “to get at the facts.” Why were Melby and the Defender so worked up over Sarah Rector? Would they have spent the same amount of ink on any other girl – or boy – gone missing?We’d like to think so, but we know that Sarah wasn’t just any girl. She was be-ing ballyhooed as the richest Black girl in America – some said in the world. The scuttlebutt was that Sarah had an income of $15,000 a month – the equivalent of more than $300,000 to-day.Just as amazing: How Sarah Rector came into her riches.It’s a story full of ups, downs, and turnarounds, followed by crazy goings-on amid a heap of crimes. But the tell-ing can’t begin without a bit of back-ing up to some facets of American history that are often overlooked.CHAPTER ONE: 160 AcresSarah Rector was born on March 3, 1902. Her home was a weather whipped two-room cabin near the tiny town of Twine, I.T. (I.T. stood for Indian Territory.) There, Sarah and her family were known as “Creek freed-men” – that is, Black members of a nation of Indians commonly called Creeks.Mvskoke (mus-KOH-gee) is what these Indians called themselves – Mus-cogee (and Muskogee) in English. This union of several tribes long included the Euchee, the Tuskegee, and the tribe whose name the union bore, the Muscogee.As for the men and women, girls and boys, bearing the blood of African tribes, Creeks called them Estelvste (es-stih-LUS-tee) – “the Black people.” Some Estelvste lived free among Creeks, making their way as artisans, farmers, and merchants, but most la-bored in bondage. They were cooks, cleaners, and cowboys. They chopped cotton, plowed cornelds. While there’s no such thing as “good” slav-ery, there are accounts of some Creek slaveholders treating their captives like kin or “hired hands.”Others, however, dealt out body and soul brutalities. They broke up fami-lies in sales. They believed in physical abuse, like whippings, sometimes fty lashes long.Slaveholding by Creeks didn’t begin in I.T. It had gone on in their ancestral homelands in Alabama and Georgia, homelands wrenched from them.That happened mostly during the 1830s, after years of warfare between white settlers and Indians. Through a combination of bribery and brute force the U.S. government removed almost all members of the Five Tribes of the Southeast (also known as “the Five Civilized Tribes”): the Creek, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Seminole nations. This was done so that whites could have their rich land. (In parts of north Georgia, that rich-ness included gold.)Adapted excerpt from Searching for Sarah Rector: The Richest Black Girl in America, by Tonya Bolden, appears by permission of Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Abrams © 2014.To see more of the author’s work, visit www.tonyaboldenbooks.com.Editor’s note: Sarah Rector (1902 – 1967) gained her wealth when Stan-dard Oil Co. leased her land, later part of the Cushing-Drumright oil eld, in 1911 and, two years later, independent operator B.B. Jones hit a gusher that produced 2,500 barrels of oil a day. Rector received royalties of $300 a day ($7,885 in today’s money). She has been quoted as saying, “Money will make you rich and comfortable, but it still won’t make you free . . . especially if you’re Black.” To learn more about Rector, see Episode 39 of The African American History Is AMERICAN History (AAHIAH) Channel on You-Tube. Searching for Sarah Rector: The Richest Black Girl in America By Tonya Bolden

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12Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comTrue or false? Living near a coal plant is “safer” than living near a nuclear power plant. According to J’Tia Hart, Ph.D., a nuclear engineer at the Ar-gonne National Laboratory, a coal plant releases 100 times more radiation into the environment than a similarly sized nuclear power plant. Thanks to the HBO miniseries, Chernobyl, or the 2011 accident in Fukushima in Japan, people are often fearful about the safety of nuclear plants. “Nuclear energy has a large public rela-tions problem,” Dr. Hart says. “Nuclear power is perceived as dangerous and often equated with a nuclear weapon.”However, the industry is held to high safety standards and has regular moni-toring by third-party inspectors. At the same time, it is a carbon-free energy source that is a viable option for elec-tricity generation because it is a baseline source of energy, meaning it isn’t de-pendent on environmental conditions. It is also often overlooked as “clean energy,” a term typically associated with solar and wind. The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) reported that in 2019 nuclear energy eliminated 476 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.Nuclear energy has another advantage over solar or wind farms – it occupies a fraction of the land while producing the same amount of electricity. The U.S. Ofce of Energy states that a nuclear reactor can produce the same amount of electricity as 3.125 mil-lion solar panels (based on panel sizes of 320 watts) and 431 wind turbines (based on 2.32 MW structures) to pro-duce the same amount of electricity.“And the supply chain isn’t at the mercy of foreign sources,” Hart points out.The U.S. has a long-standing reputation as a leader in nuclear technology and energy generation. The country is the largest user of nuclear power at almost twice the generation capacity of the next country, France. Nuclear power generates about 20 percent of the electricity in the U.S. In Illinois alone, it accounts for almost half of total elec-tricity generation, according to Hart. “The U.S. has long been the leader in nuclear technology and energy genera-tion,” she says. “Others are competing to become the industry leader, specically China, Russia and South Korea, who round out the top ve after France, [and] are all constructing nuclear power plants internationally while the U.S. has no such projects.”In October 2020, the World Nuclear Association, led by newly-appointed General Director Sama Bilboa y León, Ph.D., reported that nuclear reactors within the U.S. produced 809 billion kWh in 2019. Changes in electric-ity markets and zero-emissions credit programs have brought nuclear into the spotlight as states look for ways to reduce the carbon footprint of other energy sources. The U.S. Energy Information Admin-istration (EIA) reports that there are 96 commercial nuclear reactors at 58 nu-clear power plants across 29 states. De-spite the closure of eight plants since 2013, the increased output has been attributed to improved efciencies. In 2016, the Tennessee Valley Authority Bar 2 Unit was the rst new reactor in a decade. In Georgia, two new reactors are being built and are anticipated to open between 2021 and 2022.The Ofce of Nuclear Energy projects that about 23,000 jobs will be avail-able in the nuclear industry within the next ve years. With women currently representing less than 20 percent of the 500,000-strong nuclear workforce nationwide, there is potential for the industry to become more diverse and inclusive by attracting women and other minorities to those positions. Jhansi Kandasamy, chair of U.S. Wom-en in Nuclear (WIN) and vice president of engineering for GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, believes the career opportuni-Nuclear Energy Myths Versus Reality By Katie NavarraALTERNATIVE ENERGYPhoto courtesy of Prasit Rodphan – www.123RF.com

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13Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comties for women within the nuclear in-dustry are limitless, despite misconcep-tions that there might not be enough exibility from a work/life perspective because plant production is 24/7.“The beauty of working in the indus-try, specically at power plants, is that as long as you have the passion, you can do anything,” she says. “Whether you have a high school diploma or a Ph.D., you can be a technician, a data analyst, engineer or manager.”Kandasamy’s experiences have been di-verse. Early in her career, as part of the company’s “Fix It Now” program, she climbed into a 50-foot crane above the reactor to x a lightbulb; another time, she had to troubleshoot a leaking valve so that the entire plant didn’t have to be shut down for a repair. Later, she found herself working in the chemistry department taking samples and ana-lyzing chemicals to identify potential issues before they became problematic.“The opportunities are boundless,” she says.Case in point, Hart is a leader in the nuclear industry and doesn’t work at a production plant. She leads a program in the Strategic Security Sciences Divi-sion where she specializes in analyzing energy and national security topics to help government leaders form policies. She gathers information from a variety of sources, summarizes the issues, and assesses responses to different actions that U.S. leaders may take. Argonne is a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) through the U.S. Department of Energy with a budget of nearly one billion dollars. Argonne technology has helped clean environmental spills with its Oleo sponge that is designed to absorb oil and other petroleum products below the water’s surface. In a research discovery, the scientists found a revolutionary breakthrough to help the Chevy Volt’s lithium-ion battery last longer.“We can’t rule out any specic type of energy; each has its role to play. Petroleum products are essential for gasoline, diesel and electricity,” Hart says. “Renewable energy is a great t in certain areas of the country. I believe that nuclear power should be expanded domestically and have a role in domes-tic electricity generation.”Nuclear energy has an important part to play in powering U.S. homes and businesses. With increased understand-ing of the environmental benets and goals for net zero carbon emissions, the nuclear power industry is a top-ranking option for alternative and complementary energy sources already being utilized. As the industry grows, women have greater access to resourc-es for enjoying a career in the industry.“When you stand up to talk about nuclear energy as a mom and a daugh-ter, there’s more credibility from that perspective,” Kandasamy says. “I’ve taken that to heart as a member of the Gender Champions in Nuclear Policy. We’re addressing a women’s perspective in nuclear [energy] through profession-al development and mentorship. Each year, during our conferences, we have 70 to 80 college students that we pay for and sponsor and pair with mentors, who are women working in the nuclear industry.”Hart sums up the impact of diversity in the industry. “We have signicant problems facing our world,” and stresses that big ideas are needed. “We need diversity of thought to gather these ideas and that stems from participation from a diverse population. These are the people who will remake our energy systems, build our roads and discover new vaccines.”Katie Navarra is a non-ction writer. Her byline has appeared in Popular Science, The Motley Fool, Education Dive, ChemMatters, Society of Human Resources Management, Western Horseman Magazine and Working Ranch, among others. Photo courtesy Carien SchippersALTERNATIVE ENERGYDr. J’Tia Hart, nuclear engineer at the Argonne National Laboratory. Photo courtesy of Christopher K. GeorgeGeneral Director of the World Nuclear Association, Sama Bilboa y León, Ph.D.Jhansi Kandasamy in front of the atom at the GE Hitachi Nuclear headquarters in Wilmington, N.C. Photo courtesy WILMA Magazine

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14Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comGirl Scout badges have long been as-sociated with camping, civics/citizen-ship, athletics and art. Today, girls can learn about nuclear power to earn a badge after completing a project. At GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, an an-nual STEM event brings together 128 middle school girls.The students’ favorite aspect – the project-based challenge. A few years ago, the participants were divided into teams and assigned the task of build-ing the fastest roller coaster. They were given tools and money to purchase materials and had four hours to build and test a design.“It was interest-ing to see all the energy in the room,” says Jhansi Kandasamy, chair of U.S. Women in Nuclear (WIN) and vice president of engineering for GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy. “The hands-on exposure encourages them to think about doing anything they want and that includes nuclear.”At the federally funded Argonne National Laboratory, J’Tia Hart, Ph.D., is a vocal advocate for women who want to excel and pursue careers in STEM. She is an Ameri-can Association for the Ad-vancement of Science if/then Ambas-sador, which was founded to develop outreach and serve as a role model to young women interested in STEM. She also currently serves as the lead for the Women in Science and Technology (WIST) Program at Argonne. WIST produces annual outreach events – In-troduce a Girl to Engineering Day and Science Careers in Search of Women – and provides career support to scien-tists and engineers. Generating Excitement By Katie NavarraSTEM IN ACTIONGE Hitachi Nuclear Energy 2019 annual STEM event. Photo courtesy of GE Hitachi Nuclear EnergyADVERTISE WITH US!Are you looking to expand your reach in the oil and gas marketplace? Do you have a product or service that would beneﬁt the industry? If so, we would like to speak with you!CALL US (800) 562-2340 EX. 1 We have a creative team that can design your ad! OilwomanMagazine.com/advertise • Advertising@OilmanMagazine.com

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15Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.com“It took me a while to be comfortable with the idea of pursuing a STEM career,” Dr. Hart says. “More women and African American role models in STEM would have helped.” Hart also mentored others through the Afro-America Cultural, Technological and Scientic Olympics (ACT-SO), which exposes African Americans to intellectual competition and builds those skills. It also helps the partici-pants understand that African Ameri-cans are talented in many ways, not just entertainment and sports.“I volunteer because I know that it makes a difference in who decides to pursue STEM education and careers,” she says.Generating excitement among women to enter the nuclear energy eld is only half of the equation. Providing lead-ership development opportunities to prepare women to advance through the ranks within a professional position is key to seeing more women involved in the industry.When Kandasamy looked at the indus-try she realized there were zero female chief nuclear ofcers. She co-authored a plan, the Nuclear Executives of To-morrow (NEXT), to develop a leader-ship pipeline. Today, three women hold the CNO title.“The program is different than any other women’s training or development program and unique to the nuclear industry for women one to three years away from being executives,” she explains. “After the pilot in 2019, six to eight of the 12 participants were promoted to vice president positions because of NAME.”Advocating for women’s opportuni-ties within the industry is a priority for Kandasamy. In her role at U.S. Women in Nuclear, she recently participated in a signicant commitment of collabora-tion across the entire industry with the signing of a Memorandum of Under-standing (MOU) between the Nuclear Energy Institute, the North American Young Generation in Nuclear, the American Nuclear Society and U.S. Women in Nuclear.Kandasamy and leaders of the aligned organizations realized that many of the efforts and initiatives they offered overlapped. Costs for belonging and attending each individual association becomes expensive for participants. Through the MOU, the alliance of nuclear energy groups is creating select joint events to minimize overhead. “We have some CNOs executives on board, so we’re really excited about that part-nership.” STEM IN ACTIONLUCINDA JACKSON VENTURESAUTHOR, SPEAKER, CONSULTANTEmpowering Women in the Workplace and in LifeLucinda Jackson is the author of the memoir Just a Girl: Growing Up Female and Ambitious about her struggles to succeed in male-dominated oil and gas and chemical organizations. As a PhD scientist and global corporate executive, Lucinda spent almost fty years in academia and Fortune 500 companies. She has published articles, book chapters, and patents and is featured on podcasts and radio. She is the Founder of Lucinda Jackson Ventures, where she speaks and consults on empowering women in the workplace. She lives near San Francisco. Connect with Lucinda or nd her book at: www.lucindajackson.com Just a Girl doesn’t leave you angry or feeling hopeless. Instead it oers solutions for how women can learn to stand in their authentic selves”— Kaya Singer, Author, Wiser and Wilder“

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16Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comAccording to recent ndings by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemploy-ment rates in the oil and gas industry have begun hitting unprecedented levels since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Only 6.2 percent in March of 2019, data now shows a staggering 19.2 percent unemployment rate in No-vember 2020, which skyrocketed from 13.8 percent in October 2020. Recent downsizing by major oil and gas com-panies like ExxonMobil and Chevron have energy professionals abandoning the industry in droves in the hopes that new sectors can promise better stability and career growth. What marks this downturn as historic is not only the rate of unemployment, but the quality of talent being released. With such wide-sweeping layoffs, 20-plus year oil and gas veterans, who assumed they would retire at their respective companies, now nd them-selves out of work and having to build their “professional brand” and career documents from scratch. Moreover, the skills they have cultivated in oil and gas seem chained to that industry, with few transferrable options to make them vi-able candidates in a tough job market. Given the crowded 2021 employment landscape, nding ways to highlight transferrable skills has become more important than ever. Although roles in oil and gas are broad, there are three main transferrable skills many oil and gas professionals have across the board – project management, budgeting and team leadership. Many recruiters now suggest that candidates include a skills section in the top quarter portion of a resume. This section functions in two ways: 1) it provides targeted content necessary to rank higher in Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS); and 2) it al-lows recruiters to quickly scan a candi-date’s qualications to ensure alignment with job descriptions. Here are those top three skills and the reasoning for listing them on a career change resume:1. Project Management: Encompass-ing a wide range of competencies, such as logistics, business develop-ment, staff supervision, process and procedure building, reporting, and cross-departmental communica-tion, project management is a top transferrable skill for many oil and gas pros. According to Zip Re-cruiter, the 10 most requested skills by employers for project managers include vendor management, budget management, mitigation, proposal writing, PMP certication, estimat-ing, project planning, construction management, Microsoft Project and compliance.2. Budgeting: Budgeting, nance, cost controls and revenue growth are fairly universal qualities sought by employers in many industries. Pay attention to the wording used in job descriptions when pursuing positions outside oil and gas since certain terms like “cost controls” might need to be rephrased. To fully capture recruiters’ attention, make sure to illustrate your budgeting skills using examples. For instance, a reservoir engineer who specializes in acquisitions and divestitures (A&D) will most likely have an impressive track record of deploying capital and closing deals on key assets. Make sure to highlight data, including per-centages and numbers, to show why you stand out as a candidate. 3. Team Leadership: Another highly desired skill regardless of industry is team leadership, especially mul-tidisciplinary and cross-functional team leadership. This skill sets a job seeker apart and positions them for managerial roles. When it comes to leading teams, even skills like lan-guage prociencies can be a huge asset (e.g., Spanish language uency for Texas, New Mexico or Califor-nia-based positions). Combine both Transferrable Skills That Are Game Changers By Amanda Rico, Ph.D.COMPETITIVE EDGEPhotos courtesy of stockbakery – www.123RF.com

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18Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comGiven the heightened awareness of race relations of late, February 2021’s Black History Month will undoubtedly be more impactful and celebratory than ever before.Originally recognized in 1976 by U.S. President Gerald Ford, the month was set aside to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected ac-complishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” The foundation was set in the early 20th century when historian, Carter Woodson, saw how Black people were not well represented in books and discussions, despite the intrinsic part they played in American history.As a result, Woodson founded an organization with educator, minister and philanthropist Jesse Moorland to promote studying Black history as a discipline and to celebrate the achieve-ments of African Americans (now called the Association for the Study of African American Life and History or the ASALH). Negro History Week was later launched and observed in Febru-ary, the birthday month of both Freder-ick Douglass – the social reformer and abolitionist – and President Abraham Lincoln.Black History Month (BHM) has since become a global affair, with other coun-tries around the world devoting a month to commemorate and reect on shared history – both individual and collective – as well as to educate, celebrate and continue the ght for social progress, justice and equality of Black people. Over a century has passed since Wood-son decided to tackle the problem of Black people’s virtual “erasure” from American history. Yet, despite social progress, it is still relatively hard to nd information in popular literature about Black history. Thus, Black History Month provides a platform for previ-ously untold stories to be shared. As a Black British U.S. immigrant, my history is different than that of African Americans. I was born in the U.K. and my grandparents were part of the “Win-drush Generation” where, between the years 1948 to 1970, nearly half a million people migrated from the Caribbean to Britain in order to address skill shortag-es in the aftermath of the Second World War and rebuild the country. The Windrush was a huge part of British history; yet, as a child, I was never taught about this at school, and it was never really spoken about at home. While it’s hard for me to understand why such a vital part of British history remains deliberately glossed over in traditional pedagogy, I under-stood the signicance of that silence at home. My family wanted to ensure we integrated well into the British way of life by not drawing too much attention to the differences between us and those whose heritage lay rooted in the “moth-er country,” especially given that many of my friends were white. Now, living and working in the U.S., a country built and populated by immigrants, I absorb and participate in BHM events with the aim of learning more about African American history. Understanding cultures is a key element to promoting diversity and inclusion within all institutions, businesses and organizations.The death of George Floyd in the sum-mer of 2020 was a seminal moment for many. Global pro-tests were not just about his death but about the urgency to overturn system-ic racism, too. Sud-denly, businesses felt the pressure to be both reective and accountable in many ways: for the delivery or non-delivery of their own diversity, equity and inclusion pledges (if they even had these) and for assessing the part they might inadvertently play in upholding discriminatory systems. We have seen protesting and petitioning on a scale not witnessed since the height of the civil rights movement in the ‘60s, which makes this year’s Black History Month all the more auspicious. It pro-vides a means of opening up meaning-ful discussions among colleagues – of all races and ethnicities – to facilitate empathy and understanding, which is the bedrock for real progress.Here are some ideas for recognizing Black History Month in your organization:Black History Month: Looking Back, Moving Forward By Kerrine Kafwembe BryanDIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION (DEI)“Celebrating BHM gives me an opportunity to be proud of something I was once taught to be ashamed of. Our Black history past does not dictate our future.”Nye Jones, certied diversity professional

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19Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comDIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION (DEI)1. Involve all employees in activities re-lating to this. Everyone must be edu-cated about Black history in order to create a more culturally competent and inclusive workforce.2. “Celebrate” Black employees. Use the month as an opportunity to highlight the stories and achieve-ments of employees, who wish to be recognized (not everyone does). Nye Jones, a certied diversity profes-sional, says, “Celebrating BHM gives me an opportunity to be proud of something I was once taught to be ashamed of. Our Black history past does not dictate our future.”3. Offer a scholarship. Chevron offers a Black History Scholarship Pro-gram for high school senior students who have demonstrated scholastic achievement, community involve-ment and leadership skills. This is a great way to help address the educa-tion race/wealth gap that is com-pounded by being Black.4. Hire professionals to moderate productive group discussions about Black history with eclectic delegates. It is not the sole job or responsi-bility of Black people to educate their non-Black colleagues on being racially aware; it is a collaborative ef-fort that involves all. 5. Create an afnity group, like The Black Employee Network (BEN). Craig Ellis, a former network presi-dent says, “There’s a certain culture about corporate America. When you’re rst generation, you don’t know the norms, the rituals, the ta-boos to watch out for. These afnity groups provide a way to interact and for people to show you the way and make you feel comfortable, especially early in your career.”6. Focus on a theme related to your organization’s work. This will make it relatable to all employees. Take inspi-ration from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Ofce of Energy Efciency and Renewable Energy. It has highlighted important contribu-tions of Black scientists and engi-neers who worked on the Manhattan Project, the top secret, World War II-era program that was the start of the nuclear age.7. Ask your employees how they would like to celebrate BHM. Most impor-tantly, don’t relegate recognizing the achievements of your Black employ-ees – or members of any minority group – to one month a year. Ensure that acknowledgment of all employ-ees is part of a healthy and inclusive culture. Amanda Rico, Ph.D. | rico.editorial@gmail.comwww.RicoEditorialServices.comExpert resumes built so you get back to work faster.RESUME BUILDING | EDITING | CAREER SOLUTIONS

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20Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comFemale mentors traditionally have been in short supply in male-dominated in-dustries like oil and gas, but as the num-ber of women in the industry increases, so does the number of women who can offer insight and guidance. Here are some mentoring best practices from women in the C-suite who have been the dealmakers of their own careers.Rebecca Ponton: What should someone look for in a mentor (quali-ties of a good mentor)? Marsha Hendler: If your goal is to lend a hand to someone else, then you must carefully listen to their concerns, fears, ideas and achievements. Equally important: Is the advice you are receiv-ing [as a mentee] designed for you, or is it what [that person] would do if they were you?Åshild Hanne Larsen: Someone who invests time and effort in building a relationship of trust and openly shares experiences, successes and failures to contribute to your development, but is also curious what you bring to the table, making it a learning journey for both parties.Rhonda Morris: Identify someone who can give you unltered and honest feedback in areas where you know you have gaps. Jannicke Nilsson: There needs to be a good connection and chemistry since this is a two-way dialogue. Both need to be prepared and take a keen interest. A key aspect is the ability to listen and equally challenge and support, whilst giving open feedback, sharing experi-ences, knowledge and skill sets. Ashton Verrengia: My belief is that you need your own “board of men-tors.” Not one mentor can teach all as-pects of your growth. Break apart your life into sections. Build a board of men-tors with people that have willingness to share their knowledge and expertise and give constructive feedback to build you up. Paula Waggoner-Aguilar: Start with someone who has done what you want to do or is good at what you want to be good at. Spend time learning about the mentor on the front end to “gut check” whether they have your best interests in mind, not just their personal agenda. RP: What is the best mentoring ad-vice you received? MH: Just do the work. The results and the reward will come.AHL: Say yes to opportunities you do not necessarily think you are fully quali-ed for. Trust what others are seeing in you and use every opportunity to grow and learn. RM: “It doesn’t matter how smart you are or how great an idea you have; if you are not able to sell the benet of your idea, nothing else matters.” Ap-proach new concepts from the perspec-tive of the recipient. JN: Investing in people is always valu-able, including understanding what motivates them and yourself. Key in on what you need to work on to be able to take out the most of one’s potential. There are limits to what one individual can achieve alone, but as a leader you can harness the whole team’s capacity. AV: “Success is going from one failure to another without any loss of enthusi-asm.” Business is a 24/7 sport and you won’t win every game or match. You Voices of Experience By Rebecca PontonMENTORS ON THE RISEMarsha Hendler, CEO, TerraFina Energy LLC Åshild Hanne Larsen, chief information ofcer, Equinor. Photo courtesy of Arne Reidar Mortensen, EquinorRhonda Morris, vice president and chief human resources ofcer, Chevron

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21Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comMENTORS ON THE RISEcan’t let a loss hold you back from your next win. PWA: Save money. Live below your means. Life has a nasty habit of throw-ing curveballs when we least expect it – so does the energy business. Diversify your business. Develop some type of economic hedge. RP: Not all advice is good and we need people – especially young women – to feel empowered to make decisions for themselves even if they go against conventional wis-dom. What is the worst mentoring advice you received? MH: “A woman should speak less and listen more.” As women, we have a perspective that is much different from men’s and it is important that we share our ideas with the team. It takes a loud, committed voice to start a revolution. AHL: “Be patient and work hard and good things [will] eventually happen.” In my experience, taking charge of your career and personal development and actively asking for advice and exposure to challenges works much better!RM: One of my rst supervisors told me that I needed to work on building good relationships with people. Odd because, over time in my career, I have frequently been told that is one of my key strengths. It is important to under-stand the root cause of feedback and follow your personal compass and con-dence to question it.JN: To think and act more like a man and copy others’ behavior.AV: Twice I hired someone based on a mentor’s recommendation and was told to trust them to handle a project. Both times it almost cost me my business. Lesson: Do your own due diligence.PWA: “There are not many female CFOs in the energy business. Honey, I think you should be happy with being a controller.” “Why do you need to start another rm? Why don’t you just go to work for the folks down the street?” As I look back, I realize what I could not articulate at the time was my vision of building a small giant focused on select niches.RP: What advice do you wish some-one had given you earlier in your career and that you would offer to someone else now? MH: Failure is temporary, but fear can kill you. Failure is simply a directional sign that tells you to move in a differ-ent direction, not to abandon the idea. A setback only gets you ready for your next comeback. To nd success, you must want it more than you fear it.AHL: Don’t spend time and energy trying to be something or someone you are not [in order] to t expectations. Instead, identify your strengths and understand what really drives you and work from there. It is so much more energizing and rewarding!RM: The [electronic] gadgets and devices are not going away, and it be-comes difcult to really connect and lis-ten to people, so it is important to keep testing for understanding and alignment to make sure you are truly listening. JN: Believe in yourself and trust your-self. Be open-minded and curious, always look for improvements for you and your team to bring out more of your own potential and the team’s.AV: Network, network, network. Often, who you know can be what you know. Networking is the unwritten rule of success. PWA: Being new to something actu-ally gave me a competitive advantage. It allowed me to approach a new busi-ness, industry, service or problem with a blank [slate]. Free of restrictions, I could focus on innovating. Reprinted by permission. This article originally appeared in the July 2020 is-sue of NAPE Magazine. Jannicke Nilsson, executive vice president and chief operating ofcer, Equinor. Photo courtesy of Helge Hansen, APAshton Verrengia, founder/CEO, Athena Oileld Services LLCPaula Waggoner-Aguilar, founder, The Energy CFO LLC

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22Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comIt can be hard to pinpoint an exact gure when talking about the number of women in the energy industry. Per-centages vary depending on the survey methods and metrics used; some say as high as 22 percent, others say as low as 15 percent. However, one number can be determined with certainty: there is only one African American female CEO in the U.S. power and utility industry.“I didn’t even see myself as a CEO,” says Paula Gold-Williams, who took the helm of CPS Energy in San Anto-nio, Texas, in 2015. Not because she is a woman. Not because she is Black. Because she is an accountant. Granted, there weren’t any role models who look like her, but she is a CPA in an indus-try that, at its core, is fundamentally about engineering and heavily reliant on leaders with engineering backgrounds. Perhaps some of her success can be attributed to the unique perspective she brings to the role.“I think we have to be a lot more thoughtful in encouraging people from different backgrounds and with differ-ent thought processes to come into the industry to make sure that we challenge ourselves when we’re hiring and when we’re promoting [to ensure], we have enough diversity so that everyone has a chance.”CPS Energy does not use hiring quotas, and Gold-Williams says, “I’m not here to tell you that I think everything has to be in ratio, but I do think to have equity and the potential to be successful, we’re going to have to broaden the way we think about talent.”To that end, CPS created the “Executive in Residence” program, which takes an executive from one area of the com-pany – say marketing or public policy – and temporarily places them in an operations role for them to understand the operational side of the business “where we make our money; where the value proposition is,” Gold-Williams says. Exposing them to a facet of the business they wouldn’t normally be involved with is part of her belief that leaders shouldn’t “conne people or dene them. We should be developing individuals as much as recruiting them, if not more.”When she took over as CEO, she had a simple philosophy – “People First” – that was a somewhat novel concept at the time that some stakeholders had trouble grasping. “When you’re in a technical, industrial type organization, they want a denition,” Gold-Williams says, laughing. “We’re heavily infra-structure-driven, and assets are key, but I believed when I rst came in – and I still believe – that you can’t really be successful without your people,” and by that she means all stakeholders.The utility is community-owned and serves nearly two million residents in San Antonio, the second-largest city in Texas after Houston, and the surrounding area, and employs 3,100 people, completing what she calls “the business trinity.” Those human factors came together to further dene her People First philosophy.“You want people to feel valued and listen to and cared about. We may not always agree, but you want to treat them as valued people, as human beings, and that’s where People First came from. That’s the journey that we’ve had here at CPS Energy.”After 16 years in the power and utility sector, Gold-Williams is starting to see the industry come around to a little bit The Power of One By Rebecca PontonSHE’S GOT THE POWERPhotos courtesy of CPS Energy

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23Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comSHE’S GOT THE POWERof a “women rst” attitude as it begins to appoint more women to positions of leadership. According to an analysis released by the Pew Research Center in September 2018, utilities went from hav-ing no female CEOs in 2007 to having six out of 28, or 21.4 percent in 2017! (She points out that CPS was ahead of its time, having appointed Jamie Ro-chelle its rst female CEO in 1999.)“The utility industry has nally decided that it needs to embrace change and evolution,” says Gold-Williams. “This has been a great opportunity for women to raise their hand and say they want to be considered [for leadership posi-tions]. They’ve conquered a level of bravery that is required, but they also bring emotional intelligence to the role. Everybody is needed to make this tran-sition, and I think the utility industry is seeing that.”“For my entire career, I’ve dealt with people who have underestimated me because I’m a woman or because I’m an African American, so delivering results does matter. It’s like the old Janet Jack-son song, “What Have You Done for Me Lately,” she says, laughing. “But I’ve taken some pressure off myself. I know that I’m doing my best and, ultimately, we are successful as a team.” As one of the few female CEOs in energy and in a category all her own, Gold-Williams says, “We have an op-portunity to help women see themselves differently, to encourage women to feel like they can attain the goals that any other person – a man – would have. Now, in reality, I believe everyone should feel that way. We have to con-tinue to invest in people coming up the ranks to make sure they understand if I can do it, they can do it.” SUBSCRIBE TODAY!Get the Oil & Gas news and data you need in a magazine you’ll be proud to read. To subscribe, complete a quick form online:OilwomanMagazine.com/advertise Editor@OilmanMagazine.com (800) 562-2340 Ex. 5

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24Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comStacey Olson and her husband, John, are driving west through South Dakota in October just a few days after Stacey retired as president of Chevron’s Appa-lachia Mountain Business Unit in Pitts-burgh. Cell phone coverage is weak, but our discussion about his experience as a male trailing spouse reveals critical suc-cess variables. “For the rst half of my career, both John and I worked at Chevron. We moved around and had multiple inter-national assignments. When we were working in Nigeria, we decided as a couple that John would retire/resign from Chevron, because we had a lot of work dealing with our three young children (8, 10 and 12), and it was clear that my career was progressing faster than his.” That decision enabled Stacey to work long hours in stressful jobs and relocate every three to four years. As the lead parent, John developed an amazing relationship with all three of their kids. During their international assignments, John got to know the other stay-at-home spouses, who were all intelligent, educated women. Stacey and John met at Louisiana State University, where she earned her B.S. in petroleum engineering and John got his B.S. in business and computer engineer-ing. In social settings, when someone asked John, “What do you do?” He’d explain, “I’m not working now.” Later John got a teaching certicate, did some substitute teaching, and in Aberdeen taught computer science full-time. “We switched roles completely,” Stacey says. “John made all the “home” deci-sions and was the “PTA Mom,” and the “room Mom.” He did all the laundry and handled doctor visits. He got in a lot of golf and ran marathons. The expat guys were jealous and would say, tongue in cheek, ‘I wish I were you.’”Being a trailing male spouse was easier in expat communities because every-body works hard to get along. John adds, “Men need to gure out that this is the best kept secret. I happily did the things ‘50s wives were supposed to do. Those were my key job responsibilities. More couples could make this decision intentionally.” Stacey says, “John let me move around and shine. Ultimately, our net worth is so much more than it would have been if we both had worked. I’m 56 and our retirement is well-funded, because I could focus on my career. We have more money now than if we had two mediocre careers.” Colleen Cervantes, who is now presi-dent of Chevron Lubricants, met her husband, Winston, while they were both working for CalTex in the Philip-pines. After a stint in the U.S. during which they both worked, they moved to Singapore with their two young daughters, four and seven. Colleen was traveling 70 percent of the time, so Winston decided, “One of us needs to be home; I’m going to do what’s best for the family.” Six months later, Colleen told him, “The kids are ne. I’m ne, but you are miserable. Find something that lls that void in you.” So, he started training to run half-marathons and then mara-thons. Now he is doing iron mans. “He found something else to give him some purpose.” When they were in Singapore about 14 years ago, there were other female American and European expats, who Where You Lead, I Will Follow By Eve Sprunt, Ph.D.SPECIAL TO OILWOMANColleen Cervantes and husband Winston

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25Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comSPECIAL TO OILWOMANwere the primary breadwinners; their husbands didn’t work. The trailing spouses did stuff together. Colleen thought when they moved back to the U.S. Winston would return to work, but he said, “Why would I? I’m having the time of my life!” Now, Col-leen observes, “Work didn’t t into his schedule. I was okay because the girls had him around. He always knew where they were and what they were doing, which freed me up to be better at my job. I would never have asked him to give up his work. He realized on his own that it was the best decision for the family. He is much more nurturing than I am. He and the girls, who are now adults, have a wonderful relationship.”The discussions with Stacey and Col-leen reveal a key success variable. A man who assumes the traditional female role of managing the children and the household, while his wife works, will encounter awkward moments. The trailing spouse is psychologically better equipped to deal with the challenges if he actively made the choice to assume that role.However, not all trailing spouses must sacrice their career. Some men main-tain their career while following their wives. Christina Sistrunk and her hus-band, John, are a splendid example of a dual-career couple in which the man was a trailing spouse. I speak with Christina shortly after she retired on October 1st as the president and CEO of Aera Energy, LLC, in Bakerseld, CA, which is jointly owned by Shell and ExxonMobil and operates as a stand-alone company. She was in the middle of moving to New Orleans, although Hurricane Delta had delayed her moving van. Early in her career, the rst time Christina transferred, John was working rotations, seven days on, seven days off. The “catch” was John’s employer had a policy requiring him to live within 60 miles of his reporting location. John challenged the rule, asking, “Why do you care where I live as long as I am where I need to be when I need to be there?” If forced to choose between sticking with his wife and his job, John told them, “I’m married to her; this is just a job.” John continued working rotations as their residence bounced around wherever Christina’s career took her. The next big hurdle for John occurred when Christina transferred to the Neth-erlands. John consulted his boss, who gave him three options. He switched to 21-day rotations and continued working in the Gulf of Mexico with the same team until about three years ago when, during a downturn, he elected to retire with enhanced severance. Using WhatsApp, I chat with Mikki Corcoran, the general manager of Schlumberger Europe, who is based in Aberdeen. Even with 3,000 people in her organization, like many of us, she is working from home during the pan-demic. She nds it amazingly effective and shares, “Most of our employees want a exible way of working just to get the work/life balance right.” Mikki loves that for the rst time she has been able to greet her sons, now 10 and 14, when they come home from school. She enjoys engaging with them over tea and biscuits; inquiring about their day. “Before, I always missed that. By the time I got home at six, seven or nine, they were tired and had forgotten the details.”Mikki, who is from the U.K., met her Continued on next page...Christina Sistrunk and husband John KC Littleeld and son

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26Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comhusband, Kaare, a Norwegian, when they were both working for Schlum-berger in Norway. Before they got married, they were together in Norway for a few years. Then, while Kaare con-tinued working in Norway, Mikki took assignments in Nigeria and Azerbaijan before securing another position in Norway.After that, because they had similar rank and seniority, they alternated who would take the lead, especially when they had their rst son. While Mikki was on maternity leave, Kaare got a good promotion as an operations manager and he was the lead. On her return, Mikki got a promotion to the same level.Moving from Norway to Houston, they held several positions at the same level before Mikki jumped to a much big-ger role. She explains, “It was a turning point for us and Schlumberger started the conversations about who had the lead career.”“Kaare didn’t immediately realize he would not get the same opportuni-ties. It took several years for that to sink in and was difcult for him to accept. There are still times when we have heart-to-heart discussions about whether his career would have been different if he hadn’t been my trailing spouse.”“It has always been very important for my husband to continue working. Before every move, that has been part of the discussion. Now, he has a role that allows him to work from anywhere in the world. It is important for us as a family and our relationship that he works.”“It would have been much more dif-cult if we hadn’t both worked within Schlumberger. Denitely it is hard, but over the last few years, it has gotten better. Time heals … It is about to-tal value incorporating family, career opportunity and wealth. The turning point comes where the spouse real-izes the gap is what it is and will never be closed, but as a family you’re going to achieve that total value that is so important for everyone. I know that if these career opportunities had not come for me, we would have moved back to Norway years ago.”When Mikki says 70 percent of her reports are women, I am amazed. She explains Schlumberger is pushing for 50 percent women at the top of the company and actively putting females in the roles they deserve. Not surprisingly, many of the women Mikki manages have trailing spouses. She empathizes with them. “Having a trailing spouse who doesn’t have a job is difcult. I see all the different scenarios. When a spouse has been released or has given up their job and can’t nd one, there is a lot of stress on the family.”As a member of a dual-career couple, Mikki empathizes with those facing difcult work/life decisions. “If we ask a female to move as the lead career and we can’t place the trailing spouse, we try to support them as much as pos-sible. We must understand that there is a risk that you are taking two highly involved employees and making one of them completely disengaged. You don’t need to ask them who has the lead; the company knows who leads. When you get to the later stage of your career, the prize makes it more acceptable for the trailing spouse to perhaps pursue other options.”Listening to Mikki, I realize how far the oil industry has come since I joined Mobil in the late 1970s and my boss’s boss explained to me, “You can’t have a younger woman supervising an older man.” More women are moving into high leadership positions and face the challenges of having a male trailing spouse. Christina headed an indepen-dent company, Stacey and Colleen became presidents of large business units, and Mikki leads a large region for Schlumberger. Having trailing spouses enabled Christi-na, Stacey, Colleen and Mikki to rise to high levels, but life is full of surprises. Luck, timing and the right sponsors also play a big role in our careers. Now let’s hear from a couple of mid-career women. KC Littleeld is the competitive perfor-mance manager for Chevron in Hous-ton. Over a decade ago when KC and Michelle Burkett, husband Braden, and their childrenSPECIAL TO OILWOMAN

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27Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comher future husband, another Chevron employee in information technology, decided to commit as a couple, KC’s sponsor at the time advised, “You’ll need to gure out who will be the lead-ing spouse.” She believed the reason they were asked to specify a lead was to ensure that one of the two in the couple was prioritized for placement and growth, while the other risked a po-tentially less satisfying career trajectory. When faced with the decision, they were both relatively new to Chevron and had comparable performance ap-praisals and assessments of potential. Their choice was driven by their assess-ment of whose job function appeared to have the best opportunities for advancement.The identication of a leading partner may have been premature or not as necessary as originally thought. Despite formally identifying KC as the leading spouse, they have advanced at an equal pace. KC believes, “The expectations about who leads have diminished as over time we both built our networks and found sponsorship and visibility within the company.”Almost four years ago, when they were both in their late 30s, they had a son. Since then they have continued to ad-vance at Chevron. They hired a nanny to help with chores and childcare and strive to equally share responsibilities at home. As their son approaches school age, KC’s appetite for growth has re-vived, but she no longer feels she must dene herself as the leading partner.“It was easy to say, ‘I’m leading,’ when it was just the two of us, but now I like the idea of the partnership because I like being part of the home front, too. It’s more fullling as a family, and it’s the right balance for Paul and me.”“More people know both of us, and we have more sponsorship than ten years ago when we were asked to make a declaration. I also think the company has turned a corner when it comes to placing dual-career couples.” Carrie Goddard, who is the asset retire-ment program manager for Chevron in Midland, TX, says, “Mobility is highly coveted and opens up a lot more op-portunities. Unless you are in Hous-ton, you run out of options. Having a spouse who is trailing or can work from anywhere has given me the freedom to aim higher than I would otherwise.”Carrie and her husband are both on their second marriages. When they had a baby, he didn’t want to miss out on his son’s life the way he had with his older kids, who are now in their 20s. Their son is now three, and he takes care of him, breakfast, lunch and playtime. They split housekeeping, but Carrie loves to cook and does most of that. Contrasting her generation with the women who preceded her, Carrie observes, “There might be a key mes-sage that women who have reached the highest levels of success today were almost required to have a non-working spouse (or one with ultimate location exibility) in order to get there. How-ever, with my mid-career female friends who are progressing through the ranks, it appears it’s becoming a little less of a “requirement” to have a non-working spouse. My husband and I chose that path in order to be completely mobile and because of our young son, but others have been able to successfully navigate dual careers by working for the same company which would move them together or by living in a location such as Houston where there are op-portunities to climb the ladder without relocation.”Michelle Burkett is facilities engineering manager for Chevron in Pittsburgh, PA, but soon will be moving to Bakerseld, CA. Michelle had been working for Chevron for about ve years, when she met her future spouse, Braden. Before marrying, Michelle wanted to stay close to her family in Texas and Louisiana. When they got serious, Braden volun-teered to be a trailing spouse and urged Michelle to be more mobile. Braden likes reinventing himself, mov-ing and seeing different parts of the world. He was an active-duty Marine for four years and has a degree in horticulture. Since marrying Michelle, he has worked in diplomatic security training, commercial construction, as Carrie Goddard and husband, Ignacio MolinaContinued on next page...SPECIAL TO OILWOMANStacey Olson and husband John

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28Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comOne day at work, I encountered a young woman crying in the bath-room. I didn’t know her well, so she didn’t choose to conde in me. Later when I had the opportunity to speak with a female friend, I learned why the young woman was in tears. The young woman’s supervisor’s supervisor (let’s call him Ralph) had demanded that she relocate – with or without her husband – saying, “When are you going to make your career come rst?”The young woman’s work group was being relocated to another company facility almost 2,000 miles away. All of the young women had graduate degrees in science and/or engineer-ing with some of them holding doctorates. Ralph assumed that since there were no similar employers near-by, the women’s only choice if they wanted to continue their careers was to move. Ralph had similar sessions with all ve of the young women who had been asked to relocate. Bad move!Asking that question puts the domes-tic partners in competition with each other and positions the manager as a bully. No one wants to work for a bully.Not a single one of the ve young women chose to stay with the com-pany and move. A young woman with an engineering doctorate de-cided to apply her skills to nancial modeling. Others joined small start-up companies. All of them continued working, but not for the company at which Ralph tried to bully them. A Guide for Dual-Career Couples By Eve Sprunt, Ph.D.a production operator for a deep-water platform, and as a pumper in Midland. Michelle says, “Every time we move, he completely rein-vents himself.” Now, he is a stay-at-home dad with their daughter, ve, and son, three, but they have no concerns about putting the children in daycare/preschool, if he wants to return to work.“[Braden has] encouraged me to seek new assignments and differ-ent locations. When the spouse is not only supportive, but excited, it changes the whole dynamic. No places are off limits.” Dr. Eve Sprunt, the rst woman to receive a Ph.D. in geophysics from Stanford, was the 2006 SPE President. In 2010 she received SPE’s highest recognition, Honorary Membership. She has 35 years’ experience working for major oil companies (21 years with Mobil and 14 years with Chevron). Sprunt received the Achieve-ment Award from the Society of Women Engineers in 2013. She was the 2018 president of the American Geosciences Institute. Founder of the Society of Core Analysts in 1985, her S.B. and S.M. degrees are from MIT (earth and planetary sciences). Sprunt has authored more than 120 editorial columns on industry trends, technology and workforce issues, 23 patents and 28 technical publications. She is the author of A Guide for Dual-Career Couples and Dear-est Audrey, An Unlikely Love Story, and co-author with Maria Angela Capello of Mentoring and Sponsoring: The Keys to Success. She speaks and consults on both energy and women’s issues. Currently, she and Capello are working on a book about the dark side of mentoring and sponsoring. To share your expe-riences condentially, contact evesprunt@aol.com. www.evesprunt.com For members of dual-career couples, especially those with children, work schedule exibility is often indispensable, like getting an aspirin for un-relenting pain. Flexible work arrangements are a crucial tool that can enable members of dual-career couples to create a sustainable integration of their work and life and achieve an acceptable pain-gain balance. Having choices puts them in greater control over how they allocate their time. Studies on the “sense of control” indicate that merely having a choice of alternatives can make a critical difference. The need to feel in control is deeply ingrained in human nature as a mechanism for survival. We are programmed to take more risks if we feel that we are in charge of the situ-ation. The classic example is that when something is to be cut, if you have control of the knife, you are willing to position your hand much closer to the blade than if someone else holds the knife. Another example is pain control. If you are conned to a hospital bed and have control over the administration of your pain medication, you feel better and may use a lower dose than if you must wait for a nurse. For those suffering from an adverse work/life balance, access to exible work arrangements is a cherished form of pain relief. Excerpted with permission from the author. A Guide for Dual-Career Couples: Rewriting the Rules by Eve Sprunt, Ph.D. (Praeger; May 2016). SPECIAL TO OILWOMAN

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30Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comThe last year has helped shed a major light on the issues existing within our workplaces, including lack of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts on behalf of many businesses, and inequality and bias within the overall workforce. In response to the general public, many companies across various industries have focused on implement-ing DEI initiatives or have expanded upon their existing efforts. As a result, businesses have begun to enlist in the help of education and training providers to develop diversity and bias training programs for their employees. The training solutions com-pany, True Ofce Learning, has made strides in the energy industry, having developed training programs for sev-eral oil and gas companies and major oil operators. True Ofce Learning’s CEO, Neha Gupta, has led the charge in developing unconscious bias training programs and several other diversity initiatives for an industry historically known to lack in racial and gender di-versity. Gupta shares how her company is working to build a more inclusive workplace, why racial and gender bias exists, and why it’s important for businesses to take diversity, equity and inclusion seriously.True Ofce Learning was created with this primary idea in mind – to build an ethical world where every employee can be their very best self. “We chose this path because behavior change is impossible without learning,” says Gupta, who noticed a lack of efcient training in the workplace through current e-learning methods, and designed ways to improve it. “Every moment spent in a learning journey should be optimized to the learner, designed to change behaviors and build intelligence in the learner to unlock his or her true potential. We have made this vision a reality through technology. I am happy to share that, using our software, over 12 million learners have been empowered to make better decisions, and we’ve elevated enterprise performance across hundreds of global organizations.” Often being the only woman and the only person of color in many rooms throughout her professional experi-ence, Gupta has faced many obstacles and instances of inequality in her own life. Yet, she found ways to combat the inequality she faced and connect with others experiencing similar issues. “It’s important to nd and collaborate with allies. In any environment there are always some individuals who are more aware of the biases and inequalities and willing to provide guidance and input on how to navigate the rest of the group,” Gupta says. She also developed ways to remain em-powered throughout her professional life, which she would eventually apply to True Ofce Learning. “It is easy to feel isolated or to wish to fade into the background when more familiar, more powerful voices already seem to be at the table and you are the outsider. The key to success lies in taking that moment, with all its imperfections, and embracing it to nd your voice, share your ideas boldly, and follow them up with exceptional results that can speak for you.” Through its software and solutions, True Ofce Learning has helped address the issue of racial and gender inequality in the workplace – an issue that, as Gupta explains, needs to be addressed because “it is the right thing to do.”“Allowing inequality to propagate is a competitive disadvantage that is proven to negatively impact your bottom line,” she asserts. Addressing racial and Building an Inclusive Workforce Through Unconscious Bias Training By Tonae’ HamiltonWORKFORCE TRAININGPhoto courtesy of rawpixel – www.123RF.com

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31Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comgender inequality in the workplace has also shown to be benecial nancially for businesses. Gupta shared a study from the Boston Consulting Group, which found that companies with more diverse management teams have 19 percent higher revenues due to innovation.With the elimination of racial and gender inequality in the workplace proving to be advantageous in various aspects for companies, why does it still occur? “As humans, we all have biases. Unconscious bias is rooted in the brain,” Gupta explains. She further explains that our brain’s ability to quickly group things, while helpful to our ancestors, has unfortunately made individuals and businesses susceptible to inequality. “Conscious and unconscious biases stand in our way of creating a more equal world. What we choose to do with this knowledge is what is important.” To target our biases head on, Gupta explains that recognizing and address-ing them should be the initial step. “Changing perspectives and aligning hearts and minds requires more than laws and policies; it requires dialogue, education, leadership and intercultural commingling to help create experienc-es that eliminate fear and misinforma-tion and show individuals the benets of building a fairer world.”As one of the industries that is more susceptible to racial and gender bias, due to its historical lag in diversity, the oil and gas sector is looking to make changes in this area. Gupta provides context on the landscape of the industry and why it typically has faced issues dealing with race and gender. “Signicantly fewer women and African Americans are employed by the industry compared to other sectors creating an easier environment for biases to persist. As humans, we like people who somehow resemble us more and in whom we can see ourselves, something referred to as similarity bias.” Gupta also shares how low diversity among existing employees can lead companies to select less diverse candidates to join the organization, further propagating the inequality. Such issues are not only present in the oil and gas industry, but in a variety of other sectors as well. “This is a human problem, not an industry problem. Everyone, in every industry, in every company, at every level, needs to learn about bias and how it works in the human brain,” Gupta says. To successfully combat bias, whether it’s in oil and gas or another eld, the best solution, as she suggests, is effective education. “Training and ongoing reinforcement are critical in shifting the mental and cultural landscape.”While there is still a lack of diversity specically within the oil and gas industry, it is steadily improving with each company taking different measures to address diversity, equity and inclusion. As Gupta explains, “Every company is different, and every team is different. Do you look around the room (or Zoom) and see diversity? If not, you have to nd out why. The answer is usually bias playing into the hiring process in addition to more systemic diversity gaps like women being less prevalent in Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM) professions.” As a result, companies need to address gaps in equality and diversity in the most logical ways for their business, whether it’s through training and reinforcement mechanisms, leadership dialogue, focus groups, global events or employee resource groups (ERGs). To continue helping companies build an inclusive workforce and eliminate bias in the workplace, True Ofce Learning plans to continue leveraging its DEI and technology expertise to create more off-the-shelf, easy to use experiences for organizations to have a continued dialogue on unconscious bias and DEI. Gupta says, “We will continue our thought leadership efforts this year with experts to drive dialogue about why, individually and collectively, people make certain choices and decisions, so we can all shift conversations from agreeing to diversity in principle to knowing what barriers stand in our way of ensuring it to build a more ethical world.” WORKFORCE TRAININGADVERTISE WITH US!Are you looking to expand your reach in the oil and gas marketplace? Do you have a product or service that would beneﬁt the industry? If so, we would like to speak with you!CALL US (800) 562-2340 EX. 1 We have a creative team that can design your ad! OilwomanMagazine.com/advertise • Advertising@OilmanMagazine.com

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32Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comFEATUREFresh off a trip from Egypt . . . Texas, that is . . . where she had been visiting her parents a mere two hours before, Paula McCann Har-ris is right on time for our Zoom chat. Wear-ing stylish, oversized tortoiseshell glasses, she gives off a very Oprah Winfrey vibe. Harris, in fact, was in the Middle East in Janu-ary 2020 at the start of the global pandemic when companies began recalling employees from foreign countries and implementing travel restrictions. After spending a week in India, she traveled to Qatar and then Oman in her role as Schlumberger’s Global Director, giving presentations to management teams and some of the company’s 85,000 employees worldwide on the direction the company is going with regard to the energy transition. As she prepared to give her nal workshop, the manager announced that all employees had been grounded and would need to stay in the country they were in. Upon hearing the news, Harris thought, “I’m leaving in the morning!” Fortunately, she was able to catch her ight and return to the U.S., where business was conducted as usual, for the most part, until March.As the pandemic continues, each of us has to weigh the pros and cons of traveling anywhere but, for newly retired Harris, who retired in May 2020 after 33 years with Schlumberger, the benets of spending time with her parents outweigh the risks. The enforced slowdown has given her clarity about one thing, though: “I’m too young to retire permanently!”Instead, she refers to it as being “on hiatus” and sees it as an opportunity to do the things her busy schedule as Schlumberger’s Global Around the World in Thirty-Three YearsPaula McCann Harris, Former Global Director, Schlumberger By Rebecca PontonPhoto courtesy of Niles Dillard

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33Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comFEATUREDirector – a job that necessitated trav-eling all over the world – didn’t allow her to do. In addition to enabling her to spend more time with her parents, “I get to spend so much time in my backyard gardening and swimming daily, which I never did before. I’m taking care of my body, bicycling and going to the gym every day.” She has discovered, much to her surprise, that she relishes having the opportunity to focus on herself. “I’m enjoying it!” she says exuberantly.How much she actually has slowed down is debatable. Even before retire-ment, Harris was a dedicated volunteer, serving on the boards of numerous non-prots, including the Houston Children’s Museum, the Petroleum Club of Houston and Energized for STEM Academy Charter School. Her passion – engaging children, particular-ly girls, in the STEM subjects – had a direct correlation with her work. Now that she is retired, she nds herself putting in the same amount of time, if not more, volunteering. “I found myself coming home from the school at 11 o’clock one night and I said, ‘Wait a minute. If you’re putting in these kinds of hours, don’t you want compensation?’ But what I didn’t want was to have to get up the next morn-ing and do it again!” she says laughing. While volunteering is still very much a part of who Harris is, she cautioned herself to nd a better balance, “Be-cause I will get very intense and take it to another level!”She wasn’t always that way, though. In a story that has become part of her personal lore, she says she was such an “acquiescent kind of kid” that when her father, Paul, whom she’s named after, told her she could go to college wherever she wanted and be whatever she wanted, but the only education he was paying for was a petroleum engineering degree from Texas A&M University, she did as she was told! Growing up, she says, “I’d never met an engineer. I had never gone to a camp or read a book and didn’t even understand what engineering was,” but every Sunday she and her dad, a former sergeant with the Houston police department and later an investi-gator with the DA’s ofce, would read the Houston Post together and discuss the highest paying careers; petroleum engineering was always number one. That lack of exposure to – or even basic knowledge of – engineering would later be the catalyst for Harris writing a children’s book, sponsored by Schlumberger, about the way engineers can make the world a better place for everyone. Her own lack of under-standing growing up “is the reason I spend so much time with the books and workshops and summer camps and programming to introduce kids to engineering.” Since its release in 2004, thousands of copies of When I Grow Up, I Want to Be an Engineer have been given to children around the world and the book has been trans-lated into Spanish, French and Russian. During her time with Schlumberger Continued on next page...“I will get very intense and take it to another level!”Photo courtesy of Paul McCann

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34Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comFEATUREand with her ongoing community and volunteer work, she places special emphasis on creating awareness of sci-ence, technology, engineering and math (STEM) for lower socioeconomic kids of color and girls, saying, “That’s my thing in life.”Harris wants these young people to bring diversity to the engineering class-rooms and to the workforce that didn’t exist when, acquiescing to her father’s wishes, she enrolled in Texas A&M as a petroleum engineering major in 1982. “It was tough and it was hard. I was always the only girl and the only African American.” She said the harsh environment was good preparation for later working in the male-dominated oil and gas industry and, specically, offshore. She also was introduced to the cyclical nature of oil and gas. She had an internship with Mobil Oil and a scholarship from Chevron. “I’m work-ing for these big companies and being sponsored by them and the bottom falls out in 1987.” Mobil decided not to hire any of its interns at the time and Chevron elected not to hire its scholar-ship recipients. After discovering that Schlumberger was hiring a small num-ber of engineers for a training pro-gram, she went to Lafayette, Louisiana, and applied. “I literally cried after my interview. I said, ‘I don’t want to work for a service com-pany; I want to work for a big oil com-pany.’ And I knew my dad was going to make me take it,” she says laughing, “be-cause there were no other jobs!” She begrudgingly accepted the offer and says the hiring manager proceeded to send her to Houma, Louisiana – “not a female friendly place” – in what she describes as a trial by re.“There were two factors – they didn’t really want me and I didn’t want them!” Harris says, recalling a “terrible” rst year where she went home every week-end. [Suddenly, the sound of a dog barking in the background gets louder. “You’re going to have to be quiet, Muf-n,” Harris admonishes. These days, interviews always have some sort of surprise interlude, so I promise Mufn we will include her in the story and the barking recedes.] After that rst year, Harris says she decided she was either going to pursue engineering whole-heartedly and give it her best and, if not, she needed to leave the industry and “go teach science somewhere.”The rst year, she had been given a C on her job performance review. “That’s never happened again. I said, ‘You will not be average. You will work hard and you will rise above.’ I have never been the best engineer, meaning the smartest – I’m a solutions-driven person – but I’ve always been able to pride myself on the fact that I am one of the hardest working.”“It’s mind over matter and I tell kids, teenagers – especially mine – attitude equals altitude, period. Once I got my attitude straight and decided I was go-ing to keep the job and make the best of it, I haven’t looked back.”That didn’t necessarily improve the culture in which she was immersed, though. Harris says when she rst became an engineer, she wanted to t in and be one of the guys. She points out, “This is pre-Anita Hill, so every-body could say whatever the heck they wanted to say; everybody selling any kind of tool had a picture of a lady in a bikini and the pictures were all over the ofces.”It certainly didn’t get any better when she went offshore where, even now, 30 years later, women make up a mere 3.6 percent of the workforce. “I started off being very intimidated. I’d say, ‘Don’t make a big deal out of it,’ but it was always, ‘Woman onboard, woman onboard!’ There would be anywhere from 100 to 500 people on those rigs and 99.9 percent of the time I was the only female and the only African American.”After proving herself offshore for seven years, Harris says, “I was widely respected.” If someone told her they didn’t have accommodations for a woman – in an attempt to get a male replacement – she would tell them, “I can go out there and do a great job or you can wait two weeks for someone else.” Laughing, she says, “I became known throughout the Gulf!” On “I’m with the Schlumberger gods, and I’m being heard”

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35Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comFEATUREa more serious note, she says, “You watch yourself evolve from this timid young person,” and that’s when she knew it was time to start looking for her next role. Looking back on it, Harris cites those long hard years offshore – “breaking that ceiling” – as one of two seminal moments in her career when she felt like she had “made it.” The second was being invited, as a young engineer, to present at the prestigious Offshore Technology Conference (OTC). Her mom ran out and bought her a “wow” business suit and she found herself in a room “with every big name at Sch-lumberger – the CEO, CFO, CIO” – strategizing with the investor relations team. “I’m sitting there with these names I have read about, thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m with the Schlumberger gods, and I’m being heard; I’m get-ting to talk.” The presentation was a success and she received notes of praise from those leaders regarding her performance. “And then it was back to the real world,” she says laughing. Harris always made it a point to drop in on the Schlumberger ofces wherev-er she was even when she was traveling with girlfriends on her days off. She would casually walk in and tell the sec-retary, “I’m a eld engineer and I work in the Gulf of Mexico. Is there anyone around I can meet?” It was a tactic that paid off and led to a position in sales. It wasn’t the rst time she heard that she landed the role because she was a woman or because she was Black, which she quickly countered with, “I got it because I spent my seven days off with the sales team, forming rela-tionships with clients!” She discovered she loved sales and what it entailed – learning to play golf, entertaining clients, and visiting every continent except Antarctica – eventually becom-ing a global sales trainer.“I spent a couple of years traveling the world and I think that is when I nally said, ‘Pinch me; I can’t believe I’m here.’”As she neared the end of her 30s – “When you make big decisions, right?” – Harris got married and had a baby. As much as she wanted to “slow down for a minute and enjoy this baby,” she also made it known that she very much wanted to be part of a big manage-ment training group that worked on special projects around the globe. She lobbied for it – railing that leadership was trying to keep her off the project because she was a new mother – until she nally got it, only to discover that she would be expected to spend six weeks training in Perth.“I said, ‘No, no, no. I don’t want to do that part of it, I’ve already done the international travel. I just want to learn project management.” Leaving her eight-month-old baby with her mother-in-law in Chicago, she traveled to Australia, where she was “horribly miserable” being separated from her daughter. “Be careful what you wish Continued on next page...“Pinch me; I can’t believe I’m here.”

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for,” she cautions, “and make sure that you aren’t going against what God has for you.”Harris learned a valuable lesson from that experience and, when she had to spend six weeks in Venezuela to n-ish the training, she said, “I’m taking the baby with me.” When her mom pleaded with her not to [imitates wail-ing], ‘No, please don’t take the baby, you don’t have support, you don’t even speak Spanish!’ – she enlisted the help of a village. “Every week, someone new – college girlfriends, my sister, my parents, my husband, neighbors – came over to stay a week and watch the baby.”Looking back on the reticence of leadership to appoint her to the proj-ect, Harris says thoughtfully, “We’re very quick sometimes to say, ‘That was racist and that was sexist,’ but every-thing isn’t racist and sexist; some things just aren’t for you. It denitely helped my career but, at the same time, if I had to do that over again, I would not have forced it. It wasn’t the time or the place.”With the help of her husband, Dwayne Harris, a former captain in the mili-tary, whom she credits with giving her the “opportunity to have such a great daughter,” – Madison Harris, now 20 and a junior majoring in computer sci-ence major at Spelman College – Har-ris rose through the ranks at Schlum-berger, culminating with her role as global director, which she calls her “dream job.” Building on her volunteer work with children, her children’s and young adult books, and her previous work recruiting college students, Harris says, “It was very impactful, very much who I am.”“Environment, sustainability, gover-nance (ESG) and the energy transition are so important. I spent a lot of time at student conferences on energy or the World Petroleum Council Youth Forum and really hearing tomorrow’s view, the European view, Asia’s view, on what we want our world to look like in the next 10, 20, 50 years based on how energy is going to continue to make an impact and how we want that energy to look through the transition.”Harris calls taking a class on global sustainability at Cambridge University in January 2020 “eye opening.” She says, “The world would not exist as it is without the energy industry,” and be-lieves some of the criticism leveled at the industry – oil and gas in particular – is unwarranted. However, she cau-tions, “We do have to be aware of the fact that our earth has nite resources; we don’t get a second chance.”She stresses that it should not be an “us versus them” mentality. “We have 36Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comFEATUREu The rst thing I wanted to do when I retired was . . . travel for fun, which has not happened yet because of COVID-19, but I want to take a long European trip with NO meetings or presentations scheduled.u My greatest indulgence has been . . . spending time down on our family ranch in Egypt, Texas. And also building my wine cellar and drinking delicious wines on WEEKNIGHTS!u Something I didn’t have time to do while I was working but couldn’t wait to do was . . . piddle around shops, play tennis, lunch with friends, and wear workout clothes all day. u Something I never want to do again is . . . wear suits every day.u The rst book I read for pleasure was . . . Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow.u I have binge watched . . . Schitt’s Creek.u As soon as it’s safe to travel by plane, train, automobile or however I can get there, I plan to . . . take a leisurely train ride through Europe.u When I told my husband I was going to retire, his reaction was . . . he did not believe I would do it! Paula McCann Harris’ Next Act

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When I Grow Up, I Want to be an Engineer By Paula McCann Harris When I grow up,I want to be an engineer. I want to make things and make things BETTER, my dear. I could make a NEW cell phone or design a better house. I could design new DVDs or better ways to catch a mouse. I will CONSTRUCT buildings and streets and clean air products. I can MAKE toys, and games,and videos and trucks. When I become an ENGINEER,there’s so much I can do. I need good grades in math and sci-ence. THAT’S TRUE. There is a need for more ENGI-NEERS;there are just too few. I will make a difference and make the world better for ME AND YOU! Supported by Schlumberger ©2006. All rights served. Reprinted by permission. Available from Amazon. 37Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comFEATUREto work and use our same resources, our same technology, and our same brilliant people to push [the transi-tion] a little faster. We’ve done it before; we can do it again. Fighting with [other] people who are interested in making sure the earth is here for generations is not the direction we want to go.”When she wasn’t increasing her knowledge of sustainability, Harris was preparing herself for a seat on the board of a publicly traded com-pany, something she sees as the next phase in a woman’s career once she has reached the C-suite or a director position and had an impact at that level. Even before retirement, she had started putting together a board-ready portfolio and was recently accepted into the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce “Women on Boards” preparedness program. “That’s how these things work – hap-penstance and strategy. I think if I would have been more strategic and thought about one day retiring and serving on corporate boards, there may be something I would have done differently, but I wasn’t thinking that far out. My new advice to women, as they are working their career, is to look at what skill sets and what relationships you need to develop. Go ahead and think all the way through your ascension in your company and your ascension to being appointed to a public board. Have a strategy and a plan.”Harris is well aware that unconscious bias is one of the reasons women’s representation is so low – making up only 14 percent of the boards of oil and gas companies in 2019, according to S&P Global – despite the fact that it has been proven that companies with more diverse boards have better return on investment (ROI). It is very much about relationships and board members tend to nominate prospec-tive members who look like them and have similar backgrounds and experi-ences. And, until women make greater inroads, that is predominantly older, white males.“It’s going to be an even harder ceil-ing to break,” muses Harris. But does anyone doubt she can do it? Not if they recall the prescient words of the men she worked with offshore long ago: woman on board, woman on board!

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38Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comIn today’s society, diversity and inclu-sion play a role in both the workplace and the community. As our country’s demographics change, the art of ally-ship among communities is vital to the authentic growth of society. Thoughtful and committed allyship can positively impact organizations in a number of ways, not only creat-ing an environment that invites greater diversity and inclusion and employee engagement, but also fostering positive images that can increase brand loyalty and achieve broader corporate social responsibility goals. Given the multitude of ways in which potential marginaliza-tion persists and the varied contexts in which exclusion can take place, we can all practice allyship. As I began my diversity and inclusion journey 25 years ago, I learned the focus of inequity in several industries. One area, in particular, is women in the ener-gy industry. There is a lot of uncertainty in today’s oil, gas and energy industry, which has made it imperative for com-panies to redene their business models to focus on value-driving initiatives that yield more innovative teams. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), women make up 14.94 percent of all executive and senior management posi-tions in the oil and gas industry. Overall, women are only 18 percent of the total [industry] workforce. This information speaks volumes about the culture of the oil and gas industry and how companies have little to no diversity among their workforce. It’s essential for companies to be intentional and give opportunities for women to reach their full potential in the workplace.Stressing the importance of account-Dennis Kennedy, Founder, Energy Diversity & Inclusion Council By Dennis KennedyHONORARY OILWOMANDennis Kennedy (right) moderating a Q&A with former President Barack Obama at the 2019 National Diversity and Leadership Council.Dennis Kennedy, Founder, Energy Diversity & Inclusion Council

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39Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comability, I sought out [and founded] the Energy Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Council. Our council will focus on building an inclusive culture within the energy industry that leverages our diversity to develop and empower everyone to accomplish extraordinary results. With women being an under-represented group, it is essential that businesses shift to a new inclusive environment. With the Energy D&I Council, we plan to create a service like an index that will score companies on their commitment to D&I. We want the Council to be the premier resource for energy companies looking for ways to create real and measurable change through training and coaching and recruitment of talent. Diversity and inclusion are not something you x; they’re a journey. Through that journey, it is essential for allies to initiate visible engagement and involve leadership. As an ally, we can advocate these four points for equity for women:1. Be transparent.2. Go beyond the law and rewrite organizational policies to reect respect and equity. 3. Listen more and speak up. 4. Learn about workplace realities.With these steps, we can build a type of culture that is inclusive and al-lows women to bring their best and authentic selves to work. As leaders striving for change, we must remember that talent comes in all forms and it is important that the energy industry has the tools, resources and education to prepare its leaders to focus on an ever-changing workplace.As an ally, I commit and recognize the work to enact change within differ-ent communities. The biggest piece to being an ally is that it is truly up to all of us to educate ourselves. The more comfortable we are talking about these issues, the better progress we’re going to have. We’ve been having these con-versations forever. The only way issues are going to get better is if we truly understand and start having the con-versations. We can achieve true equity by investing in the requisite knowledge, expertise and workplace experiences of women to lead to systemic change. energydiversitycouncil.org HONORARY OILWOMAN(L to R): Angeles Valenciano, CEO of the National Diversity Council, actress America Ferrera and Dennis Kennedy at the 15th Annual National Diversity & Leadership Conference, 2019. ADVERTISE WITH US!Are you looking to expand your reach in the oil and gas marketplace? Do you have a product or service that would beneﬁt the industry? If so, we would like to speak with you! We have a creative team that can design your ad! Call us (800) 562-2340 Ex. 1 OilwomanMagazine.com/advertise Advertising@OilmanMagazine.com

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40Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comIn 1985, Annie Lennox and Aretha Franklin belted out the anthem, “Sisters are Doin’ it for Themselves,” celebrat-ing the power of women to lead in the world. But for millennia preceding that anthem, Black, white and other women of color had been a powerful force in shaping the world. The ongoing challenge is that this unlimited energy remains largely untapped, particularly in Black women. According to McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace 2020: • White men are twice as likely to be in the C-suite as new employee orientations. • There are 30 percent fewer men of color and white women at the top than at entry level. • Women of color lose 85 percent of their numbers climbing the corporate ladder. We talked to three Black women, who share how they use their power inside and out of corporate America. On seeing the graph, Rita Waugh, Co-lumbia chemical engineering graduate and Innovation Manager at Aera Energy, says, “It’s frightening but it feels true; it’s very alarming. You ght it both ways - the female battles and the POC battles. When I started in 2002, I was the only female and the only POC on my team.”Being an “only” starts for many Black women before they enter the corporate ranks. Leonelle Thompson, director of Career and Professional Development at Langston University, Oklahoma’s only HBCU, left the oil and gas industry after 12 years as an accountant to help students prepare to enter the workforce. She’s concerned higher education fails to equip graduates of color with realistic expectations and skills for the real world.“I think students believe corporate America is further along. Upon hearing company responses after George Floyd’s killing, they said, ‘Why are people having so many DEI workshops? Why wasn’t mandatory training already happening?’”“Yet students aren’t having university experiences with diverse faculty. In a previous job, I had a Black freshman in First Year Experience class. She will never have another professor that looks like me, or [like] her. Think about how she won’t be prepared for a diverse workforce because of the professors she’s had. She won’t know and we don’t understand the impact of that.”When Stephanie Galloway realized just how homogeneously white her company was, she was shocked. A chemical engi-neer, now a career and technical educa-tion teacher at Wunsche High School in Spring, Texas, Galloway describes seeing the real world at the headquarters of the specialty chemicals company where she worked for 20 years. “I’m looking at this massive cafeteria and see 1,000 people having lunch and there are only 10 Black people, maybe. Am I at the wrong building? I called my mom [and said], ‘They have no Black people!’ It felt like a slap in the face. I knew the company wasn’t very diverse, but I didn’t know this. I thought, I will never be valued here.”Galloway knows her decision to leave corporate life is not unique. “At the Uni-versity of Delaware, Black females were a very small percentage of the engineer-ing department. We were great students with plans to conquer the world, [to] be CEOs. The reality is many, most, Black women don’t stay. You don’t really know that, until you see it.” Black Gold: Unleashing the Power of Black Women By JoAnn Meyer and E. Victor BrownUNCOMFORTABLE CONVERSATIONSLeft: Leonelle Thompson, director of Career and Professional Development at Langston University, Oklahoma’s only HBCU. Right: Stephanie Galloway, a chemical engineer, and career and technical education teacher at Wunsche High School in Spring, Texas.

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41Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comThompson believes paving the way as an “only” is a great burden to assume. “Sometimes the stress that comes with that is not worth it and we choose to leave the corporate world. You have to know that doing that is okay, too.” Vic Brown, “My personal take is Black women have always prepared us to take on the world as it is, rather than the way we’d like to see it, which we see playing out in our political arena right now. While their ght to gain traditional levels of power may go unrealized, they always nd ways to direct their power to teaching and guiding others.”JoAnn Meyer, “This calling to raise people up was a common thread in our conversations. Galloway relayed her pride at being asked for the secret to her team delivering the highest quality and product yield.”She said, “At the end of every shift, the operators changed equipment settings. I asked why. They said, ‘We’re resetting the equipment to comply with engineer-ing orders.’ I said, ‘Let’s run it the way it needs to be run.’ Operators said they were never before asked for input. They needed to know I didn’t respect them less because they didn’t have a college degree.” While some Black women leave, some, like Waugh, persevere, effecting change within the corporation. She describes the challenges of trying to help others during her almost 20-year career in the oil and gas industry.“Black women want to be the protectors of lots of people; we’ve carried the torch helping other minorities. At Aera, the rst diversity-related programs were women’s mentoring and a Black employee resource group (ERG) [that] provided the framework for the ERGs that followed. We’re compelled to be the voice of the Black race and are often designated by com-pany management to be the champion of overall diversity.”“The difculty is Black women are expected to stand-up for all that are marginalized, challenging the status quo. These challenges threaten those protect-ing it, often making us targets to be re-moved. There are attempts to silence us and coaching to be less aggressive by the same people asking for help to change the culture. Attempting to modify com-pany structures and behavioral norms in addition to doing our day job, tending to our own professional development needs, dealing with insecurities about where/how we t in, and feeling iso-lated, is exhausting.”Vic Brown, “It’s an uncomfortable truth that America has always relied on Black women to get things done. It’s com-mon knowledge that the progress of the suffrage movement was founded on the power and sacrices of Black women who then had to wait half a century to exercise the same right given to white women.” Black women are paving the way in corporate America bringing hard-fought change which positively affects women and men. This source of power isn’t al-ways recognized and seldom celebrated. Waugh struggled to trust a system and processes that produced very few di-verse leaders and seemingly undervalued her leadership potential. She is encour-aged that progress is happening as experienced when one former manager, using knowledge from unconscious bias training, sought her out. “He seemed genuinely curious about my experience and how I had encountered bias during my career. He engaged in a very open conversation. He was empa-thetic and I felt I could trust him.” While Galloway and Waugh describe having successful interactions on a small scale, involving trusted individuals, such as a manager and members of small teams, the women, along with Thomp-son, believe achieving real DEI requires corporate level, systemic change. Thompson, who led the development of afnity groups a decade ago for an integrated oil and gas company, believes measurable, sustainable progress will only happen when DEI expectations are included in individual performance agreements. “You can’t just remove supervisors and managers who aren’t actively enabling and facilitating DEI in the workplace. There’s work to be done and critical skills needed. But slow progress, disap-pointing results, and a 2018 Deloitte study showing 67 percent of millennials and Gen Zers believe management only pays lip service to DEI, indicate what we’ve been doing isn’t enough.”“A performance management process with clearly dened, individual DEI expectations and consequences, and consistently applied accountability is a must. These will encourage supervisors to do more and do better rather than just complying.” Just as oil and gas once released from deep underground becomes energy powering our world, how would our corporations and our society benet from unencumbered Black women? Sad-ly, we still lack the drive to urgently seek out this power. And unlike those valu-able underground oil and gas reserves, corporations don’t even have to drill to nd power; they only have to open eyes and minds and get out of the way. UNCOMFORTABLE CONVERSATIONS

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42Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.com“The way you get to really good solu-tions is to have a lot of people think-ing differently about the same thing,” says Paula Glover, former president and CEO of the American Associa-tion of Blacks in Energy (AABE), and new president of the Alliance to Save Energy (ASE). “Women think differ-ently than men, so we need them at the table.”Glover gives the example of the board of directors (BOD) of Groundswell, an organization whose board she cur-rently sits on, that brings solar projects to communities for economic empow-erment. “We have a female CEO and board president, Michelle Moore, who has created a team with a set of values that ground who we are, as well as our vendors and partners. Something she’s doing is different.” Glover says that Groundswell’s BOD consists of women and men of all backgrounds and the “value that diversity brings is the ability to see something differently in a way we don’t always see it.” “I’ve heard Michelle say, ‘We may lose some money, but this is important,’” says Glover. And, in hindsight, the organization gained nancially in the long run by staying true to its values. Glover recently made the transition from board member to president of ASE. She now leads a diverse and bipartisan advisory board of members of Congress and corporate and non-prot executives dedicated to growing the economy for families and business-es by using energy more productively. When asked what it’s like to go from board member to board chair, Glover responded, “It’s weird!” “You need to be more steeped in everything the company is doing,” she says. Glover speaks about the self-imposed stress as a Black woman being a president. “There’s not many other Black women in this role. You don’t want to be the excuse why there aren’t any more.” Any of us who have had the experience of being an “only,” as Glover calls it, know what she’s talking about. At AABE, Glover leads a 2,000-member asso-ciation that represents African Americans and other minorities on energy policy, regula-tions and environ-mental issues. She is particularly interested in how energy can help people in communi-ties “make the money.” She explains, “The energy business can be the road to the middle class. If we do an en-ergy project in a community, we must let the people in the community make the money.” In the Marcellus shale play in Pennsylvania, for example, locals were upset when other groups were brought in to do the work. A company has the obligation to invest in work-force development to help people in the community ll the jobs, be a part of the energy business, and raise their economic levels. In all her leadership roles, Glover strives to help women and minori-ties participate in the energy industry. She views the problems of advancing women and minorities in the energy business as multi-layered and multi-dimensional. “Take COVID-19 relief for small businesses, for example,” she says. “Payroll Protection is one program that helps a small business owner keep her employees. But what if I can’t pay my rent or my vendors? My business will still shut down eventually. And what happens to the landlord who owns the building where you operate if you can’t pay your rent? It’s a big cycle and there are so many connection points.”Glover believes in a holistic approach. She focuses her leadership on the big picture by looking at root causes that hold women and minorities back.The rst is education. “We learn to read by Grade 3,” Glover explains. “After Grade 3, we read to learn.” If a child falls behind early, the rest of her education and readiness for the Paula Glover’s Holistic Approach to Leadership By Lucinda JacksonWOMAN ON BOARD!WOMAN ON BOARD!Photo courtesy LR Gil Photography

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43Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comworkforce are difcult. Access to good public education is key. Glover believes we must make the right investments in public education. Another cause for opening the ap-erture for women and Blacks in the energy business lies with the orga-nizations themselves. Rather than determining that it’s hard to nd women and minorities for leader-ship positions, organizations need to look deeply at what they are doing to keep people out.“There are lots of highly-educated, well-credentialed minorities and women who are ready for more opportunity. The problem is not with them, but with organizational structures that are not welcoming, inviting or inclusive of their skills and talents.”Glover says organizations need to look at their own biases and barri-ers that keep qualied people out. She tells them, “It’s time to get your house in order. What are you doing that is not allowing you to better engage with these groups?”She recognizes we can’t eliminate bias. But we can ask ourselves how biases are showing up in our pro-cesses. Glover makes tremendous impact by affecting other organizations. “I can say things that people in the organi-zation can’t say.” She asks the right questions and makes companies think about their own role in the low numbers of women and minori-ties as CEOs and board members.How can a company x this to at-tract qualied women and minorities to their boards? “Hire a search rm and tell them to go nd them. It’s not about qualied individuals not being available. They have always been there, ready and prepared – you just need to look.” WOMAN ON BOARD!SUBSCRIBE TODAY!Get the Oil & Gas news and data you need in a magazine you’ll be proud to read. To subscribe, complete a quick form online:OilwomanMagazine.com/advertise Editor@OilmanMagazine.com (800) 562-2340 Ex. 5Telisa Toliver, AABE Board Chair (L) with Paula Glover.

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44Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comThe Wall Street Journal recently said it is “one of the hottest jobs in America – and it has a revolv-ing door.” These chief D&I of-cers (sometimes the role is given a slightly different title) have been in the industry a long time and are planning to stay as they help lead their companies toward a more eq-uitable workforce.Rebecca Ponton: How did you get involved in DEI? Why are you passionate about it?Natacha Buchanan: I had an opportunity to support HR [years ago] just as our focus on I&D was beginning to heighten. I was instantly hooked. [Then] I got the opportunity to be our rst 100 percent dedicated resource to I&D. I am passionate not just because of how I&D impacts me personally, but because it is truly a way to unlock the talents and per-spectives of every person.Ray Dempsey: I came into my current role by way of my own challenge to our leadership. I’d put it this way: We have good intentions, but we haven’t always executed them as effectively and vigorously as we could have to drive real progress. We’ve shifted now toward real accountability. DEI is not just my job; it’s become my mission and purpose.Gerri Mason Hall: I recognized at an early age that some groups had privileges that others didn’t and still don’t. Social justice and equity in the workplace have been consistent areas of focus as I en-gage in roles in both the public and private sectors. My current role lends itself well to advancing DEI, particularly around racial equity.Dennis Kennedy: I had an op-portunity to work on a D&I proj-ect that sparked my interest [and] led me to teach diversity manage-ment at the local university. As I taught, my passion grew. I then made a decision to quit my job to start the Texas Diversity Council in 2004. What started in Texas is now a national effort.Lyn Lee: My parents and grand-parents were good role models, and, throughout my career, I have had many life-changing mo-ments, including landing a role as the afrmative action ofcer in the Michigan government as one of my rst jobs out of gradu-ate school. Personally, I have also been the recipient of micro-inequities. As a young consultant, expecting my rst child, I was told by the managing partner that the client would prefer someone else.Rose McKinney-James: I spent so much of my life focused on unwinding false perceptions and stereotypes and trying to meet unrealistic expectations, I didn’t realize that I was living my own version of why DEI is such im-portant work. My passion stems from a long-held desire to realize the values embedded in the work – equity, equality and embracing differences. RP: “E” means equity. Why is it so critical?NB: Equity is an integral part of progressing I&D whether it is spelled out or not. At Phillips 66 it is our goal to ensure that the right conditions are in place for every employee to reach their full potential. That means identifying and eliminating barriers that could prevent groups from advancing, Agents of Change By Rebecca PontonENGINEERING DIVERSITYNATACHA BUCHANAN Director D&I, Phillips 66RAY DEMPSEY Chief Diversity Ofcer, bp GERRI MASON HALL Chief D&I Ofcer, Sodexo

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45Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comENGINEERING DIVERSITYwhether due to lack of access or opportunity, while also ensuring that our processes and policies are regularly evaluated for bias and unintended outcomes. RD: Equity points to a recogni-tion that we genuinely want a level playing eld that allows us to draw from the rich diversity the world offers. It may not nec-essarily mean we have to treat everybody the same. With every dimension of difference, we may have to think more specically about the way we attract, develop and support people to enable their greatest progress within the organization. GMH: An erroneous assumption has been made that equity would inherently be addressed through D&I practices, even for “best in class” organizations. While such efforts advanced awareness and drove a more inclusive culture, progress remains slow and a focus on equity is critical if we are to move the dial when it comes to the representation and advance-ment of minority populations. DK: Equity is a must for any ef-fective initiative. More organiza-tions are starting to understand the importance of equity in the equation. Having a level playing eld encourages an inclusive cul-ture. LL: The intention must always start with the desire to improve representation – diversity – in a dened underrepresented group – for example, gender, LGBT, race/ethnicity, disabilities, etc. Howev-er, in order to achieve true diver-sity of views, representation itself is not enough. Inclusion is about building psychological safety, and leaders have a huge role in making the environment safe for diversity to ourish. Only with an inclusive environment can the organization build equity, where despite differ-ences, everyone has the same op-portunities based on abilities.RMJ: Equity is actually an equal-izer that requires us to have the courage to take into consideration the circumstances and reasons for the lack of equality and to think long, hard and creatively about how we address and, more im-portantly, take the necessary steps to correct long-standing inequal-ity. Meeting people where you nd them, creating a culture of inclusion and belonging, and sup-porting an environment built on providing equality of opportunity are key.Where do you think organiza-tions fall short?NB: Thinking that this is a stand-alone initiative that should be driven by a particular part of an organization. [Neither] legal nor HR should be the drivers of creating an inclusive and diverse workplace. That drives a compli-ance culture, not an inclusive one. [Also] expecting results and change without action and ac-countability. We must evaluate our processes, educate ourselves on our blind spots and be willing to challenge the status quo. Account-ability can look very different [for companies], but it is usually a catalyst to drive change. RD: We have to move to a culture of real accountability and trans-parency so that leaders at every level are genuinely measured and held accountable for their com-mitment, performance and prog-ress in driving DEI. GMH: So many organizations are ad hoc in their approach to DEI, rather than developing and embedding a well-orchestrated strategy that resides within the business. Many are strong in their diversity at the junior level while Continued on next page...DENNIS KENNEDY Founder, Energy Diversity CouncilLYN LEE Chief D&I Ofcer, ShellROSE MCKINNEY-JAMES Chair, U.S. Energy Foundation

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46Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comfailing to ensure proportionate levels of diversity in higher ranking roles. This points to a need for more robust pipeline development strategies and initiatives, and systemic processes to mitigate unconscious bias in the hir-ing and employment decision-making processes.DK: The biggest opportunity for inclusion for many organizations is at the C-suite level. Unfortunately, for many organizations, the C-suite is devoid of representation of both women and people of color. Nation-ally, women only make up 17 percent of Fortune 500 leaders. Some of the organizations have never had a person of color in leadership. What CEOs need to understand is that talent comes in all colors. LL: Inclusion is a culture, not an ini-tiative. Senior leaders have to believe in it, live and breathe it, role model it [and] expect it from their teams. An organization’s actions and words have to match, and that means working deep into the organization, not just the HR policies and practices, but also in the way we work with our suppliers and how we support communities.RMJ: Authentic engagement! Com-panies develop plans without seeking input from employees and customers. Engagement requires conversation and ongoing communication. Too many organizations fail to set the foundation and to match the business imperative to the value proposition in-herent in setting an equitable table for all stakeholders. What is the one thing that can be implemented quickly and effect real change?NB: The foundational place to start is with senior leadership alignment. Without that “North Star,” it is easy to get bogged down in initiatives and lose sight of the strategic outcome. It also serves as a lens to help evaluate where we can and should focus our efforts. And that helps those that feel I&D is an insurmountable journey to recognize that we can make progress toward our overall goal. RD: What gets measured is what gets done. I’m not a proponent of quotas; they drive bad behavior. I am very much a believer that you’ve got to create real metrics to drive progress in a constructive way that enables the company to be clear and condent about the progress that it’s making. GMH: Elevating allyship and assum-ing an “anti-discrimination” versus “nondiscrimination stance.” While nu-anced, the former is more intentional as the latter is more passive. DK: It is essential for CEOs to be engaged in their organization’s DEI efforts. He/she should actually be [its] biggest champion. The CEO should be very vocal and provide visible lead-ership internally [while also] publicly displaying his/her commitment to DEI.LL: Link it to company values and start from the top in terms of leader-ship and commitment. Work from the bottom in terms of actions. Work closely with employee resource groups as they are the “grassroots” and can provide valuable sensing from the ground to guide the leaders in the company on what to do and how to engage.RMJ: “Begin with the end in mind” – Stephen Covey. Create a plan. Engage all key stakeholders to participate in evaluating progress. Be authentic, no platitudes or simply allocating funds for others to use to act on your behalf. Communicate frequently and authen-tically. Be prepared for news you don’t want to hear and act on it.Is there anything unique that your organization is doing?NB: We approach I&D as not just a stand-alone initiative but as a com-ponent of our culture. It is embed-ded in the behaviors we expect from every employee at every level. And we are integrating the inclusive mind-set across many of our processes. I believe this approach will allow I&D to fully permeate our culture and not become a “avor of the month” ini-tiative. RD: There have been extraordinary conversations within the company following the tragic death of George Floyd. bp recently launched a “frame-work for action” to support our U.S. minority employees, especially African Americans, that can be applied every-where in the world to help us be more aware of and intentional about the way we support our employees. GMH: While Sodexo has engaged in DEI for close to two decades, we have an opportunity to revisit our practices in preparation for the future of work. The pandemic has amplied the criti-cality of our essential workers on the front line; we will continue to evolve our efforts around this population.DK: We are establishing a national scorecard for the energy industry which will lead to accountability. An industry that historically has been de-void of access for women and people of color will now open its doors to include those that it has traditionally excluded. Our hope is that account-ability will lead to real change.LL: D&I are part of our values of respect for our people. Just like safety, it is an expectation of those who work at Shell to create an inclusive work-place where everyone feels physically and psychologically safe, and where different views are respected and val-ued. We encourage a learner mindset in our organization and encourage people to discuss their mistakes. I think the aspiration to view our D&I culture just like our safety culture is unique at Shell.RMJ: We are working to fully inte-grate and embed our DEI efforts in all aspects of our operations and programs. We see a clear nexus to that work and our ability to execute on our strategic initiatives. We plan to be in-tentional about these efforts and lead in this space! ENGINEERING DIVERSITY

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47Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comAny nal thoughts?NB: It is imperative for a company to progress at the speed that will permeate its culture and produce sustainable results. True progress in this space is reected in the culture of your or-ganization, not by programs and initiatives. The recent examples of racial injustice provided lead-ers within our industry a platform to speak out against external elements that impact our efforts and do not align with our values. RD: We’re less than one generation away from the majority of the workforce being minorities. Companies that are preparing now to be identi-ed and recognized as embracing, welcoming and genuinely cultivating that diversity in their workforce, business partnerships and communi-ties are going to win. It’s an urgent priority that warrants the attention we’re paying to it today. DK: With the killing of George Floyd, there is an anti-racism movement. Corporations are now aligning with national racial justice activi-ties. There has been a number of national CEO pledges and large donations to community or-ganizations. However, I am not sure what action these corporations will take to address systemic racism within their organization. Action speaks louder than words.RMJ: It’s cliché, but it really is time to “seize this moment.” Recognizing that there have been crucial moments in the past, this feels different. The need to fully embrace the opportunity em-bedded in a more equitable, diverse and inclusive culture cannot be ignored.Reprinted by permission. This article originally appeared in the October 2020 issue of NAPE Magazine.ENGINEERING DIVERSITYADVERTISE WITH US!Are you looking to expand your reach in the oil and gas marketplace? Do you have a product or service that would beneﬁt the industry? If so, we would like to speak with you!CALL US (800) 562-2340 EX. 1 We have a creative team that can design your ad! OilwomanMagazine.com/advertise • Advertising@OilmanMagazine.comInclusive Language Some companies have transitioned from referring to diversity and inclusion as D&I and instead are calling it inclusion and diversity – I&D. One such company in the energy industry is Phillips 66. While it may seem like a subtle difference, director of I&D Natacha Buchanan shares the thought process driving the change. “Originally, we led with D and we activated our D&I strategy through our employee resource groups. We saw that when we led with diversity, we were unintentionally disenfranchising our majority demographic. We are about 21 percent female and about 26 percent racial and ethnic minority, so the vast majority of our employee popula-tion – white men – felt left out of the conversation and that this wasn’t something for them.”While both sides of the inclusion and diversity equation hold equal importance and are interdependent on each other, Phillips 66 chooses to lead with inclusion because ofcials believe that diversity cannot thrive in its absence and that leading with inclusion better positions the com-pany to shape its culture. “This was pivotal for us,” Buchanan says, “because it allows us to promote a dialogue that everyone can par-ticipate in. We don’t want our agenda to be solely about the visible elements of diversity; rather we want it to be about creating an environment whereby people feel they belong. And in ‘belonging,’ people are more inclined to bring their whole authentic selves to work every day.”

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48Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comFor someone who had her head in the clouds for much of her college career – interning for NASA and SpaceX – Hahna Alexander now has her feet planted rmly on the ground. What started as a senior design proj-ect in a mechanical engineering class at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) evolved into the start-up, SolePower, Inc., focusing on wearable electronics – specically, a smart boot – that provide lighting and power generation, and has since survived one failed incarnation and a new focus. Through it all, Alexan-der has persisted.“From my perspective, the power generation was particularly interesting because my phone was always dead so, on a personal note, that was the initia-tion of my interest in the technology. My classmate and co-founder was also quite interested in the lighting capability for walking home alone off-campus.”Upon graduating from CMU (‘12), Alexander stayed in Pittsburgh – “the Steel City” – perhaps the perfect incu-bator for a start-up dealing with tech and energy. Because the original idea was to solve standard safety and power issues that are universal to anyone using electronics on a daily basis, the company focused solely on the charging aspect for the rst few years. However, a Kick-starter campaign revealed a crucial fac-tor – consumers’ expectations of how far they had to walk, and how many steps they had to take, to fully charge their electronics (phones in particular) did not match the reality.Realizing there could be a larger applica-tion for their products, Alexander says, “That’s when we stumbled into this in-dustrial Internet of Things (IoT) space, basically trying to gure out where workers that carried electronics were underserved.” That led them to con-centrate on industries like construction, energy and the military, where work is often done outdoors in harsh or remote environments, making it “incredibly dif-cult to develop technologies” to serve those sectors.“We did a deep dive and found that there were a lot of remote manage-ment and safety challenges that could be solved by improved access to wear-able electronics. Having to wear a smart watch or carry another phone was just one more thing that these workers didn’t need to worry about, so building this type of technology into a footwear platform could have a pretty signicant advantage.”As Alexander explains it, the technology is fairly straightforward and consists of three major components: the charger and the sensors (hardware) and the soft-ware, which collects data and sends it to the Cloud. “We don’t look at individual people’s movements; we look at overall trends that will lead to increased ef-ciency and increased safety using this data.”The product that SolePower is deliv-ering – “hopefully [in 2021], pend-ing pandemic challenges” – will be a smart boot, which has various types of technology that enable managers and workers to track productivity and safety trends on-site, using a variety of sensors and communication modules. Some of the examples Alexander cites are GPS and ultra-wideband; thermistors, which can determine whether a worker is at risk for hypothermia or heat stroke; and inertial measurement units (IMU), which can measure acceleration in dif-ferent directions, and detect whether someone has fallen or been hit by an object. There are also pressure pads that provide a highly-accurate step count. Al-exander says she and her team joke, “If all else fails, we’re the best pedometer that’s ever been built!”Noting that tness apps can tell a user how long they have exercised, how many calories they have burned, what their heart rate and oxygen levels are, Alexander says, “Compare that to some-body on an oil rig or a construction site or at the scene of a re. We know almost nothing about these people go-ing into dangerous situations and we Engineering High-Tech Solutions, One Step at a Time By Rebecca PontonNEXTGENPhoto courtesy of Carnegie Mellon University

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49Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comNEXTGENhave technology that can service that. What we’re trying to do is build it into a familiar form factor where we don’t have to complicate things for people that are already concerned about safety and have a million other things to think about in the eld.”The military certainly would fall into that category and qualify as a prime use case. After receiving funding to develop its kinetic charging technology, SolePower completed two engineer-ing contacts and delivered units to the Army’s Combat Capabilities Develop-ment Command (CCDC) C5ISR Center lab (formerly CERDEC) for testing.Alexander views being in the pilot stage as a “huge benet” to companies interested in customizing SolePower’s technology, particularly as she feels there are still a lot of unknowns sur-rounding the use cases for industrial IoT. “No one really knows the answer to this yet and anybody that says they do is a little overcondent. There are a lot of untested hypotheses. What we want to do is work with companies that don’t have the capability to build this tech in-house, but that are excited about the technology and understand the benets and see the value of customizing our software.”SolePower is seeking partners that rec-ognize the potential gains in exploring IoT, but don’t know how to implement it. “We want to come in, run a trial, run a task that’s super customized to the problems that individual companies and sites think they have, and really test those and, from that, create case stud-ies that we can use to grow and expand what we offer. Customized pilots and strategic investments are what we’re looking for right now.”Tech, like energy – and the line between the two is blurring more all the time – suffers from an underrepresentation of women and minorities. Alexander, who was named one of Glamour’s Women in Tech Heroes (2014), Forbes’s 30 Under 30 (2015) and Toyota’s Mother of Invention (2017), says it’s rare to nd other women who have created companies in industrial work in gen-eral, but especially in technology. “I’m always happy to share war stories. The best connection I found early on for our business was the Pittsburgh chapter of the Women’s Energy Network (WEN)because they got it. They understood it was going to be a little bit harder and they went out of their way to help. It’s always great to develop a really strong network with people that understand the challenges that we [as women entre-preneurs] uniquely face.” IIoT PlatformRT Location • Worker logistics• Productivity mapping• Remote management applicationsProximity • Increase situational awareness• Struck-by preventionSafety• Quantify ergonomic/safety factors• Inform insurance/incident ratesCommunication • Haptic feedback & LEDs• Call/find from appAutomation• Check-in & man hours• Reporting10Worker walksBoot collects and sends dataData stored and processed in appInsights and reports viewedwww.SolePowerTech.comCourtesy of SolePower, Inc.

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50Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comAnastasia (Ana) Kraft, founder and CEO of Xena Workwear: I came up with the Xena name by throwing out a question to my friends: “What is the most bad-ass female name you can think of?” There were quite a few suggestions but, when Xena was mentioned, I imme-diately fell in love with the name and the rest is history. Our icon represents a guiding star. It should remind us that we should always aim higher than we can reach and follow our own guiding star that will lead us to success and happiness, however we may dene it.I was born in Kazakhstan and my family moved to Germany when I was 10. Later, at university, I decid-ed to go into international project engineering and part of the program was to do an internship abroad. I did mine at the German steel cutting tool company based in Waukesha, Wisconsin. I really loved the Midwest, the American optimism and the entrepre-neurialism. After nishing my degree, I moved to the U.S. to work for a project management consulting company on massive, highly-critical manufacturing projects. As the lead project planner, I had to dress professionally. The challenge was, as soon as the meetings would wrap up, everyone would go out on the shop oor. I hated my safety boots so much. They never went with my outt, they were incredibly uncomfortable and clunky, clearly designed for men. I was so tired of this whole “shrink it and pink it” concept. This company was started out of my own frustration. I thought, “This can’t be rocket science.” I wanted to design a safety shoe for women that would help them feel safe and condent.Krafting Workwear for Women Warriors By Rebecca PontonXENA WORKWEAR

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51Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comWe ofcially launched in May of 2019 and that was when I decided to quit my full-time job and focus on this entirely. We were accepted into an accelerator program called gBETA, part of a national organization called gener8tor, that helps compa-nies grow and accelerate their business. I had to commit to all of the different networks and coaching sessions. I thought, “If I don’t do this now, it might never happen.” I really wanted to give this a shot, and it’s been incredible since the beginning. We’ve had pre-orders from all over the United States. Now we ship to 10 different countries – South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, France and others – even though we don’t advertise outside of the U.S. An incredibly important point is, it’s not [so much] about look-ing professional or looking stylish as it is about feeling con-dent. The feeling that it creates is so much more important than the look you’re creating. It’s already difcult enough for women to t into these male-centric industries and having workwear that is distracting you from your job is just an unnecessary problem that needed to be solved. I want women to get up in the morning, put on their work clothes, and feel great and focus on the job instead of thinking, “Oh my goodness, my safety shoes are too loose, and I feel like a clown walking in them.” That’s how I felt walking on the shop oor with those long, clunky boots that I was tripping over all the time! XENA WORKWEAR Continued on next page...

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52Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comXENA WORKWEAR All [of our footwear] has to be sent to an indepen-dent lab to get the ASTM 2413 certication, and we just passed the testing for the metatarsal protection, which is used more in the heavy industries. Women from John Deere and Caterpillar have been request-ing metatarsal boots. One of my biggest challenges for 2020 was a promise to deliver them this [past] year, and we were on time. [Last] year was challenging for everyone, of course. All of our in-person trials and all of my speaking engagements [were] canceled, but we’re not the only ones. So many industries got hit, but then we started to recover in May and June. Orders have been going up and we’ve been growing since then. One of the main reasons is that so many of our customers are women in essential businesses. Manufacturing facilities that are related to infrastruc-ture have still been operating. Health-care related companies – including ventilator production compa-nies here in Wisconsin – have been placing orders.I design footwear and clothes that I always wanted to wear when I worked in my industry. I needed and wanted to dress professionally, and then every time I went out on the shop oor, we had to carry so many things with us – safety glasses, earplugs – I never knew where to put my phone. One very specic feature I like about this blazer is the jewelry clasp we designed. It’s a little swivel hook. You can’t wear rings and dangly jewelry on the shop oor because it could get caught in machinery, so there’s nally a safe space to secure your jewelry. I know so many men and women who lost their wedding rings from putting them in their pock-ets and pulling out something without thinking about the ring.

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53Oilwoman Magazine / January-February 2021 / OilwomanMagazine.comXENA WORKWEAR Before I started the business, I didn’t know about these amaz-ing women’s organizations that exist in the United States for different industries, like Women in Manufacturing (WiM), the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) and Women in Safety Excellence (WISE). There are so many fantastic women’s groups that have been supporting our brand and sharing our message through their internal channels. What was incredibly impressive was that the president of SWE, Cindy Hoover, bought our boots! When I go to conferences, I meet so many women wearing our boots. I [know] many of them through social media and we take pictures together. It is incredibly helpful to have support from these amazing organizations because we all share a common goal, which is empowering women in non-traditional elds. Besides the goal of building the best workwear company for women in STEM and in the trades, my other goal is to inspire more girls to explore these well-paid and exciting careers. We can do this by growing the community of female leaders, showing more role models, and encouraging and supporting more of these amazing organizations that work with young girls and help them to explore robotics, construction, engi-neering and [other non-traditional] elds. I hope more people will join us on this journey. www.xenaworkwear.com

Oilwoman Magazine January/February 2021

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