Annual Report 2011: FY July 1, 2010-June 30, 2011
Professional Women in Earth Sciences
Committee Activity ACE PROWESS Events
Team Leads: Evelyn Medvin, Sunday Shepherd
Joint PROWESS/DPA Luncheon Seminar. The keynote speaker, Karen Alderman Harbert, President and Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy (Energy Institute), Washington, D.C., gave a thought provoking talk titled “America’s Energy Realities and Opportunities.” Luncheon attendance was over 150.
PROWESS Forum. You’ve Come a Long Way Baby – Evolution of the Work Environment in the Oil & Gas Industry. Gillian Apps, Global Technology R&D team, BP America Inc., opened the panel discussion. Her talk, entitled “Reservoirs and Sand Castles: One Woman’s Perspective on Managing Complexity,” centered on the benefits of being flexible to achieve balance between personal goals, such as raising a family, and career.
Panel Discussion. Panelists compared the industry environment for women at the start of their careers to today and discussed what facilitated changes in industry. The group agreed that gratitude and respect is owed to the pioneering women who stuck it out in hard times because they loved the science. These women made the industry and working environment better for business. The Forum addressed opportunities for companies to continue to evolve and gave suggestions to guide new generations of earth scientists in the technical/ leadership/managerial career paths available to them today. Panelists: Susan Longacre, Chevron Fellow Emeritus; Gillian Apps, Global Technology R&D team, BP America Inc.; Joyce Thomas, Vice President Operations US Land, Baker Atlas; Thuy Rocque, Chief Petrophysicist, Anadarko Petroleum; Andrea Reynolds, Staff Geologist, Shell; and Michelle Warner, Senior Geologist, ENI US Operating Co. Moderators: Evelyn Medvin, Vice President, Core Laboratories, and Sunday Shepherd, Geologist, Chevron.
ICE Joint PROWESS/International Regions Global Diversity Forum (Sponsored by Chevron)
Team Leads: Dave Cook, Gretchen Gillis
A group of five international speakers discussed the value of culture and gender diversity in their companies. The lively question and answer period attested to the demand for ongoing discussions on both gender and cultural concerns within the petroleum industry. The session was videotaped and can be made available to companies for their diversity programs. Panel: Latin America - Elsa Jaimes, Ecopetrol Exploration; Africa-Adedoja Ojelabi, Chevron Nigeria Ltd.; Canada - Kim Farwell, Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta President; Asia Pacific – A. H. M. (Shams) Shamsuddin, Chevron Bangladesh; and European-Sigrunn Johnsen, RWE DeaNorge AS. Moderators: Dave Cook, President AAPG European Region, and Gretchen Gillis, Schlumberger.
Workforce Retention Survey
Team Leads: Edith Allison, Carol McGowen
Dr. Chandra Mueller and Dr. Christine Williams, UT Austin, submitted the NSF Grant proposal, “Science Workforce and Leadership in the Oil and Gas Industry” November 15, 2010 along with letters of endorsement from both geoscience societies and industry. While waiting on NSF, they have secured funding for the next academic year to start compiling data from participating companies. The data will be used to quantify “turning point” concepts into measurable variables for statistical analysis and to select sample sets of geoscientists for the longitudinal study.
The National Research Council and the Committee on Earth Resources launched the study “Emerging Workforce Trends in the U.S. Energy and Mining Industries.” The study will assess the availability of skilled workers to meet the energy and mineral security requirements of the US. AAPG will interface with this study through David Curtiss, GeoDC.
Awards and Nominations
Team Leads: Lee Avary, Vlasta Dvorakova
Nominations. A spreadsheet of past and current women AAPG committee chairs and Executive/Section/Region Officers has been compiled to cultivate talented Chairs and Vice-Chairs for AAPG leadership roles. PROWESS contacted twelve women qualified to stand for Executive Office. Eight replied, seven had timing issues, and one agreed to be nominated.
Awards. Five women were nominated for Merit Awards and one for the Robert R. Berg Outstanding Research Award.
Website
Team Leads: Amy Noack, Tiffany Piercey
Work continues to streamline the PROWESS custom website. Articles, links to pertinent diversity information, meetings, and courses and inspirational PROWESS bios are posted at http://www.aapg.org/prowess/.
Outreach Committee Manager: Chuck Caughey Chair: Denise Cox Vice-Chair: Ann Givan
Committee members:
Edith C. Allison, Donna S. Anderson, Katharine Lee Avary, Amanda Gail Beardsley, Donald Dean Clarke, David Richard Cook, Denise M. Cox (chair), Ashley S.B. Douds, Vlastimila Dvorakova, Bret John Fossum, Gretchen M. Gillis, Ann V. Givan (vice-chair), Robbie Rice Gries, Anthony John Grindrod, Jennifer Nice Hoyt, Sigrunn Johnsen, Carol A. Walsh Law, Shawna Marie McLallen, Evelyn A. Medvin, Jessica Moore, Susan Ellen Nissen, Amy Kathryn Noack, Tiffany C. Piercey, Erin Sesslar Reuber, Natasha Marie Rigg, Pilar R. Ritcherson, Sunday Kirk Shepherd, Marie-Stella Sonuga, Alecia Lucille Wawrzynski, and Cindy Ann Yeilding