Thank you to all that attended our conference – members and guests! And thank you to our generous Sponsors. Our Committees plan throughout the year and they do a great job. We promised attendees that there was something for everyone and there was! Another goal, follow our mission – connect and empower women working in the energy industry. We do that through networking opportunities and education.
Mystic, CT was a wonderful historic area that offered our attendees a chance to roam and explore. Our Wednesday evening event at the Mystic Aquarium was a hit!
We are keeping our 2024 Schedule online so that potential speakers, attendees and sponsors have a chance to see how our event is set-up and what type of sessions we put on our schedule.
Where will our Annual Conference be held in 2025? As soon as we are confirmed with will announce it. We anticipate the date to be similar to 2024.
Want to see what you missed? Enjoy our photos – to do so, click on the blue box below. A special THANK YOU to our very own photographer, member, Ann Swartzbaugh.
Join us for an evening of reconnecting and meeting new attendees. Food and Beverages and some fun events are being planned.
About the Presentation:
This presentation will explore a study aimed at achieving net zero carbon emissions within the residential sector. Specifically, this study explored implementing a solar photovoltaic system and 100% biomass-based heating fuel for electricity generation and heating applications, respectively. The findings indicate that energy production consistently exceeded energy consumption for most of the study period. However, in December and January, energy consumption surpassed production. This presentation will assess the technical and financial feasibility of developing net zero carbon homes utilizing renewable technologies and fuels in New York State and beyond. Additionally, it will provide a comprehensive analysis of the impacts associated with transitioning to a net zero carbon concept.
About the Presenter, Dr. Jenny Frank
She received her PhD from State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry and is currently an Assistant Professor there.. She also does work for NORA as a Research Associate to further advance its work in the field of carbon reduction from home heating.
No matter what type of an energy business you operate or work for, the most important asset to your business are your existing employees. Turnover costs your company money.
Our panelists will discuss:
About the Presentation:
Alyssa will focus on laying the foundation to building your personal brand & its importance. She will share her story and journey on how she built her personal brand. She will touch upon how it is never too late to rebrand yourself and the importance of doing what you love. “Find your passion and let it pay you.” She will also touch upon the digital world and the importance of understanding your target audience.
About Alyssa Pannozzi
Alyssa is the Talent Director and a Trainer at a national indoor cycling studio, as well as a full-time content creator. She specializes in creating motivational, authentic content that helps people work towards becoming their best selves. Whether she’s showcasing her strengths as a fitness instructor, highlighting her growth as a runner, or recommending her favorite snacks, Alyssa leverages her platform to positively impact as many lives as possible through motivation, vulnerability and inspiration.
About the Program
Are we living our lives by design or by default? We are constantly being thrown curve balls, try to achieve new goals, build stronger relationships or create a thriving business. Whatever current situation we find ourselves in, there will always be opportunities to grow and live intentionally. By dividing our attention to the 4 E’s process, we will be able to better manage and focus our energy, envision goals that will uplevel our lives, create an environment that fosters growth, and discover tools that will elevate the quality of our lives each day.
A little about Erica:
Erica Leonor is a national speaker, trainer, and success coach in the Home Services Industry. She enjoys traveling the country to train business owners and their teams on financing, customer service, sales, leadership, and communication. She is currently a Director of Business Development at Goodleap, providing high level financing solutions to contractors and their customers. She serves on the Board of Directors for Women in HVACR, an organization that provides networking, mentoring, and education to women in this industry. She also serves on the Board of Trustees of NATE, working to advance the technical skills and certification for HVACR technicians. She has a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and enjoys traveling the world. Alongside her professional career, Erica has a strong belief in God and recognizes His hand in her life. She is a proud wife and mother, a cancer survivor, an outdoor enthusiast, and loves The Lord of the Rings.
Presentation Overview:
Lower carbon fuels have been experiencing growth in many markets across the U.S. including railroad, over the road trucking, marine, and heating oil. State & federal incentives, lifecycle GHG reducing targets for companies, and increased support from OEMs have all helped to support demand for biofuels. Join Chevron Renewable Energy Group’s Kelsey Erickson as she informs us on today’s biofuels: biodiesel and renewable diesel, discusses current status of the biofuel industry, and what to look for in the future.
Topics covered:
· Introduction to biofuels (biodiesel 101, renewable diesel 101)
· General market & state incentive overview
· Challenges and opportunities with biofuels
About our Presenter:
Kelsey Erickson is the Team Lead, Commercial Quality for Chevron Renewal Energy Group (REG). Kelsey focuses on technical issues throughout REG’s biofuel production and distribution network. She works in REG’s Technical Services team which focuses on improving production quality and efficiency at REG’s production facilities and provides technical support.
As an Association, what can we do to Encourage and Support women considering the Energy Industry as a career?
Women make up only 22% of the workforce in the energy sector and 32% in the renewable energy sector. The United States needs more skilled workers and more women are considering the trades as a career choice.
Our Panel will discuss:
Our Panelists include:
Bobbi Hill, W. B. Hill,
Veronica Miller, Owner of Southern Belle Heating & Cooling and past Mentorship Winner
Heather Walleck, President of Trombly Plumbing & Heating
This session is sponsored by Beckett.
About the Session
Whether you are in a manager or individual contributor role, feedback is, or should be, part of your world. How we grow, build skills, increase knowledge is often through guidance and advice from others. This may be with peers, managers, stakeholders, or even friends and family. In this session, we will explore how to:
Confront issues without being confrontational when giving feedback
Ask for feedback
Get the most out of the feedback you are given
This can be a wonderful opportunity personally and professionally.
About our Presenter
Victoria McCoy, Executive Vice President, Global Human Resources at Taco Comfort Solutions has built a career focused on driving scalable growth for organizations experiencing rapid growth and / or globalization. Victoria has worked in diverse industries including manufacturing, cyber security, federal contracting, non-profit, and professional services. Being part of others learning and growing, gaining new understanding of complex issues, and finding new approaches to challenging situations gives her a sense of accomplishment like no other. She enjoys coaching and building relationships.
Victoria is a native Californian who relocated to Rhode Island in 1998. After completing a Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, from the University of Southern California, she earned a Master Business Administration from Pepperdine University, Graziadio Business School. She pursued an MBA to be prepared to work with other business leaders outside of her chosen field. This has served her well as throughout her career she has sought new challenges even beyond Human Resources leadership and Organizational Development. She has lead an ISO implementation team, created a framework for labor demand modeling, set up Program Offices in Asia, and built automated workflow approval systems to name a few unique projects.
Victoria McCoy, EVP Global Human Resources for Taco Comfort Systems
About this Panel Discussion:
As more “green” companies join our group, I had a chance to interview the CEO of one of them and asked, “why are you supportive of Women in Energy?” Her response is the reason for this session. So many of our valuable partners have been supporting the Oil and Gas Industry for many years – some well over a hundred years. They can be relied upon to keep our residential and commercial customers save and comfortable. And they are resilient.
How did they do it? What have they done throughout their long histories to get them to the point where they can sustain their businesses and actually grow. You will learn of their histories, more about their people, new products and services that have brought them to where they are today.
Our Panel Includes:
Jamie Densmore, Densmore Oil Co.
Kristyn Schweizer, Sprague Energy
Courtney Perez, UECU
Please join us for a Reception at the Mystic Aquarium – directly across from the hotel. Enjoy connecting and networking after a full day of sessions. We’ll have beverages and light food, leaving plenty of time to go off on your own for dinner at one of the wonderful restaurants in Mystic.
Thank you to our sponsors!
During the session:
We’ll learn to take a breath and remove stress in our lives.
April 2023, we held a Workshop at the Norwich Spa. We worked with Candace Mack during one of our sessions. She is a delight and a master of her craft. She taught us plenty of techniques that we can use throughout the day. We are pleased to have her back at this conference.
Please note: You can comfortably participate in this session in any attire.
This session is sponsored by Marsh McLennan Agency
Our popular Panel Discussion is back with a new theme: “Unleash Your Grit – Conquering Burnout & Fueling Inspiration”
A little about our Panelists:
Jessica Netter: is the CEO of Electrical Builders, Inc., a leader in the specialty construction and maintenance services industry for power generation across North America. Guided by the company motto, “Whatever It Takes,” Jessica is dedicated to continuous improvement and raising industry standards. Known for her strategic thinking, collaboration, and drive, she leads her team with unwavering dedication. Jessica holds a BA degree in Business and Entrepreneurship, equipping her with the expertise to steer the company towards sustained success and excellence in service while consistently achieving high client satisfaction.
Esther Angell: one of our original panelists is a Vice President at Cargas Systems. She’s originally from Oklahoma but crossed the Red River spending over 10 years in the oil and gas industry in Houston. During that time, she worked in for both service and manufacturing companies in a variety of leadership roles. While in Houston Esther served on the Board of Directors for the Women’s Energy Network and supported various mentoring and volunteer programs. She currently leads a team in the technology space, leveraging her background in marketing, sales, product management, and business development. This broad experience enables Esther to find connections and commonalities across business and industry. It’s also one of the reasons she’s an active, member, mentor and speaker at Women in Energy events,
Cheryl Perkins:
Cheryl Perkins is the Director of Global Supply Chain at RW Beckett. With over 25 years of experience in various supply chain roles, primarily focused on manufacturing, Cheryl brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to global manufacturing and the supply chain processes that support it.
Cheryl is an active member of several industry-related organizations, including The Baton Exchange. She has a keen interest in mentorship, stating, “Throughout my career, mentors have been crucial to my development and opportunities. I carry that same passion for assisting others in their growth and career evolution.”
Outside of her professional life, Cheryl enjoys reading (she is a great fan of Audible), traveling, and is an avid musician. She and her husband reside in Northeast Ohio and have three adult children.
Leslie Konsig: Leslie too has been on our annual panel since we launched this session.
Leslie is a senior marketing representative at Federated Mutual Insurance Co. She’s originally from New Jersey but after being hired from Federated in 2004 at Sacred Heart University, the two sport Softball and Soccer D-1 athlete served for her company in Connecticut, New York, California and then came full circle back to her home state of NJ right after Hurricane Sandy touched down.
During that time, she worked within various niche industries and markets to help direct business owners in making the best risk management and insurance decisions to not only protect their bottom line but people. She broke a company record for writing the most new insurance premium in 2020 during Covid and just in 2022 broke the company record for writing the most new accounts. Leslie is a top 1% performer consistently. She currently holds the company’s largest number of accounts in the nation within just a decade of focusing her time in her coastal NJ territory.
For her free time she enjoys spending time with her family- wife Stephanie (kindergarten teacher turned stay at home parent), daughter Skylar (5) and son Luke (3), spin classes, practicing yoga and is an active supporter of the NJ Make-A-Wish-Foundation as well as a mentor with the SEEMA program at Monmouth University. She has been a speaker for the Women in Energy conference, featured in Fireside America podcast and the featured speaker at Federated’s Professional Development program for Women. Leslie holds a background in holistic health and personal training to supplement her business degrees.
We will conclude our event with a Brunch and our Annual Awards will be presented . Who will be Woman of the Year and our 2024 Rising Award Winners. Be there to find out who our 2024 winners are!
Special guest speaker is Kate McDonald and 
she is sponsored by OESP.
Kate McDonald is the Executive Director of Girls on the Run of Southeastern Connecticut. In addition, she is an Adjunct Professor of Women’s & Gender Studies at Southern Connecticut State University. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Government from Connecticut College and a Master’s Degree in Women’s & Gender Studies from SCSU. Kate lives with her husband, Pat, her 12-year-old daughter Grace, and her two dogs – Dobby and Luna – in Waterford.
At Girls on the Run, we inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum, which creatively integrates running. We envision a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential and is free to boldly pursue her dreams.
Here are our social media pages as well:
https://www.facebook.com/gotrsect
https://www.instagram.com/gotrsect/
