Women in Energy wants to thank all who joined us for our 2021 conference!
Our Program Committee put together a phenomenal educational program and we want to thank our teachers for sharing their expertise. We all grow when we work together and the Women in Energy community continues to amaze us.
Looking through our schedule below you will find we had sessions that focused on advocating for yourself, navigating change and seizing opportunities, leveraging data to make informed decisions, strengthening communication, as well as timely legal advice for employers and employees.
Our lively Panel Discussions brought valuable insight from industry leaders during panel discussions about how to succeed in sales and overcoming the challenges of working with family within a multigenerational company.
Our 2021 Woman of the Year, Joyce Porto, President of Inland Fuel Terminals was recognized as well as our Past President, Roberta Fagan. You can read about Joyce by viewing our latest post on our blog. Here are a couple of highlights from our 2021 Conference.
Note: Click on each session to get a description of each presentation
Presentation Summary:
Even without the pandemic, women working in male dominated industries need to overcome perceptions and stereotypes. Add in the pandemic and a shift to remote work and what was a challenge before has become something of a “personal” barrier we have created for ourselves. This is in part due to the roles we have at home, as well as those we have at work, and learning how to navigate them seamlessly.
In this session we will discuss the importance of building your own brand and using it to advocate for yourself including:
Walk away from this session with more confidence to be seen as the leader you are in the workplace (and at home, too!).
| About our Presenters: Aimee is passionate about helping individuals, teams and organizations realize their growth potential. She has more than twenty years experience designing marketing and sales strategies, facilitating leadership, marketing, and sales training, and coaching in the areas of self-awareness, communication skills enhancement and overall soft-skills for professional development. In addition to facilitating sales and leadership development programs for organizations, and speaking on leadership, feedback and management topics, she serves as an adjunct professor of business management, leadership, marketing and communications. She has received awards for marketing, communications, and sales campaigns and am a published author in the accounting, franchise, retail oil and propane, and retail dealer industries. My experience includes working for a top 20 US CPA firm, a national management consulting firm, and providing consulting services to clients in the dealership, accounting, business/family succession, retail oil and propane, and franchise industries. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and MBA in Leadership from Franklin Pierce University.
Kendall is the Director of Development for The Rawls Group. Since officially joining the firm in 2004, she has navigated issues that many business-owners face including, working effectively with family, building rapport with key management and outside strategic partners, influencing teamwork, and implementing strategic initiatives to drive growth and increased performance of an organization. Kendall knows and understands the challenges that impact the success of entrepreneurial owned businesses, and offers a unique perspective derived from her background and her experience as a second-generation, family-member-employee of The Rawls Group. Kendall is a frequent contributor to national industry publications within the automotive and multi-unit franchise sectors and is a facilitator for the NCM-Rawls Dealer Executive Program. In her spare time, Kendall enjoys spending time with her dog, practicing yoga, playing beach volleyball, and volunteering for her local neighborhood association.
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How many women do you know in the energy industry that sell? That was a discussion our program committee had. We decided to get some of our members to share their experiences, their successes and how they managed throughout the pandemic.
Our panel will include:
You’ve probably taken many courses on communication, leadership, or self-development. You feel inspired and motivated once you complete these certifications and start the process of implementing these new habits. Then something happens that is frustrating or chaotic or demanding and those new practices seem to go out the window. Before you know it, you’re back to where you started.
Change can be hard — not because of what the change is, but because it takes grit to be very intentional and disciplined about the choices you make in those “moments of inconvenience.” Recognizing the moments that require you to be very conscious about how you are going to react is what is hard. It involves a certain level of emotional intelligence for ourselves and for those around us. In this session, you will learn:
About the Presenter:
As a Training Executive at Power Selling Pros, Erica is constantly developing new content and curriculum that will enable Home Service Businesses to achieve a higher level of success for themselves, their teams, and their customers. She has a unique and engaging style of teaching and facilitating which is why she is such a highly sought-after trainer. Some of her curriculum topics include leadership, employee experience and retention, conflict resolution, customer experience and loyalty, dispatching, and soft skills communication. She has also been a mentor, coach, presenter, and public speaker for over 9 years. Erica is thrilled to be serving on the Board of Directors of Women in HVACR so she can assist in bringing awareness, opportunities, and opened doors to women in the industry.
Erica received a BA in Anthropology from BYU-Hawaii and has traveled around the world (21 countries and counting) working with and studying different cultures and people and finding the common threads that connect humanity. She has a YouTube channel with her husband called “The Leonor Life” where they share their adventures with the world.
Presentation Summary:
We are in a sea of data. But how do we leverage that data to make better decisions? And what exactly is business intelligence. In this presentation, Esther will discuss how businesses can leverage their data to accelerate decision making. Through real-world examples, learn how you can increase productivity, take action on opportunities faster, and identify issues before they become critical.
About the Presenter:
Esther Angell is a long-time lover of data. Her background in manufacturing, oil & gas, sales, marketing, and product management has given her a unique perspective on how data drives decisions. She is a recent transplant from Houston and is enjoying all that the Lancaster, Pennsylvania area has to offer. Along with leading her team at Cargas, Esther dedicates her time to mentorship and the pursuit of adventure.
Presentation Summary:
As a general rule, no one likes change, however in the words of the 5th century philosopher, Heraclitus, “The Only Thing That is Constant is Change”. When a company is sold, both owners and employees are inevitably faced with change. How people address change is the key to success. Some people will look at life as it was and think everything they have worked for is falling apart. Others, however, will see an opportunity to work for a new company who is growing and prospering. They are looking at the event through the “Walt Disney Prospective”, Walt once said, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”
About the Presenter:
With more than 30 years of experience in the downstream energy industry, Steve has been involved in the acquisition or sale of over 200 retail energy marketers providing a range of consumer products and services like propane, fuel oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, trucking, and HVAC.
Several industry publications have published articles written by Steve on subjects such as improving operational efficiencies, business valuations, hedging techniques, cash flow management and mergers and acquisitions. He is a regular speaker at the Atlantic Region Energy Expo, National Propane Gas Association, Propane Gas Association of New England and the New England Fuel Institute on topics including acquisitions, valuations, process improvements, cash flow management and strategic planning.
Presentation Summary
Please join us for a discussion of Pandemic Planning 2.0. We will discuss the latest guidance and best practices regarding COVID-19 vaccinations and returning to the office, as well as considerations for implementing diversity and inclusion practices in light of the impact of the pandemic on the workforce, particularly women. This presentation will provide practical insight on what employers should be considering and implementing with respect to the COVID-19 vaccine. It will also focus on what should be top of mind as we start returning to the office. Last, this presentation will discuss the impact of the pandemic on diversity and inclusion efforts and considerations for implementing a program.
About our Presenters
Ruth represents management in employment litigation matters before federal and state courts, as well as federal and state agencies.She has extensive experience litigating matters at the trial and appellate levels in state and federal court in New Jersey and New York, as well as in private mediations and arbitrations. She has litigated claims arising under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, and various other federal and state statutory and common law causes of action. Ruth draws on her litigation experience to counsel employers on how employment laws affect their business operations on a day-to-day basis. This includes advice on preventative practices to minimize workplace disputes, including accommodation and harassment issues. Employers look to her for advice on personnel actions, including drafting employment agreements and conducting internal investigations on various workplace matters
Angella focuses on commercial litigation for corporate clients, particularly in the insurance and higher education industries. Her experience includes matters involving excess and catastrophic loss, professional liability and general litigation. She has also worked for the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office and the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office.
While in law school, Angella was a dean’s list member and associate managing editor for the Rutgers Journal of Law & Religion. She was also elected president of the Black Law Students Association and competed with the Rutgers AAJ Trial Advocacy Competition Team. After law school, Angella served as coach of the Rutgers Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Team. Under her leadership, the team was awarded first place in the Mid-Atlantic Region in 2016.
About the Presentation
Details coming soon.
About the Presenter
Kristin has been with Renewable Energy Group, Inc. (REG) for over five years.
REG is leading the energy industry’s transition to sustainability by transforming renewable resources into high-quality, cleaner fuels. REG is North America’s largest producer of biodiesel and an industry leading producer of renewable diesel.
Ms. Dillavou is responsible for defining, implementing and managing the Corporate Environmental and Social Responsibility (ESG) Department. This includes integrating sustainability into corporate strategy and decision-making, tracking and communicating ESG metrics for internal and external stakeholders and exploring opportunities to improve corporate environmental impact.
Prior to her current position, Ms. Dillavou held positions as Staff Accountant and Senior Business Analyst at REG. She received her Master of Business Administration and Master of Accounting from Iowa State University and her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Anthropology with a concentration in Environmental Studies from St. Olaf College. She is also a licensed Certified Public Accountant.
About the Presentation
What are some of the challenges working within a generational family? How do they handle each of them? What are some of the successes. You’ll learn how these successful women have handled a variety of issues and what it takes to keep it “all within the family”. Moderator is Liz Hill, PriMedia.
Our Panel
