Michelle BarnettYoung Women Energized ChairTPC GroupMichelle is the Assistant Corporate Controller at TPC Group and has over 20 years of experience in SOX, technical accounting, and financial reporting in the energy industry focused on power and natural gas wholesale and retail energy trading, oil and gas upstream and midstream, and petrochemical manufacturing. Michelle also serves on the Executive Committee of the Good Samaritan Foundation celebrating excellence in nursing.
Emily M. BahenaMentoring Program ChairSenior Consultant, Capitalize ConsultingEmily is a Manager for Capitalize Consulting providing business solutions to a wide range of clientele. Some of her clients include Tallgrass Energy, Lucid Energy Group, and Phillips 66. Her focus is in Midstream and Transportation. She began her career in Industry and Public Accounting before moving to Consulting. Emily graduated with a BS in Biology and Chemistry from Texas State University and with a Master’s of Professional Accounting (MPA) with a focus in Energy from University of Texas Permian Basin. In her spare time, you can find her at the barn with her horse training for her next horse show.
Bethany EgglestonMentoring Program ChairVroomBethany is a senior professional with over 15 years of experience in leading and creating value for organizations through change and improvement initiatives across Finance, Accounting, IT, and Operations processes and technology. She currently serves as the Director of Accounting Transformation for an online auto retailer, supporting automation and modernization efforts. Since beginning her career in Deloitte’s audit practice, Bethany has worked with a national accounting services firm, a multichannel direct marketing company, and has held various project leadership roles at each a Fortune 25 and mid-size petroleum refining and marketing companies. Alongside her CPA and PMP credentials, Bethany holds an MBA from the University of Texas at San Antonio and a BA in Business Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is passionate about women’s career development and advancement and is an avid yogi, currently teaching to local veterans.
Cheryl CrawfordChief of StaffEDF Energy - Houston SponsorCheryl has over 24 years of experience in professional office management and executive assistant positions in the oil & gas industry. She has a track record of strong performance in high-volume and high-pressure environments. As executive assistant, she ensures the smooth operation of top level executives, Cheryl supports the President, Retail and COO. Cheryl graduated from Lamar University in Beaumont, TX with a Bachelor of Science in Speech Communication. She was a mentor for 3 years with Yellow Stone Academy. She also participated with Just Energy and Volunteer Houston with planning and organizing the building of Sustainable Garden’s at selected HISD campuses.
Brenna BarnettNewsletter & Editorial ChairDirector Of Marketing, Carlton StaffingBrenna Barnett joined Carlton Staffing in 2015 and serves as the Director of Marketing. Her responsibilities include the company’s social media, public relations, branding, company engagements and digital recruitment strategies. The adoption of Brenna’s Strategic Recruiting plan, the company has seen a 472% increase in Facebook followers. At the same time, she has been able to reduce recruitment spending by 49% while still accomplishing the marketing and recruiting objectives. In addition to spearheading Carlton’s Community Partnership activities, her involvement with employee engagement events has earned her the unofficially title of Chief Fun Officer! Carlton has been acknowledged as a winner of the Houston Business Journal’s Best Places to Work and Houston’s Best & Brightest Companies. They have also been awarded Clearly Rated’s Best of Staffing in each of the last eight years. Brenna is currently leading the year- long celebration of Carlton’s 40th Anniversary! If you think that sounds like fun, check out how we celebrated another big anniversary, the movie “9 to 5” on our Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter pages!!
Annette KreuzSpeakers ChairUSI Southwest, Inc.Annette Kreuz is an Employee Benefits Strategy Consultant with USI Insurance Services. She has 15 years of business management experience in diverse settings from dot.com start-ups to Fortune 100 companies. Today, she leverages her analytical and creative penchants to drive improvements and financial savings without reducing benefits for mid-sized organizations experiencing the extraordinary year over year increases in healthcare costs this country is facing. To build on the cultural insights gained from her Art History & French BA’s from SMU, Annette attained her MBA from Europe’s #1 MBA program, HEC-Paris, in France, where she spent 4 years. Her professional experience includes 2 years with Marsh & Mclennan Companies, several years with Amazon in NYC, an MBA stint with the Director Generale of Lancome in France, and time with Restoration Hardware Corporate, Stage Stores, and FXCM currency trading. In each of these, Annette has relied on her love for drawing insights from metrics, resourcefulness, inquisitive nature & integrity to build relationships with her vendors, clients, and colleagues. Annette currently serves as the Co-Chair of Speakers & Education focusing on the Northside extension of WEN and serves as an Energy Corridor Chair & Ambassador for the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce.
Laura PrengSpeakers ChairPartner, Preng & AssociatesLaura Preng is a Partner at Preng & Associates, an executive search firm that specializes in the energy industry. She joined the firm in 2011 after working several years as a recruiter for another energy recruiting firm and has led engagements in the upstream, downstream, midstream, and service and equipment sectors. Prior to entering the search industry, she spent more than twelve years honing her interviewing skills as a television news reporter and anchor for the CBS affiliate in Jackson, Mississippi, and the NBC affiliate in Nashville, Tennessee. As a reporter, Ms. Preng covered politics and breaking news stories and was recognized by the Associated Press with a number of awards, including best investigative and spot news. Ms. Preng attended the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University in New York where she graduated with honors in Broadcast Journalism. She is a certified Hogan Assessment administrator and sits on the Advisory Board for the NACD Tri-Cities chapter.
Katy TresseltSponsorship ChairDeloitteI am a Houstonian. I am a Senior Manager at Deloitte within our Audit & Assurance Practice. I have been with Deloitte for 12 years and practice within the Oil & Gas industry, with a focus on ESG within the industry.