Jana GraubergerNational PresidentAttorney, Liskow & LewisJana Grauberger is an oil and gas lawyer at Liskow & Lewis, located in Houston, Texas. She currently serves as the managing partner of the Houston office and is a member of the firm’s board of directors. Jana served as President (2010) of the WEN chapter in Houston, and she also served as Vice President (2009) and Special Events Director (2007, 2008). She also worked on the WEN National task force (2015-16) and has served in various other committee and volunteer roles within WEN, including the development of WEN chapters, serving as a mentor in the WEN mentoring program, and serving as chair of the WEN charity luncheon. Jana has more than 20 years of experience negotiating contracts, providing regulatory advice, and litigating oil and gas disputes.
Tara MeekNational President-ElectRegulatory Affairs, WilliamsAs a founding member of WEN Appalachia (now the Greater Pittsburgh Chapter), Tara Meek has been involved in many roles at the chapter level, including Special Events Chair, Director at Large, Vice President and President. Tara has served as Membership Director on the National Board for the last 3.5 years and looks forward to serving as President Elect on the National Board for 2020. Tara has over a decade of environmental experience including mine reclamation, groundwater and geochemical modeling, creating and maintaining GIS maps and databases, environmental audits, permitting, and site investigations. She began her career as a Geologist working at the West Virginia Geological and Economic survey. She continued in the Oil and Gas industry at CTL Engineering as a Senior Project Manager. She managed permitting and site design for several large oil and gas companies. She went to work at CONSOL Energy in 2011 and managed all permitting for midstream and water pipelines and facilities for CONSOL and Noble Energy. Tara most recently is working at Williams Companies as Supervisor of Permitting. She is currently overseeing several permit and compliance managers for midstream facilities and pipelines. In 2004, prior to joining the West Virginia Geological Economic Survey (WVGES), Tara received her Bachelors of Science degree in Environmental Geoscience from West Virginia University. She continued her education at WVU receiving her Master’s Degree with dual specialization in Hydrogeology and Environmental Microbiology. Tara has enjoyed visiting her family in Ireland every 2-4 years since the age of 2. Her mother originates from Dublin, Ireland, where her maternal family still resides. Tara enjoys running and entering races for fun. She has participated in over 20 races and obstacle courses, including a 10k on the beach of Portmarnock, Ireland. She completed the April 2013 Tough Mudder 12 mile obstacle course and enjoys training for future obstacle courses.
Anna TallentNational TreasurerPartner, Ernst & Young (EY)Anna Tallent is a partner in the EY National office and also serves the San Antonio and Austin, Texas markets. She has more than 18 years of professional experience in public accounting, providing audit and advisory services to both public and private companies, including serving clients in the oil & gas industry. Anna has been a member of WEN South Texas for the more than seven years and served the chapter as Treasurer. She previously served as the Regional Treasurer on a not-for-profit board for an organization with 7,000 members and approximately 70 local chapters. Her board experience has enabled her to develop an in-depth knowledge of serving in the role of Treasurer and her professional background has provided her with a thorough understanding of the energy industry.
Andrea TettletonNational SecretaryAttorney, Seabaugh Joffrion Sepulvado VictoryAndrea Tettleton is an oil and gas attorney with Seabaugh, Joffrion, Sepulvado & Victory. She serves as the managing attorney of the firm’s Baton Rouge office. Andrea graduated magna cum laude from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology in 2006. Andrea obtained her Juris Doctorate cum laude from Louisiana State University in 2009. Andrea was selected as a Louisiana Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2019. Andrea has over a decade of experience in advising upstream energy companies operating in Louisiana. Her current practice focuses on examination of land, mineral and leasehold title, drafting title opinions, division order work and drafting, interpreting and negotiating contractual provisions in oil and gas related contracts. Andrea has been a member of the South Louisiana Chapter of WEN for over seven years, having served as president of the Chapter in 2017, Vice President in 2016 and Special Events Director in 2015.
Mary Frances EdmondsNational Chapter Relations DirectorVP & Assistant General Counsel, WilliamsMary Frances Edmonds is a Vice President and Assistant General Counsel of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE: WMB). She began her career at Williams in 1996 and has worked in very distinct roles and business units (M&A, Energy Trading, Contracts Administration, Gathering & Processing, Offshore Production Handling, and Commercial Litigation). She currently support Legal Operations – which means all legal support for Williams’ capital projects, operations, supply chain, IT, and safety groups. She and her partner James have 3 children: Ellen (21), Joe (20), and Thomas (17). She graduated with a BA in English and a JD from the University of Kansas.
Kristi D. ObafunwaNational Membership DirectorAssociate, Kean Miller LLPKristi Obafunwa is an associate in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. She joined the firm in 2014 and practices in the environmental and litigation group. Kristi earned her B.S. in 1999 and her M.S. in 2005 from Louisiana State University. She earned her J.D./D.C.L., cum laude, in 2014 from the LSU Law Center, where she was named to the Chancellor’s list, received CALI awards in Legal Professions and Legislation Seminar, and was a member of the Moot Court Board. Kristi is a member of the Baton Rouge, Louisiana State and American Bar Associations, the Louis Martinet Legal Society, and the Baton Rouge Association of Women Attorneys. She serves her community as a member of the Taste of Louisiana Committee for Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center.
Tara KirkmanNational Communications & Marketing DirectorBusiness Development & Marketing Manager, RIZZO International, Inc.Tara Kirkman has 16 years of experience in marketing, graphic design and corporate communications. Tara served on the WEN Appalachia/Greater Pittsburgh Chapter board for several years – initially as Brand Chair (2016-17) then as Director At Large (2018). She also has provided a wide variety of creative services to the National Board since its inception in 2017. Tara has helped shape the WEN brand and continues to use her vast experience to propel it to the next level.
Kara ByrneNational Programs DirectorAmerica Commercial Leader, Control Valves, Baker HughesKara Byrne is currently the America’s Commercial Leader for Control Valves in the Flow & Process Technologies division of Baker Hughes. At Baker Hughes, she is responsible for leading the Commercial Application Engineering team for the Masoneilan, Becker and Mooney product lines in both North and Latin America. In addition to her valve responsibilities, Kara is also the North America Region Leader for the Baker Hughes Women's Network. In 2020, Kara has been named the National Programs Director Women’s Energy Network (WEN), responsible for creating accessible programming for members across all of WEN's many chapters. Prior to this year, Kara has also served terms as WEN Houston Chapter President, WEN 25th Anniversary Chair and WEN Houston Volunteer Chair. Kara has more than 15 years of experience in the energy industry working in the various commercial, engineering, and supply chain roles. After earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, WI, Kara began her career at Fairbanks Morse Engine. At Fairbanks, she was a design engineer medium speed diesel engines and was a Lean Blackbelt in supply chain. In 2006, Kara joined GE’s Commercial team and globally negotiated the technical and commercial contracts for the Turboexpander Product Line. In 2009, Kara joined the LNG Team and made her mark securing the first USA based LNG Main Refrigerant Compression Orders for the Cheniere Energy and the largest Electric LNG Main Refrigerant Compression Order for Freeport LNG. Kara also participated on the commercial integration team for the merger of Baker Hughes with GE Oil & Gas to form Baker Hughes, a GE company, the industry’s first full-stream energy provider and continues to support the company transition to Baker Hughes as an energy technology company. Kara is passionate about connecting and developing strong women leaders for the energy, oil and gas, and other industrial networks.
Katie WilsonNational Sponsorship DirectorKatie has been a member of the WEN Greater Pittsburgh (formerly Appalachia) Chapter since August 2014 and joined the board in 2015, serving multiple positions: Director at Large, Public & Industry Relations, President elect, and 2018 President. She then joined the National Board in 2020 as the Director of Sponsorship. Katie was the Recruiter for Halliburton Services in the Northeast area. She began with Halliburton in November 2009, as a Service Planner for Drilling Fluids, working 2 years then transferring into a Market Analyst role for 5 years. Katie moved into her current role in April 2017. She works closely with the Northeast Area Operations team to set up job fairs and hiring events in order to keep up with attrition and the increase in work demand. Katie was a recipient of the 2015 Pittsburgh Business Times WING Award (Women in Natural Gas) and the Foremost Under 40 in 2016 from PA business Central . Katie graduated from Robert Morris University in 2009 with a B.S. in marketing and now lives in Avella, Pa. where she is surrounded by the emerging industry that she proudly works in.
Sydney BarcusNational Conference DirectorBarcus ConsultingSydney Barcus serves as Director of Organizational Development for EnLink Midstream, overseeing succession planning, performance management, engagement, leadership, and development strategies. Previously, Dr. Barcus served companies in the hospitality, healthcare, manufacturing, financial, chemical, legal, and transit industries. She is passionate about helping individuals and organizations thrive through change to realize their goals. Dr. Barcus also maintains an executive coaching and consulting business, volunteers as a mentor in several programs, and was recently chosen as a judge for Chief Learning Officer’s “Learning Elite” award. Today, she makes her home in McKinney, where she knits, weaves, and raises chickens.
Erin MageeNational Past PresidentMember, Jackson KellyErin E. Magee is Of Counsel in Jackson Kelly’s Energy and Manufacturing industry groups, focusing primarily on litigation and labor and employment matters. She practices out of the Firm’s offices in Charleston, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of Erin’s best qualities is her straightforward, no-nonsense approach – she won’t tell you what you want to hear, but rather what you need to hear. Erin is passionate about helping clients navigate issues in the workplace, consulting daily with employers about wage and hour issues, employee leave and benefit questions, reductions in force, drug testing, workplace privacy, personnel policies, and employee discharge and discipline issues. Erin also provides training and speaks at seminars and conferences on issues such as how to avoid harassment in the workplace. She is knowledgeable on this subject because she regularly conducts investigations of complaints of harassment and discrimination in the workplace, and knows providing guidance and advice on the front end often prevents the issues that ultimately lead to litigation. Erin has built a solid labor and employment practice because she’s more than just a litigator – she’s an advisor, an instructor, and a fierce advocate. That said, she’s also a heck of a litigator. When necessary, Erin has been more than ready to go to court for her clients. She has a history of success litigating on behalf of employers in state and federal courts, as well as before the West Virginia Human Rights Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and in mediation and arbitration. Erin has defended clients from claims of discrimination based on age, gender, race, disability, and workers’ compensation, as well as claims involving wrongful discharge, sexual harassment, wage and hour, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), employee benefits, breach of contract, deliberate intent, wrongful death, and workplace safety.