Amanda WrightPresidentAscent Consulting and Engineering, LLC-West Virginia SponsorAmanda Wright is a long-standing member of the Women’s Energy Network and a native of West Virginia. Wright has nearly 20 years’ experience within the Energy Sector within the Appalachian Basin. In 2020 Wright joined the fast-growing WV based engineering firm Ascent Engineering & Consulting. Wright has been employed by operators such as Mountain V Oil & Gas, Dominion Energy, CNX Gas, & Rice Energy. Over the years Wright has built strong lasting relationships within local regulatory agencies, community members, as well as neighboring companies. Wright received a BA degree from Salem International University in 2004 and earned her MBA with a focus on International Business from Salem International University in 2011. Wright is passionate about the many benefits that oil & gas development provides to the Appalachian Basin and abroad and she looks forward to continually educating others as well.
Natalie N. JefferisPresident-ElectLawyer & Landman, Peacock KellerEnergy Lawyer with 13 years experience in the oil and gas industry - commercial, midstream and upstream experience.
Stephanie June IaquintaMembership DirectorAntero Resources - West VirginiaA lifelong Harrison County, WV resident, Stephanie J. Iaquinta is currently the Executive Assistant for the Government Relations department at Antero Resources Corporation. She joined the Antero team in 2014 as front desk receptionist in the Bridgeport field office. In less than two years she was promoted to Community Relations Representative where she continued to expand her knowledge of the oil and gas industry. While working at Antero, Ms. Iaquinta has both managed and assisted in the coordination of community fundraisers, company parties, community appreciation events, site tours and marketing opportunities. A chair and founder of the annual Kentucky Derby Gala, Stephanie has been influential in raising over $75k for the Children’s Home Society of WV. She has built strong professional relationships with industry groups, community members and service providers. In addition to WEN, Stephanie is a member of the Bridgeport Junior Woman’s Club, currently serving as Publicity Chair. Through her employment at Antero, Ms. Iaquinta has found a passion for nonprofit work with the United Way of Harrison County. She was a member of the Community Investment Committee in early 2018 and now serves on the steering committee for the Harrison County United Way Emerging Leaders. Stephanie served on the planning committee in 2018 for the inaugural Bands, Bites and Brews fundraiser for the newly formed Bridgeport Heritage & Arts Foundation. She is strongly connected to the American Heart Association, serving as team captain of the North Central WV Heart Walk for consecutive terms. Stephanie received a Regents Bachelor of Arts degree from Fairmont State University in 2014. She calls Bridgeport, WV home.
Tanya CaytonMarketing & Communications DirectorMarketing Director, Ascent Consulting and Engineering, LLC-West Virginia SponsorIn 2015 I moved to WV from Denver, Colorado. I currently reside in Weston with my husband and our son. I have been in the marketing world since 2002 and never get tired of seeing a group of creative people working together. I have had the pleasure of organizing and being a member of some great organizations such as: Hub Coordinator for Clarksburg Honor Flight, Past President Harrison County Rotary, Marketing and Co-Coordinator for Harrison County WV Birthday Sesquicentennial Celebration, Coordinator for On The Patch, Marketing Director for Harrison County Historical Society, and Marketing Director for Conquer The Complex in Lewis County WV. I believes in teamwork and communication. It is important to have goals that are achievable with group effort. It is important to help grow an organization that we can be proud of and I want to be a part of the continued success throughout the state of WV.
Sarah VeselkaCommunity Initiatives DirectorSenior Scientist / Project Manager, EnviroScience IncI graduated from the University of Georgia in 2000 with a B.S in Biology and West Virginia University in 2004 with a M.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Resources. My career in aquatic resources began at UGA where I worked in an analytical laboratory and then as a fish community assessment field crew leader. At WVU, I continued research in stream ecosystems studying fish, macroinvertebrates, biofilm, and water chemistry. This research was published in Ecological Applications. During this time, I also served as the President of the WVU Chapter of the American Fisheries Society and received awards for best student paper and outstanding graduate student. After graduate school, I served as an AmeriCorps Volunteer in Service to America with a non-profit watershed group in Morgantown, WV and as their Executive Director for four years. Here I gained invaluable experience in non-profit management, grant writing, fundraising, community organizing, and environmental education securing funding and developing an award-winning Youth Advisory Board. I also continued applied research in aquatic sciences with a focus on acid mine drainage and stream restoration. Over the past 12 years, I worked to grow a successful West Virginia based environmental consulting company from the ground up, supporting over 40 employees. During this time, my focus remained in aquatic ecology conducting freshwater mussel, fish, crayfish, and macroinvertebrate surveys across the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Appalachian regions. Currently, I work as a Senior Scientist / Project Manager for EnviroScience in our Morgantown, WV office. I am a PADI certified Master Diver and love being underwater, even on the bottom of low-visibility large rivers looking for mussels. I also enjoy mountain biking, kayaking, skiing, and camping with my family.
Lori Miller SmithSponsorship DirectorDirector of Administrative Services, Gas and Oil Association of WV, Inc.Lori Miller Smith brings a wealth of experience to her work at the Gas and Oil Association of WV, Inc., also known as GO-WV. She came to IOGAWV in 1995 after nearly twenty years of service to Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation. At Cabot, she was the Regional Administrator, reporting directly to the Regional Vice President, and managed all office functions. Currently, she is the Director of Administrative Services and administers the GO-WV insurance program, which, with her guidance and leadership, has grown the program into Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of West Virginia’s largest fully funded insurance program in West Virginia. Lori plans and directs the association’s yearly meetings and is responsible for all of GO-WV’s office and business functions. She is a graduate and member of the “Leadership West Virginia Program” for select business professionals in West Virginia. She graduated cum laude and first in her class from West Virginia State University with an undergraduate degree in marketing, which she completed while being employed full-time and raising a family. Outside her duties at GO-WV, she serves on the Board of Directors of the West Virginia Society of Association Executives and the Women’s Energy Network and is active in other civic organizations. She is a charter member of the West Virginia Desk and Derrick Club and was also a charter member and past president of the Mountain State Desk and Derrick Club. She is a past Board Member of the Girl Scouts of Black Diamond Council. Outside of her professional interests, she loves to travel and loves camping, movies, music and reading, and enjoys living in South Charleston with her family. She is married to Rick Smith and has two sons, Jason and Steven, two stepchildren, Courtney and Brandon and three grandchildren.
Jennifer HughesPast PresidentJackson KellyJennifer L. Hughes is an attorney at Jackson Kelly, PLLC in the Energy industry group, focusing primarily on environmental litigation. She practices out of the firm’s office in Charleston, West Virginia. Jennifer’s practice centers on litigation and counseling clients on environmental and energy matters. Her experience cuts across a wide variety of issues, including permitting, enforcement, and regulatory requirements related to water pollution control, water quality standards, monitoring and reporting requirements, storm water control, solid and hazardous waste management, air quality, carbon sequestration, mining law, oil and gas law, underground injection control, and spill reporting. She has represented and advised mining companies, oil and gas companies, manufacturers, construction companies, real estate developers, landowners, utilities, municipalities, and trade associations. Jennifer’s love of environmental law began with a geology class in her days as an undergraduate at Oberlin College in Ohio. Now an accomplished attorney in environmental law, she has appeared many times before the Environmental Quality Board and Surface Mine Board in West Virginia. Jennifer has advised companies from a variety of industries on water quality monitoring and reporting requirements. Adding to Jennifer’s wide array of skills, she also has defended coal companies and landowners in Clean Water Act and Surface Mining Control & Reclamation Act citizen suits in federal court. Jennifer also has experience on the regulatory side, having begun her law career at the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. She enjoys all aspects of her legal practice, including conducting research, crafting legal arguments in briefs and motions, and engaging in oral argument. When Jennifer’s away from the office, you can find her wrangling her mischievous border collie, practicing piano and guitar, cooking, and cheering on her beloved Pittsburgh Pirates.