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Katie Mehnert

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Katie Mehnert
Mehnert in 2015
Born (1975-12-27) December 27, 1975 (age 48)
New Orleans, Louisiana
NationalityAmerican
Alma materLouisiana State University
Rice University
Years active1997–current
EmployerAlly Energy
TitleChief Executive Officer
SpouseMark Mehnert
Websitewww.katiemehnert.com

Katie Mehnert (born December 27, 1975) is an American energy executive, entrepreneur, business author, activist,[1] and speaker. She is the founder and chief executive officer of Ally Energy,[2] an online workforce development platform and career website for the energy industry.[3][4][5][6][7]

Career

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Mehnert worked as a management consultant from 1997–2004 in the energy industry with Enron, Duke Energy, Waste Management, and Entergy. She left her position to join Shell as a global program & change leader in 2004, having stayed for 7 years working in health and safety.[8] She then joined BP as the director of culture, safety and operational risk after the Deepwater Horizon spill.[9][10]

In 2013, she got the idea of Pink Petro.[11][12] She left BP to launch Pink Petro in 2014 to focus on improving the livelihoods of women professionals in the energy industry by creating an online learning community.[13][14][15] She launched the community with initial support from Shell, Halliburton and KPMG. In 2016, she launched the HERWorld Energy forum (now called Energy 2.0) to foster connections between women in energy worldwide.[16]

In 2020, Pink Petro rebranded as ALLY Energy.[17] In 2021, ALLY acquired Clean Energy Social,[18] a jobs and networking community for the clean energy industry including solar, wind, power, oil and gas, power and utilities, biofuels, hydrogen, geothermal, carbon capture, and other sectors that make up the energy transition.

For her advocacy in gender and racial equality in the energy sector, Mehnert was named a Top 40 under 40 in the Houston Business Journal.[19] She was named a Top Woman to Watch in Energy[20] and a Top 50 Houston Woman.[21] She's also received the Vanguard Award for developing a pool of talent in STEM careers from Girls Inc, and the recipient of the YWCA's Top Woman in Energy.[22] Mehnert has also received the Women Who Mean Business award in energy,[23] and was named a Global World Affairs Council Leader of Influence in 2021.[24]

Education

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Mehnert received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Louisiana State University in 1997 and later attended Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business in 2009 for executive education in energy. She is a graduate of the Center for Houston's Future.[25]

US Department of Energy

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In 2020, Mehnert was appointed by the Honorable James Campos under the Trump Administration to serve as an Ambassador[26] to the United States Department of Energy in its Equity and Energy initiative. In 2022, Mehnert was appointed by Secretary Jennifer Granholm to the National Petroleum Council.

Hurricane Harvey

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In August 2017, Mehnert lost her West Houston home and business due to the federally ordered reservoir releases made by the United States Army Corps of Engineers during Hurricane Harvey.[27][28] While Harvey dumped a few feet of water into her home, the Mehnerts were able to stay on the second story. But a controlled release of nearby reservoirs washed through neighborhoods like hers in west Houston, submerging many homes above the first story. She and her daughter were rescued by volunteers on August 29.[29]

Advocacy and activism

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In 2019, Mehnert testified before US Congress on the Clean Energy Workforce of the Future.[30] In 2021, Mehnert joined the cast of Hot Money,[31][32] a documentary aimed at discussing the financial impact of climate change. The film was directed by Susan Kucera and produced by actor Jeff Bridges and Wesley Clark.

Books

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  • Grow with the Flow: Embrace Difference, Overcome Fear, and Progress with Purpose – ISBN 1634893239
  • Everyday Superheroes: Women in Energy Careers – ISBN 1634894340

References

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  1. ^ Schneider, Andrew (August 26, 2020). "3 Years After Harvey, Reservoir Flood Risks Remain". Houston Public Media. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  2. ^ "Introducing ALLY: the online community of the energy workforce". PRWeb. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  3. ^ Johnson, Mary (March 1, 2016). "Woman to watch: Pink Petro founder hosts global forum for women in energy". The Business Journals.
  4. ^ Price, Susan (August 4, 2015). "This industry has even fewer women than tech". Fortune.
  5. ^ Shah, Angela (October 22, 2014). "Social Site Pink Petro Aims to Raise the Energy Industry's XX-Factor". Xconomy Inc (published November 16, 2016).
  6. ^ Shay, Miya (August 21, 2015). "Houston economists wonder how low the price of oil will go". ABC 13 (published November 16, 2016).
  7. ^ "Katie Mehnert: Foster Industry Communities to Promote Women". Texas Monthly. May 9, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  8. ^ Beeke, B. Candace (April 20, 2015). "5 Houstonians to know and one to sort of feel bad for". The Business Journals (published November 16, 2016).
  9. ^ Blum, Jordan (August 28, 2015). ""Pink" oil and gas social platform for women prepares Houston launch". The Business Journals.
  10. ^ Smith, Jacquelyn (May 27, 2014). "2 Signs You're Working For A Terrible Boss". Business Insider (published November 16, 2016).
  11. ^ "Connect, Create, Share, Show Up…Life with Katie Mehnert". MomCom Life (published November 16, 2016). December 6, 2013.
  12. ^ "Katie Mehnert – Pink Petro". The Business Makers. April 11, 2016.
  13. ^ Johnson, Mary (March 9, 2016). "HOUSTON: The pied piper of women in energy". The Business Journals.
  14. ^ McMullen, Maureen (March 26, 2015). "How social technology connects women in the energy industry". Bakken.com (published November 16, 2016).
  15. ^ Aringoli, Federico (July 4, 2014). "Una red social para cerrar la brecha en el petróleo". Rionegro (published November 16, 2016).
  16. ^ "Woman to watch: Pink Petro founder hosts global forum for women in energy". bizjournals.com. 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  17. ^ Huang, Sherry (August 3, 2021). "Interview: Katie Mehnert and Shanta Eaden, ALLY Energy". New Energy Risk.
  18. ^ "Houston energy startup makes strategic acquisition, doubles community size". InnovationMap. July 21, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  19. ^ Harms, Natalie (September 13, 2016). "Here are HBJ's 2016 40 Under 40 Honorable Mentions". The Business Journals.
  20. ^ "5 Women to Watch in the Energy Industry". knect365.com. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  21. ^ Administrator. "50 Women". houstonwomanmagazine.com. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  22. ^ "YWCA Houston announces 2016 Honorees for 30th Annual Outstanding Women's Luncheon" (PDF). YMCA Houston. November 16, 2016.
  23. ^ Houston Business Journal https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2020/10/16/2020-wwmb-energy.html. Retrieved October 31, 2021. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  24. ^ "2021 Global Leader of Influence – Katie Mehnert – World Affairs Council of Greater Houston". wachouston.org. September 8, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  25. ^ McNamara, Clare (May 27, 2015). "Katie Mehnert On Life As A Marathon". Move Ahead Global (published November 16, 2016).
  26. ^ "Equity in Energy™". Energy.gov. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  27. ^ reporter, miya shay, eyewitness news (September 6, 2017). "Resident: My neighborhood is a retention pond". ABC13 Houston. Retrieved October 21, 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  28. ^ "The Deliberate Flooding of West Houston". Houstonia. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  29. ^ "Natural Disaster Survivors Share Their Stories". Reader's Digest. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  30. ^ "Testimony" (PDF). congress.gov. February 27, 2019.
  31. ^ "Katie Mehnert Gives Her Take On The "Hot Money" Documentary". Talk 107.3. July 9, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  32. ^ "Hot Money (2021)", IMDb, retrieved October 31, 2021
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