A&WMA Gulf Coast Chapter Board of Directors, 2022 Term (last updated 10/20/22)

CHAIR

Managed by the Board Operating Group.


VICE CHAIR
Andria Carpenter
Occidental Petroleum
vicechair@awma-gcc.org

Andria Carpenter is an air quality engineer on the emissions reporting and carbon management team at Occidental Petroleum. Ms. Carpenter has a B.S.E in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan. She has worked in the field of air quality permitting and compliance within the oil and gas industry for 4 years, and is passionate about the digitalization of environmental compliance processes. In her spare time, Ms. Carpenter’s focus is on her involvement within non-profit organizations, including Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA) and the Society of Women Engineers (SWE).


PAST CHAIR / MEMBERSHIP AND SPONSORSHIP CHAIR
Raven Elliott, PMP
Maverick Natural Resources, LLC

chair@awma-gcc.org
membership@awma-gcc.org


Raven Elliott is an environmental professional with 19 years of experience in regulatory compliance, permitting, technical leadership, compliance training, and project management.  Mrs. Elliott’s experience in the Regulatory and Environmental realm comes with a wealth of knowledge from the corporate and field operations perspective.  She has assisted as an industry collaborator with State policymakers.  From permitting to compliance, to project management, she has served as an air and waste advisor to help companies lead the way in compliance.  Her career focus is on successfully ensuring that air quality programs are developed and managed through business analysis, permitting approvals, compliance initiatives, and stakeholder communication for all required business operations.  On the other hand, her personal focus is on her family, community engagement, and volunteering.  Mrs.  Elliott has a B.S. in Biology, an M.S. in Environmental Management, and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).  She has been a member of AWMA for over 8 years. 


SECRETARY
Meghan Skemp

ALL4, Inc.
secretary@awma-gcc.org

Meghan Skemp has more than 16 years of professional experience in environmental consulting and currently serves as a Managing Consultant in ALL4’s Houston office. She leads and performs projects in the areas of air permitting and compliance, stormwater and SPCC compliance programs and inspections, and multimedia environmental compliance auditing. Meghan has a passion for mentorship and knowledge sharing and contributes to ALL4’s training programs, webinars, and publications.  She has experience working in a variety of market sectors including chemical manufacturing, petroleum refining, oil and gas exploration and production, and hazardous waste incineration. Meghan received a Bachelors in Chemical Engineering and a Masters in Environmental Engineering from Vanderbilt University. Outside of work, she keeps busy shuttling her kids around to swim practice, watching SEC sports or camping at the beach.


TREASURER
Erika Horan
Edge Engineering and Science, LLC (EDGE)
treasurer@awma-gcc.org

Erika Horan has been the treasurer for the Gulf Coast Chapter for multiple consecutive years.  She is an environmental engineering consultant at Edge Engineering and Science, LLC (EDGE).  She has worked in the industry since 2011 working for both the state agency and in consulting.  Her current focus is air permitting, compliance, and dispersion modeling.  She has worked with a variety of industry clients, including Oil & Gas, Chemical, and Electric Utility sectors.  She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from Louisiana State University and is a certified E.I.T. in Texas.


SENIOR DIRECTOR
J Derek Furstenwerth
CAMS eSPARC LLC

director@awma-gcc.org

Derek Furstenwerth is the Vice President, Operations, at CAMS eSPARC LLC.  Mr. Furstenwerth has over 28 years of experience in environmental program management, environmental and energy policy advocacy, acquisition and divestiture support, licensing and permitting, and operations excellence. Derek comes to eSPARC from Furstenwerth Environmental Strategies, a boutique environmental firm he founded in 2017. Before that, Mr. Furstenwerth led the environmental programs for Calpine Corporation, a top 5 U.S. power generator, Director, Environmental for GenOn Energy, another major merchant power generator.  Throughout his career, which he began as a junior engineer at Houston Lighting & Power Company, while working his way up through the organization, Derek has been responsible for all areas of environmental compliance and planning, including agency interactions, regulatory advocacy, industry coalition-building, regulatory compliance at the facility and fleet level, complex compliance issue resolution, litigation support, acquisition & divestiture due diligence, and operational excellence. Derek’s experience makes him equally comfortable and effective in the control room, the Governor’s conference room, and the Board Room.


JUNIOR DIRECTOR

Managed by the Board Operating Group.


FRESHMAN DIRECTOR
Christal Banks Cottingham
Dow Chemical Company

director@awma-gcc.org

Christal Banks Cottingham is an Environmental Industry Professional, with a master’s degree in Civil/Environmental Engineering who loves to share her knowledge and expertise with others. She has accumulated twenty plus years of experience in the Environmental, Health, and Safety field. She has worked as a Site Manager for the State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection, a Project Engineer/Manager for global consulting firms, an environmental Engineer/project manager for a Federal contractor at NASA – Johnson Space Center, and she is currently employed as a Production Engineering Expertise Manager at Dow Chemical Company, where she is currently in charge of operating one of the largest wastewater treatment plants in North America. Christa; has managed construction crews (+50), designed operating systems, performed oversight for system construction, lead health and safety audits.

Christal has managed construction crews (+50), designed operating systems, performed oversight for system construction, lead health and safety audits, lead environmental audits, prepared State and Federal regulatory reports, prepared State and Federal regulatory permits, conducted process hazard and safety analysis, created systems for regulatory compliance on State and Federal levels which in turn helped to streamline processes, reduce workloads and reduce costs. In addition, she has implemented several regulatory standards related to safety and environmental compliance.

Christal is a graduate of Florida A&M University with a Bachelors Degree in Civil/Environmental Engineering, she went on to Florida State University where she earned a Master’s Degree in Civil/Environmental Engineering. Christal enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, Texans football, reading, and cooking.


ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION CHAIR

Managed by the Board Operating Group.


SCHOLARSHIP CHAIR
Tutu Aghedo, Ph.D.
scholarship@awma-gcc.org

Dr. Aghedo is equipping the future generation of professionals with the foundational mathematics and data analysis skills necessary to navigate a modern world connected and driven by big data as an educator in Aldine ISD. As a Research Scientist at California Institute of Technology, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Rice University, and Max Planck Institute for Meteorology Hamburg Germany, she modeled the impact of emissions of various air pollutants on tropospheric ozone; evaluated the uncertainties in numerical models and satellite data; and researched the feedback between climate change and air quality. Her regulatory expertise includes compliance inspection of oil and gas, petrochemical, and manufacturing facilities air quality programs involving Title V and New Source Review (NSR) permits, and Permit by Rule regarding applicable state of Texas (Texas Administrative Code Title 30) and federal regulations (NSPS, NESHAP, and MACT). An author of peer-review articles and scientific reports, Dr. Aghedo has delivered solicited and invited talks to scientists, policy makers, and the general public. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics (with honors), Masters in Modeling and Simulation of Complex Realities, and a doctorate degree in Geosciences. She became a member of A&WMA in 2014. She has served with the Gulf Coast Chapter as the Young Professional Coordinator, and now serving as the Scholarship Chair since 2016.


YOUNG PROFESSIONALS COORDINATOR / ELECTION CHAIR
Katharina Moeller
Spirit Environmental, LLC

yp@awma-gcc.org
election@awma-gcc.org


Katharina Moeller is a Project Consultant at Spirit Environmental providing air quality permitting and compliance services. Her experience includes permitting and compliance regarding Texas Permits by Rule (“PBR”), New Source Review (“NSR”), Prevention of Significant Deterioration (“PSD”), and Federal Title V Operating Permits. She has worked with a variety of industry clients including Oil & Gas, Terminals and Chemical sectors.  Katharina graduated from Texas A&M University in 2015 and holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies.


WEBMASTER
Nyx Black
The Lubrizol Corporation
webmaster@awma-gcc.org

Nyx Black graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Biological Engineering in 2001 from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Since then, Nyx has worked in both industry and consulting, primarily focusing on air permitting and environmental management systems for the chemical, manufacturing, and refining industries over a wide geographical footprint. Nyx is the Environmental Systems and Air Permitting Manager for Lubrizol’s Texas sites and a licensed Professional Engineer in Texas and Louisiana.