Speakers: 2021 GRIT Awards and Best Energy Workplaces

Full Name

Lisa Shumate

Job Title

Associate Vice President and General Manager

Company

University of Houston/ Houston Public Media

Speaker Bio

Lisa Trapani Shumate was appointed Associate Vice President (UH System) & General Manager, Houston Public Media (UH) in 2011, with dual roles of responsibility, including serving as Executive Director of the Houston Public Media Foundation.

Before joining the University, she held successive roles of executive leadership at KHOU-TV (TEGNA), BELO Corporation (TEGNA), and KTRK-TV (Disney/ABC) in both Houston and Dallas.

Lisa is co-author of “You’ve Got This: The Real Skills You Need for Career Success,” published by Wiley, a publishing company focused on academic publishing and instructional materials.

She earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Houston-Bauer College of Business, graduating cum laude, and participated in an International Business Residency in China in 2016. Lisa is a recent graduate of Rice University’s Leadership Coaching Program.

Lisa serves on three national public media governing boards and is the recipient of local, regional, and national awards for community service, leadership, and innovation.

Speaking At

Opening Session & Fireside Chat: Getting Gritty with the Energy Transition
Awards Presentation

Full Name

Trevor Best

Job Title

Chief Executive Officer

Company

Syzygy Plasmonics Inc.

Speaker Bio

“Mr. Best is the founding CEO of Syzygy Plasmonics. Before starting Syzygy, he worked for Baker Hughes. There he steadily progressed into management, where he gained expertise in quality assurance (Six Sigma Black Belt), regulatory compliance, technology development management, project and personnel management, supply chain management, internal/external communications, and business process architecture. With Syzygy he has successfully raised three funding rounds and is currently focusing on bringing Syzygy’s revolutionary photochemical technology to market.”

Speaking At

Opening Session & Fireside Chat: Getting Gritty with the Energy Transition

Full Name

Arquella Hargrove

Job Title

Leadership Consultant, Speaker, Coach

Company

Epic Collaborative Advisors

Speaker Bio

Arquella Hargrove, MBA, is a sought-after facilitator, leadership consultant, speaker, and coach dedicated to the transformative and sustainable results of people through development. She is an author of Coaching Perspectives, Leadership Coaching Strategies Chapter. A moderator and frequent panel speaker in the areas of diversity, women in leadership, and social capital, as well as, a contributor to publications, such as, Workforce Magazine. She is the President of Epic Collaborative Advisors helping business leaders build stronger, more effective teams and companies. Valued for helping teams think strategically and engage in meaningful conversations that allow for reflection and inquiry that lead to change.

Arquella designs and delivers interactive, experiential workshops, such as: Facilitation Skills, Cross-cultural Communication, Implicit Bias, Developing Leadership Skills. Arquella also designs and facilitates meetings and retreats to achieve desired outcomes. She has been “dubbed” a change management agent based on her work of facilitating visioning, strategic planning, board development, customer service improvement, performance management sessions. These types of sessions helped organizations align with their values, clarify goals, and identify obstacles to change. In her role of mediator and coach, she helps people identify the interests behind their positions, and identify common ground. Coach senior managers on performance management and effective communication.

Arquella is a frequent invited speaker and workshop presenter in the areas of effective communication, diversity in the workplace, women’s empowerment, leadership skills, and managing people resources. She has spoken at numerous women’s and leadership conferences, Human Resources conferences, employee resource groups, and statewide business and training events.

Speaking At

Opening Session & Fireside Chat: Getting Gritty with the Energy Transition

Full Name

Erin Twamley

Job Title

Author and Educator

Company

STEM Superheroes

Speaker Bio

Erin Twamley is an educator (M.Ed.) and award winning author of multicultural STEM children's books. Through her educational consulting group ErinEDU, LLC she engages next generation of STEM Superheroes™ in protecting and creating a sustainable planet. Her books feature STEM activities and the diverse stories and careers of those Superheroes living today.

Prior to ErinEDU, LLC she was responsible for the education and workforce development portfolio at the U.S. Department of Energy (2012-2016). She designed and marketed materials, programs and the website for federal, state and local school officials to use for energy literacy efforts. Her authorship includes blogs and teacher guides for the North American Association for Environmental Education, The Earth Day Network and Department of Energy. Erin loves to travel (pre-COVID) and has lived on three continents. She currently resides in Huntsville, AL where you will find her writing the STEM Superheroes™ series.

Speaking At

Everyday Superheroes : The Energy Workforce of the Future

Full Name

Emma Sadler

Job Title

Product Designer

Company

Lunchbox

Speaker Bio

Emma comes from the hospitality and graphic design world. Emma has worked with restaurateurs such as Stephen Starr and Danny Myers as a graphic designer and front of house manager. Emma has worn many hats in her career giving her well rounded knowledge from making a perfect cup of coffee, to operations, to scaling a company through design. Emma left the hospitality industry due to COVID and pivoted full-time into being a product designer, bringing the hospitality touch to tech.

Speaking At

Opening Session & Fireside Chat: Getting Gritty with the Energy Transition

Full Name

Lisa Gianukos

Job Title

Sustainable Schools Program Director

Company

The Children’s Environmental Literacy Foundation

Speaker Bio

As the Program Director for CELF, Lisa is responsible for implementing professional development programs on the Education for Sustainability for schools across the Greater Houston Area. Prior to joining CELF, she spent seventeen years in the classroom teaching higher education and secondary students. Lisa began teaching in the Middle East as an adult-language instructor for the Kuwait petrochemical industry. Subsequently, she taught at the American University of Kuwait’s Center for Continuing Education to multinational working professionals. Upon moving to Houston, Lisa taught English at the University of Houston-Downtown, Lone Star Community College, and within the Houston Independent School District. As a secondary teacher, she collaborated in blended classrooms and administered a linked-learning collaborative which incorporated Environmental Science, Engineering, History, and English. Lisa has written and applied curriculum for Project-Based Lessons (PBL) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in urban school populations.

Lisa is passionate about connecting students with the community around them. Through their learning journeys, her students have partnered with state and national organizations such as Air Alliance Houston, Texas Wildlife Association, Sierra Club-Houston, Houston City Council, Citizens’ Environmental Coalition, Houston Public Media, and the University of Houston.

Lisa’s educational background includes a Master of Liberal Studies from Rice University’s Glasscock School, a Master of Arts in Education – with a focus on Educational Leadership – from the University of St. Thomas, and she holds a Texas Administration/Principal certificate.

Speaking At

Everyday Superheroes : The Energy Workforce of the Future

Full Name

Marilee Norred

Job Title

Sr. Manager - Talent Management & Policy/Compliance

Company

Sunnova Energy Corporation

Speaker Bio

Currently leading talent management and HR policy/compliance at Sunnova Energy, Ms Norred has significant experience in Human Resources, having worked for BP/Amoco for over 20 years before moving into the renewables sector in 2018. Ms Norred has managed recruiting and process teams across the US and globally and has been an HR business partner in both field/plant and corporate environments. Her credentials include Master’s degrees in Labor and Industrial Relations and Educational Psychology, as well as SPHR Certification. Additionally, Ms Norred is the Legislative Director for the Texas Bay Area SHRM chapter.

Speaking At

Opening Session & Fireside Chat: Getting Gritty with the Energy Transition

Full Name

Amber West

Job Title

IO Psychologist

Company

Crosschq

Speaker Bio

Amber West is an IO Psychology Consultant at Crosschq, in this role Amber partners with organizations to design solutions to optimize the hiring process as well as employee experience by connecting pre-hire data to post-hire outcomes using advanced analytics. In addition to her consulting work, Amber has a deep understanding of organizational data through her experience in People Analytics at AbbVie and Whole Foods Market. Amber holds a Master of Science in I/O Psychology from Illinois Institute of Technology.

Speaking At

ALLY & Crosschq: Two Forces for Good

EMCEE & SPEAKERS