Event Summary
Ready to fuel your career with insight, strategy, and inspiration? Join us for “Energized Leadership”, a powerful panel discussion featuring four dynamic leaders from across the natural gas industry.
From field operations to executive strategy, these trailblazers have navigated diverse career paths—and they’re bringing their hard-won lessons to the table. Whether you’re climbing the ladder, pivoting roles, or mentoring others, this session offers real-world advice on building an impactful career.
What you’ll gain:
- Personal stories of resilience, reinvention, and rising through the ranks
- Strategies for navigating career transitions and seizing new opportunities
- Insight into leadership development, visibility, and building influence
- Candid reflections on what they wish they’d known earlier
This session is designed for professionals at all career stages in the energy industry. Come connect with like-minded professionals, ask questions, and leave energized with new tools to lead boldly in your own career.
Attendees will receive 1.5 Professional Development Hours (PDH) upon completion.
Panelist
Cristie Neller
Vice President of Administrative Services, BHE GT&S
SGA Board Chair
Cristie D. Neller is vice president Administrative Services for Berkshire Hathaway Energy Gas Transmission and Storage.
She is responsible for business related services in support of the BHE GT&S team, an integrated interstate gas transmission and storage company across the East Coast, as well as supporting the broader Berkshire Hathaway Energy Business Transformation efforts.
Beginning as a co-op/intern at Virginia Power, she continued her early career at Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corp. in Houston, Tx and in Charlottesville, Va. She joined Dominion Energy in 1998, advancing through progressive leadership positions across the power generation sector in operations and engineering, all while earning her Six Sigma Black Belt from the Six Sigma Academy. In 2009, she became station director at Clover Power Station, where the team achieved recognition as top midsized coal generating facility in North America.
She was promoted to vice president Eastern Pipeline Engineering & Construction in November 2014, overseeing Dominion Energy’s Gas Transmission Engineering and Construction organization. Her leadership guided technical services and capital construction, supporting the growth and maintenance of gas transmission pipelines and storage assets along the East Coast during a period of transition for natural gas infrastructure. She later became vice president of Western Pipeline Operations in October 2019, leading the team providing natural gas transportation and underground storage services in Utah, Wyoming and Colorado.
In November 2020, she joined BHE GT&S as VP Administrative Services responsible for HR, IT, Supply Chain Fleet and Facility services, as well as leading Business Transformation efforts for BHE GT&S. She now also serves as part of the broader Berkshire Hathaway Energy business transformation leadership team.
She has served on Christopher Newport University Business School’s Board of Advisors, the Southern Gas Association Executive Council and the Utah Community Investment Board. She has previously chaired the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America’s Pipeline Safety Committee and Underground Storage Committee. Currently, she is Chair of the FIRST Robotics Chesapeake board of directors for VA/MD/DC and Chair of the Southern Gas Association Board of Directors.
Neller earned her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Virginia Tech and her MBA from the College of William and Mary.
Panelist
Rachel Williams
Rachel Williams is an expert networker, coach, and leadership mentor. After 15+ years in the energy industry, Rachel has dedicated her time to helping aspiring leaders get promoted by doing what they love most.
With a career that started as an environmental permitter for energy projects of all kinds, Rachel pivoted her career midway to align with her own unique gifts and talents, focusing on business development at Tetra Tech and serving leaders through her coaching business, Authentic Women’s Leadership. She finds connecting energy professionals with the experts and services they need quite fulfilling.
Rachel’s has also been celebrated as one of The Most Influential Leaders of Texas by Amare Magazine, and her commitment to giving back is evident in her volunteer work with organizations like the Southern Gas Association Women and Leadership Committee, and the Tetra Tech Professional Women’s Network, for which she Co-founded a Coaching Program that has helped empower hundreds of women.
A highly sought-after speaker, Rachel has delivered leadership and networking workshops across the U.S. for renowned companies such as JP Morgan Chase, Women in Tech Texas, and the Southern Gas Association, just to name a few.
When she’s not changing lives professionally, Rachel finds joy in traveling, spending quality time with loved ones, spoiling her pets, and reconnecting with nature.
Panelist
Sam Trowbridge
Client Relations, SGC Surveying
2025 SGA Chair's Rising Leader
Samantha Trowbridge has 10 years of experience managing GIS resources. She currently specializes in client relations, data conversion, data management and design development. Her focus is finding new ways to utilizing GIS. Samantha started in Emergency Response, which is near and dear to her heart, as she worked for the Louisiana Army National Guard in creating and implementing Statewide GIS emergency strategies and initiatives. She has pushed creating, tracking and implementing GIS initiatives within Natural Gas such as Pipelines Progress Tracking Effort Development. Enabling field data to be tracked in near-real time. Field inspection filled out the same information as the paper documents, in turn allowing for the exact replication of client-provided reporting. Creating project tracking dashboards, allowing progress to be centrally tracked for all stakeholders. Samantha has not forgotten how she started and has encouraged the use of GIS for creating safety automations for submission, tracking and reporting. Samantha is involved with CNGC, SGA, NAWIC, Women in Pipeline and YPP.
Panelist
Brandi Price
Vice President of Public Affairs, Atmos Energy
Panelist
Jose (Pepé) De Alba
Manager-Field Operations, El Paso/Texas Gas Service
