Speakers

• George Stark
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George Stark

George Stark is the Director of External Affairs for Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation. In this role, George directs external and internal outreach including government affairs, advertising, media relations, corporate social responsibility, and
communications campaigns. He also oversees efforts in building community relationships and furthering workforce development and natural gas utilization within the industry.

In addition to his roles on several oil and natural gas industry organizations, George currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce and the Community Foundation of the Endless Mountains.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Dickinson College and is a graduate of Leadership Pittsburgh. Prior to Cabot, George worked at Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania/Maryland for 15 years and most recently held the position of Director of External Affairs during his tenure. He lives in Wheeling, West Virginia with his wife and three daughters.

• Petra Mitchell
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Petra Mitchell

Petra Mitchell is the President and CEO of Catalyst Connection, a private, nonprofit economic development organization dedicated to helping manufacturers with management consulting and technical assistance leading to business growth and job creation.  Catalyst Connection is part of the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) and the Industrial Resource Center (IRC) of Southwestern Pennsylvania and Petra Mitchell is its Center Director.  Petra Mitchell’s experience in manufacturing operations, technology acceleration, and business development stretches back to 1988.  Before joining Catalyst Connection, she was employed by GE Aircraft Engines, now GE Aviation.

She holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Dayton, and an M.S. from the University of Cincinnati.  Petra was named a 2011 Top Women in Business Leader, a 2012 Top Energy Leader and a 2016 Most Admired CEOs in Pittsburgh by the Pittsburgh Business Times.  She is on the Board of Directors of the Advanced Robotics in Manufacturing (ARM) Institute, Leadership Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center (IRC) Network.  She is a former member of the Board of Pittsburgh Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and Keystone Powdered Metals, and is also the Honorary Consul for the Republic of Slovenia.

• Pamela Witmer
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Pamela Witmer

Pamela A. Witmer is Vice President of Governmental Affairs for UGI Energy Services (UGIES). She joined the company in 2016 where she oversees all aspects of working directly with federal, state and local government officials as well as the media to ensure open and informative dialogue about UGIES, its business and assets. Prior to joining UGIES, Witmer served as a Commissioner with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. (PA PUC) She was nominated to serve as Commissioner by Gov. Tom Corbett on June 7, 2011, and unanimously confirmed by the
Senate on June 27, 2011. While a member of the PA PUC, she was actively engaged with the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners serving on the Critical Infrastructure and Energy and Environmental Resources Committees. In addition, she was appointed to serve on the Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council of the Federal Communications Commission. A long history in energy and environment issues, Witmer led the energy and environment practice for Harrisburg-based Bravo Group, a governmental and public relations firm. She also served on the Corbett Transition Team’s Energy & Environment Committee. From 2000 to 2007, she was President and CEO of the Pennsylvania Chemical Industry Council, a trade association. She formerly served in the PA DEP under Gov. Tom Ridge as the lead legislative liaison, where she successfully steered
legislation through the General Assembly to create the DEP and the DCNR. She also previously worked as a research analyst for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

• Dan Brockett
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Dan Brockett

Dan Brockett is with the Penn State Extension Energy Education Team.  He lectures and teaches on energy development from shale, the economics driving the process, the process and politics of hydraulic fracturing, and the associated impacts to communities, businesses, agriculture, land, and people. He has had the opportunity to provide training for industry, for elected officials, for businesses, investors, regulators and for landowners and has been able to speak throughout the country and around the world.

More recent areas of interest include petrochemical development, utility-scale solar development, and energy comparison.