Board of Directors

Tara Meek is a State Governement & Regulatory Affairs Senior Rep for the Williams Companies, Inc. who has been serving the company in many roles since 2014. In her current role she works with various trade groups and regulatory agencies determining the pathway for environmental regulations for the benefit of the company and the environment.

Tara began her career in the Oil and Gas industry in 2004 upon graduating from West Virginia University with a bachelor‘s degree in Geology. She continued her education at WVU while working at the West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey (WVGES) earning a master‘s degree with dual specialization in hydrogeology and environmental microbiology.

Tara is co-founder and past president of the Appalachian Chapter of Women‘s Energy Network (now formed into Greater Pittsburgh Chapter, Ohio Chapter, Susquehanna Valley Chapter, and West Virginia Chapter). She helped form the National Board and currently holds the position of National President for Women‘s Energy Network.

Tara is a member of American Association of Professional Geologists (AAPG), is chair of the midstream committee at Ohio Oil and Gas Association (OOGA), Vice Chair of the Leadership Section Committee for Southern Gas Association (SGA) and serves on the Environmental Committee for Gas and Oil Association of West Virginia (GO-WV). Tara has received the WING (Women in Natural Gas) Leadership award in 2014 and 2015 and has served on numerous speaking panels. She was a nominee for the ATHENA Award for 2016 and received the Pioneer Award for Women‘s Energy Network in 2017.

Vice President

Kelly Nissenbaum

Castle

Kelly works for Castle, a construction contractor located in Meridian, Mississippi as part of their Business Development team. Her background includes over 10 years of experience in sales, client relations, and new market expansion. Her role is paramount in cultivating new business relationships for Castle. She serves as the main point of contact for Castle's‘ new and existing clients to ensure effective communication and personalized service. As Manager of Business Development, she focuses on new business but the core of her role is to foster the ongoing relationships she has with their current client base.

Kelly graduated from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management and Minor in Business Administration. Kelly has been an active member of the Appalachian Pipeliners Association since their first event back in 2016.  She joined the Board of Directors as the Golf Outing Chair in 2017 and has hosted the APA Golf outing since that point. 

Secretary 

Tiffany Culp

     Three Rivers Royalty

Tiffany A. Culp has over ten years of experience in the oil and gas industry. She currently serves as VPLand & Legal for Three Rivers Royalty where she supports purchasing efforts in Appalachia. Prior to her current position, she served as VP Legal for multibasin San Jacinto Minerals, LLC after coming from EQT Production Company.  She recently received the 2020 Pioneer Award from the Women‘s Energy Network Greater Pittsburgh Chapter and serves on the Board of Directors for the Appalachian Pipeliner‘s Association. Tiffany has a Bachelor‘s of Science in Biological Sciences from the University of Connecticut, a Juris Doctorate from Western New England University School of Law, and a Masters of Business Administration from Waynesburg University. She lives in Canonsburg with her husband, Joe, son, Christian, and their two French bulldogs, Frank and Whitey.

Treasurer

Melissa Long

CNX

Melissa Long is a Senior Manager of Accounting and Reporting at CNX Resources Corporation. She began with CNX as a Senior Accountant in late 2011 and has been promoted into various roles of increasing responsibility. Prior to joining CNX, Melissa worked at a regional accounting firm in Pittsburgh focusing primarily on auditing financial statements of non-public companies. Melissa holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from Slippery Rock University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh‘s Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business. Melissa is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Pennsylvania.

Alexandre Brito, Chief Comercial Officer of USA Staffing Solutions has been operating and managing an inspection company since 2014 and in the pipeline field since 2000 where he started as a union oiler. 

Alex is originally from Brazil and moved to the United States in 2000. Graduated in 2006 from the University of Minnesota. 

He has managed teams of over 150 construction and environmental inspectors throughout the country.  

Mr. Brito has been in Pennsylvania since 2011 along with his wife Nicole, son Luca, and daughter Natalia.

Communications Director

Harold Lee, GISP

Coterra Energy

Harold Lee is the GIS Supervisor for Coterra Energy. He has 9+ years of experience in upstream and midstream oil & gas, with a primary focus in using mapping and spatial analytics to support strategic decision making. Prior to his energy career at Coterra and Williams, he spent 4 years at a Photogrammetry firm in Charlotte NC, working with aerial imagery and GIS data as an analyst and airborne sensor operator. Harold is also the founding member and current President of EnerGIS Events, a 501c3 non-profit organization with a mission to educate and promote geospatial technologies across all energy sectors in the northeastern US. EnerGIS Events (and its predecessor GITA Mid-Atlantic Chapter) has hosted annual GIS conferences & awarded tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships to regional university students studying Geography & related fields since 2013. Harold holds a Bachelors‘ degree in Geography from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a certified GIS Professional & FAA Private Pilot.

Membership Director

Seth Shafer, PE

Fisher Associates

Seth Shafer, PE is the Utility Group Manager at Fisher Associates at their Canonsburg, PA office.  Seth has been in the industry since 2008 and has been involved in upstream and midstream development for multiple clients in the tri-state region which mainly involves front end survey, environmental investigations and all facets of civil engineering and construction management.  Seth is currently the director of the membership committee.  In his spare time, Seth enjoys traveling and outdoor activities with his wife and 4 children.

Golf Outing Co-Director

Makenzie Wall

USA Staffing Solutions

Makenzie Wall has worked at USA Staffing Solutions for the past 18 months and recently got promoted as the Client Service Manager, managing a team of recruiters and staffing for clients in various industries across the country. Before joining USA Staffing, Makenzie worked at a golf club planning weddings, special events & golf outings. 

Makenzie graduated from IUP in 2018 with a Bachelor's degree in Hospitality Management with a minor in Marketing and went on to get her Master's degree in Human Resources. 

Golf Outing Co-Director

Dan Garcia

Blue Racer Midstream

Clay Shoot Co-Director

Kim Gavran

Mud Masters

Kim Gavran started in Oil and Gas Industry as the V.P. in Business Development for Mud Masters in October 2017, a water management solutions facility in Ohio.  A year later, Mud Masters joined with trucking company Buckeye Water Service where Kim continued in a Business Development role offering customers an array of turnkey services in the Marcellus/Utica and industrial markets. She has also consulted for Equinox Engineering, USA. This diversification has given her great exposure to all facets of the industry.

Kim is a member of the Women‘s Energy Network, Appalachian Pipeliners Association, American Association of Drilling Engineers and Ohio Oil and Gas Association.  Kim graduated from Waynesburg University with a B.A. in Public Service Administration.  Kim began her career in the Human Services field and went on to receive a Certificate of Training and Consulting from University of Pittsburgh Training and Resource Center. When Kim is not traveling for work in WV, OH and PA, she enjoys spending time with her daughters, who are studying at West Virginia University.

Clay Shoot Co-Director

Steve Carr

Dudley Land Company

Steve Carr entered the oil and gas industry in 2006 and currently serves as the Eastern States Area Manager for Dudley Land Company, and their subsidiary, National Field Solutions. 

While attending The Pennsylvania State University, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Education. He is a Certified Professional Landman (CPL), and active member of the AAPL (Annual Meeting Committee), HAPL, NALA (Treasurer), APA (Clay Shoot Chair), IRWA and the MLBC (Golf Outing Chair).

A native of Western Pennsylvania, he currently resides in North Strabane with his saint of a wife, Cassandra,  and their three daughters, Charlotte, Elizabeth, and Olivia. When not working or parenting, Carr enjoys golf, cooking, crooner music and a good cigar.

Scholarship Director

Katie Saulsberry

People's Natural Gas

Katie Saulsbery is a Senior Sourcing Specialist for Peoples Natural Gas Company. Katie has eight years‘ experience in the natural gas industry with four of those at Peoples Gas. At Peoples Gas she is responsible for the sourcing and purchasing of natural gas handling materials and equipment, as well as engineering and construction services. Katie is currently serving as the Scholarship Director for the APA. In her free time, she enjoys weekends at Conneaut Lake and playing with her spoiled Golden Retriever, Sperry. 

Dinner/Speaker
Event Director

Jennifer Powell 

Sunbelt Rentals

Marketing Director

Jennifer McIntyre

NMW Industrial Consulting

Jennifer McIntyre is the Vice President for RLI Solutions Company who operate in the Tri-State area as well as Managing Partner of NMW LLC Industrial. She has been in the industry since 2009, with business development and operations roles encompassing construction, drilling, completions, production, midstream, and pipeline. She also holds the following positions Marketing Director of the Appalachian Chapter of the American Association of Drilling Engineers, the Membership Director for the Appalachian Pipeline Association and Secretary for Oilfield Connections International, Pittsburgh Chapter.  Jennifer is a proud mother of four and enjoys outside pursuits in her spare time.

Social Media Chair

Brittany Giarnelli

Weldfit

Speaker Dinner Chair - PA

Casey Boyd

Tenaris

Speaker Dinner Chair - WV

Jessica Shuey

LW Survey

Jessica Shuey is the Eastern US Business Development Manager – Utilities for LW Survey Company (LWS) located in Barrackville, WV.  Her focus is on client relations to develop and foster lasting growth opportunities between organizations.  She is responsible for Electric T&D, Natural Gas Distribution, and Major Water Infrastructure business development. She participates during the proposal writing stage supporting project teams throughout the project lifecycle. As one of the largest diverse (MBE) survey companies, companies turn to LWS when they want safe, cost-effective, top quality survey data, and expedited plats for compliance.  
 
Jessica has volunteered for Habitat for Humanity since 2002 and Be The Match since 2012. After graduating from Missouri S&T with a Mining Engineering Bachelor of Science focused on the health & safety, environmental design & reclamation, and regulatory compliance; Jessica began her career in the energy industry as a Completions Engineer for CNX. She has led multiple concurrent multi-million-dollar projects with dozens of contracting companies and hundreds of personnel through regulatory and reporting hurdles. She quickly acquires new skills, gaining an understanding of current trends and concepts. She continued her education in health through her EMS certification, in regulatory compliance through her continuing education credits, and in construction through Pierpont gaining an Electrical Apprentice, Carpenters Helper, and Plumber in training certifications. 
 
In her personal time, she enjoys spending it with her son Jamison, significant other Ryan, and their two adopted mix breed shelter dogs Gravy and Diego; the work on many types of construction projects in their home and community to help with functionality of the environment around them. They also tend their gardens and beehives between their hiking, biking, camping, kayaking, and white-water rapids trips.

Speaker Dinner Chair - WV

Sami Pretzel

Kleinfelder

Clay Shoot Chair

BJ Whitman

Encompass Energy Services

William BJ Whitman II is the VP of Eastern Operations for Encompass Services.  He began with Encompass as the Northeast Regional Manager in October 2012 and has organically grown a group that now supports the entire East coast and upper Midwest.  He is a third generation Professional Land Surveyor with over 30 years of experience registered in West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and New York.   BJ is a Ripley, WV native and die-hard Mountaineer fan who now calls Washington, PA home.

Director at-large

Gary Phillips

Mackin Engineering

Gary Phillips previously served as Communications Director, responsible for overseeing and implementing APA‘s digital communications and email marketing efforts. He was involved in the creation and early development of the APA and has rejoined the Board to help increase brand awareness and advance the organization‘s mission. Gary is Director of Business Development and Marketing for Pittsburgh-based Mackin Engineering, leading sales and marketing efforts for engineering and construction inspection services to the transportation, energy, commercial development, institutional and municipal markets. In addition to the APA, he has supported the Appalachian Basin GPA Midstream Association for the past eight years, serving in executive roles (Secretary, President) and currently as a Director. Gary holds bachelor‘s degrees from Slippery Rock University and a master‘s degree from Robert Morris University.