Amanda Eversole spent 13 years at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., where she cemented a legacy of leadership and innovation before joining JP Morgan Chase, where she created a framework for the firm\u2019s philanthropic approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, as executive vice president and chief operating officer at the American Petroleum Institute (API)<\/a>, Eversole has the monumental task of leading efforts to integrate the trade association\u2019s diverse functions and develop and implement a strategic plan for the natural gas and oil industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eversole now puts her strong track record of driving consensus and winning strategies to the test as API and all in oil and natural gas wrestles with ensuring people of color and women are a large part of the lucrative industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEvery day, we get up and say what we\u2019re going to do to make sure that we are giving people opportunities to interact with this industry, and it changes people\u2019s lives,\u201d Eversole told NNPA Newswire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n API states that about half of new industry-related job opportunities through 2040 are projected to be filled by African Americans, Hispanic, Asians, and women[EQ1]<\/a> .<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eversole remarked that talk isn\u2019t good enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe default narrative that the industry is old, dirty, and predominately white male is not true anymore, and the way we prove that is not by statistics,\u201d Eversole exclaimed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is by standing up and doing the work that we\u2019re doing and showing people by opportunities and not by talking points.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eversole reiterated that API possesses a strong belief that educational opportunities remain critical to successful employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Backing that belief are programs like the organization\u2019s Minority Serving Institution Initiative<\/a>, [AK2]<\/a> where API has partnered with Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) to provide students free access to the trade association\u2019s world-class standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n API also has joined Discovery Education\u2019s STEM Careers Coalition<\/a> where a coalition of industry partners joined to nurture a diverse culture of STEM education in K-12 schools nationwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In five years, that program aims at impacting 10 million students at 5,000 schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s this common thread of opportunity, and I had not worked with an industry like oil and natural gas where the constant focus is on improvement and optimization,\u201d Eversole asserted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere are career opportunities that can last an entire lifetime, and there\u2019s a sense of intergenerational opportunities through education to children with STEM skillsets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eversole continued:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen I talk[EQ3]<\/a> about the opportunities we have in the industry, I step back and say, \u2018How does API, which represents more than 600 members, figure out how to accelerate the journey we\u2019re on together in America understanding and acknowledging those suffering and working through racial inequities?\u2019 I\u2019m proud to say that we have a lot to show for our work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n API is also building a job readiness training program through API\u2019s Global Industry Services<\/a> platform that facilitates baseline industry knowledge and skills, leading to entry-level operational roles across the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n API is partnering with Opportunity@Work in Houston, the world\u2019s energy capital, where it\u2019s estimated to have proportionally more rising STARS \u2013 Skilled-Through-Alternative-Routes<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s a journey,\u201d Eversole stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen you think about long term workforce programs and when I think about STEM education and some of the internship programs \u2013 in terms of how to get that pipeline ready \u2013 we\u2019re evaluating points of continuum and figuring out where some of those barriers are and why we are not seeing proportionality within the overall workforce.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eversole said the oil and natural gas industry \u201ccan do better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe will do better,\u201d she declared. \u201cI\u2019m encouraged that there\u2019s a building sense of momentum.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n [EQ1]<\/a>@Stacy Link to study if you want to include https:\/\/www.api.org\/<\/a>~\/media\/Files\/Policy\/Jobs\/2020\/API-IHS-Report-The-Future-of-Work-072020<\/p>\n\n\n\n [AK2]<\/a>Link for this program too: https:\/\/www.api.org\/products-and-services\/standards\/msi-initiative<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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