Letter to the editor: Opportunities for women in energy

When I got started in the energy industry years ago, there weren’t many women. That’s beginning to change. My own trajectory is indicative of the growing influence women have in the natural gas sector.

In 1994, I started in street service. My duties included meter reading, locating gas lines, and repairing, replacing and maintaining gas lines. Now, I manage Columbia Gas’s first training center, a $10 million, state-of-the-art facility where we’re rethinking how we educate a new generation of workers.

In addition to the training center, we’re engaging our community to showcase job opportunities our industry provides. We recently hosted more than 100 third- through fifth-grade girls, from nearly 30 schools throughout Western Pennsylvania, at our second annual Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day. During this event, young women created their own science projects and learned about erosion, 811 Call Before You Dig, natural gas safety and many different career opportunities available at a local utility.

I’m energized by the fact that my company is creating more opportunities for women in the natural gas industry. I look forward to doing my part to highlight opportunities women currently have and developing new training programs to create more opportunities in the future.

Linda M. Crowley

Monaca

The writer is leader of technical training for Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania/Maryland.