Session Leaders
Barbara A. Trautlein, PhD
Barbara A. Trautlein, PhD is author of the best-selling book Change Intelligence: Use the Power of CQ to Lead Change that Sticks, principal and founder of Change Catalysts, and originator of the CQ® System for Developing Change Intelligent® Leaders and Organizations. For over 25 years, Barbara has coached executives, trained leaders at all levels, certified change agents, and facilitated mission-critical change management initiatives - achieving bottom-line business and powerful leadership results for clients. In 2015 she had the honor of being named Change Management Consultant of the Year by the Association of Change Management Professionals. Barbara is gifted at sharing strategies and tactics that are accessible, actionable, and immediately applicable. Her blend of research and real-world expertise makes her an in-demand speaker at conferences around the world. Barbara has a unique ability to connect with her audiences, from C-level executives in Fortune 500 organizations to front line employees, and across industries, from steel mills to sales teams, refineries to retail outlets, and healthcare to high tech. Clients served include Abbott Laboratories, BP, Cisco, Ford Motor Company, Steel Dynamics, and ThyssenKrupp. Barbara holds a doctorate in Organizational Psychology from the University of Michigan.
Betsy Gaucher
Betsy Gaucher is currently Vice President of Supply Chain and Logistics in North America for Taco Comfort Solutions based in Cranston RI. Prior to joining Taco, Betsy was Director of Operational Excellence for BASF Corporation in their Catalyst Division. She also held various roles at Rogers Corporation, including Vice President of Supply Chain and Operational Excellence and Vice President of Asia. She has a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts and an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Gabriela Espinoza
Gabriela Espinoza is Legal Counsel for Sulzer RES and an alumna of the University of Houston with a Master’s Degree in Law. Gabriela has overall 15 years of experience in legal counseling, Contract Management, and law-related services ranging from domestic to international issues with great expertise in contract drafting and negotiation for the Pumps and Turbo Machinery Industry. In her spare time, she greatly enjoys spending time with the kids and family, traveling and just relaxing.
Gina Simpson
Gina Simpson is a native of Alabama and a multiple graduate of The University of Alabama. She has spent her career as a serial entrepreneur founding, managing and growing several companies. Mrs. Simpson, a certified professional coach, enjoys using her entrepreneurial experience to grow and foster businesses. Currently, she is the President of Regina Holdings, LLC, a consulting and investment firm, and Soluna Strategies, a professional coaching firm. In addition to a business owner, consultant, and coach, Mrs. Simpson is a Professor at The University of Alabama in Entrepreneurship. Gina and her husband, Mark, began their entrepreneurial journey in the field of construction and have founded six businesses over the last 18 years. She was awarded the Rising Star Entrepreneurship Award by the West Alabama Chamber of Commerce and the Roots and Wings Award by the Women in Business Council. She is very active in the community serving on several boards. Mrs. Simpson holds a B.S. in Management with a concentration in Small Company Management and Entrepreneurship and an M.S. in Marketing. She has been married for 19 years and has two daughters, which she hails as her greatest accomplishments.
Jennifer Gaines
Jennifer started her career at Sulzer in the Fall of 2014 after completed her graduate research work at the Turbomachinery Lab at Texas A&M University. Jennifer was a production engineer for the Gas Turbine rotors division where she assisted with project management, reverse engineering, and design and analysis of shop tooling and new repair methods. After her time in Big Bay, Jennifer transferred to the centralized engineering department to become one of the lead Rotordyanmic Engineers. In addition to her engineering responsibilities, Jennifer also runs the Engineering Internship Program.
Julie Duryee, P.E.
Julie Duryee, P.E. is the Nuclear Engineering and Technical Services Manager for Sulzer Pumps Rotating Equipment Services – responsible for the design, technical support, and refurbishment of centrifugal pumps installed in Nuclear power plants. Her 14 years of experience working in engineering have given her many embarrassing funny stories, lessons learned, and a desire for a long nap. She began her career as a metallurgical engineer in the Metalcasting industry playing with fire and molten metal before joining Sulzer. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Materials Science Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology as well as a Master of Business Administration degree from Colorado State University. She's a licensed Professional Engineer and an active member of the Executive Committee of the local chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Karen Barrios Buechel
Karen Barrios Buechel is a New Parts Design Manager at Sulzer Turbo Services with 4 years of experience in product development and manufacturing. She earned her degrees from the FH Aachen in Germany and holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering management and mechanical engineering, as well as a Master in Engineering in Product Development. Her current role is to manage the development of new products and improvements to existing products or product lines, specifically for Gas Turbine Components. Part of this consists in evaluating and ensuring design feasibility and design optimization by understanding fit, form and function of the components, as well as to serve as an interface between the design team, production, and sales.
Lisa Ceglia
Lisa Ceglia currently serves as Vice President of Government Relations for Smiths Group and is based in the Washington, DC office. Lisa is an accomplished government relations professional with a background in advocating on behalf of the industry to Capitol Hill and Federal Agencies. Lisa focuses on issues primarily related to energy, environmental, medical device, and health care initiatives for John Crane and Smiths Medical. Lisa will be responsible for internal and external strategic operational activities; both risk management and value creation related to the U.S. government’s impact on Smiths Group’s business strategies and operations. Lisa is originally from Buffalo, New York. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Niagara University. Upon graduation, Lisa worked as a Legislative Manager for the Erie County Executive. During her time in this role, she earned her Master’s in Business Administration from Niagara University. In 2007, Lisa began her work in Washington, D.C. at the American Petroleum Institute (API) in a policy position. She quickly moved into a lobbying role as Director, Federal Relations. While at API, Lisa developed strong relationships on both sides of the aisle, as well as with many stakeholders. Lisa then moved from API to Halliburton, one of the world's largest providers of products and services to the energy industry. Lisa led Halliburton’s lobbying efforts with Congress and the Administration on issues that impact the energy sector.
Lori Ditoro
Lori joined Sealing Equipment Products Co. (SEPCO) in November 2018 as content marketing manager. Before joining SEPCO, she was content marketing strategist for Fluke Accelix; editorial director of the Process Flow Network, publishers of Water Technology, Processing, and Flow Control; editor of Pumps & Systems and Upstream Pumping. In her roles, Lori has learned about the process and manufacturing industries and the equipment and technology that keep plants and other facilities up and running. She also developed a passion for telling the operator’s and technician’s stories.
Mel Butcher
Ms. Butcher is a Project Engineer at Arcadis. She earned a BS and MS in Civil Engineering from the University of South Florida through the Accelerated dual-degree program. Ms. Butcher specializes in industrial water sustainability and conservation. At Arcadis, she has played a central role in two Water Research Foundation (WRF) projects related to industrial water conservation; she has conducted global water risk studies for multi-national clients, and water conservation assessments focusing on the business value of water conservation. Ms. Butcher has also served as Business Manager for Arcadis’ North American Client Development team. Mel shows her enthusiasm and dedication to supporting women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields through producing podcasts focused on highlighting and empowering women in these fields. Ms. Butcher has been recognized as a New Face of Civil Engineering - College Edition by the American Society of Civil Engineers, and was selected as a 2017 lab talent for working on the UN Sustainable Development Goals through the UNLEASH program. Finally, Mel has also completed the WEF's Water Leadership Institute program.
Sima Jani
Sima Jani is a Senior Consultant at KPMG, one of the world’s leading professional services firms. She works with Energy companies to establish value propositions that tie financial metrics to C-level focus areas leading to business improvements. Prior to KPMG, Sima did various commercial rotations through Leadership Excellence Accelerated Program at DCP Midstream. She mainly focused on continuous business improvement, customer experience management and employee leadership development. At her latest role, Sima utilized innovative solutions in portfolio management and contract negotiations to improve profit margins and help with commercial needs of upstream Oil & Gas customers in Permian and Midcontinent basins. This experience combined with her passion for global Energy systems inspired her to join KPMG’s Energy Advisory group to explore global challenges. Sima holds a bachelor's degree in Computer Science & Software Engineering from IAU and a Masters of Business Administration degree from Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University. Sima lives in Houston, Texas with her husband and son and together they explore hidden treasures of Houston food and culture.
Stephanie Hajducek
Stephanie is a Sales Associate for Puffer, an Emerson Impact Partner, and specializes in Fisher Control Valves and Regulators. She spent almost 10 years working for Bechtel coordinating mega-projects such as Jamnagar Oil Refinery, Queensland Curtis LNG, Wheatstone LNG and Pennsylvania Chemicals. In addition to her work at Bechtel, she spent two years supporting the Maintenance Group at Chevron Phillips Chemical Company before completely changing her career path when she joined Puffer in their Sales Associate Trainee Program. After almost 20 years out of high school, and with the support of her husband and three children, she returned to college and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering Technology from The University of Southern Mississippi. To further her education and career, she recently applied to and was accepted by Texas A&M’s Master of Industrial Distribution Program, class of 2021. When she isn’t working or doing homework she enjoys spending time with her family traveling and fishing or snuggling on the couch with her Chihuahua, Cujo, watching Netflix. She recently became a volunteer with the Girls Empowerment Network so that she can share her story and help young women reach their full potential. Her words to live by are - dreams don’t work unless you do!
Susan Fant
Susan Chesley Fant is a Clinical Professor at the University of Alabama and the Associate Director of the Masters of Marketing program. Susan specializes in teaching social media marketing and innovation/new product development courses. She created the Masters of Marketing Concentration in Digital and Social Media Marketing, which is one of the first in the nation at this level. She also is the President of her own company Castle Sands LLC., where she creates conference presentations and training programs in new technology development, personal branding, millennials, and innovation for personal coaching and business use. Susan has been featured in the SAP's The Customer's Edge, Birmingham Business Journal, Alabama Inc, MIT Sloan Executive Education's Innovation @ Work, Venture Beat and PR News' first Social Media Guidebook for digital marketing. She has received degrees from Birmingham-Southern College and the University of St Andrews and is currently a doctorate student in the University of Southern California's Organizational Change and Leadership program. She can be contacted through her website www.susanfant.com or via social media.
Kristel Zaman
Kristel Zaman is Senior Manager with Xylem Inc. She is responsible for Flygt products in America's region. Kristel is known as a speaker and contributor to Hydraulic Institute, and number of water and wastewater related conferences and associations. Kristel holds an Engineering degree from Tallinn Technical University in Estonia and a Master’s of Science in Strategic Marketing from the Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, NY.
Shannon Bumgarner
Shannon Bumgarner is a strategic operations leader with 20 years of manufacturing experience within diverse industries including pulp and paper, optical fiber and connectivity, consumer products, and diversified industrial. Her extensive experience includes roles in engineering, operations, quality, and procurement. She is an accomplished architect of processes and systems including enterprise implementations of quality architecture, integrated quality systems, and tooling asset management. Shannon is currently a Category Manager at Ingersoll Rand where she leads global and regional sourcing strategies for brazing alloys and facilities management. She holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Chemical Engineering and Pulp and Paper Science from North Carolina State University as well as a Master in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
Throughout her career, Shannon has been an advocate for women’s leadership development. She is currently a co-chair for the Ingersoll Rand Women’s Employee Network in Davidson, NC and formerly a founding member for a local telecommunications women’s network. She is a graduate of Ingersoll Rand’s Women’s Leadership Program and remains actively involved in program activities. In 2017, Shannon launched a “Women in Technology” peer coaching circle at Ingersoll Rand with 2018 program expansion to include diverse disciplines and experience levels. She is also a member of Ellevate Network, Women in Manufacturing, and Society of Women Engineers.
Jackie Henderson
Jackie Henderson is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with a specialization in holistic practices. Jackie is also a fitness trainer and dance choreographer of over 30 years. She inspires many with her high-energy & innovative classes, personal development workshops, coaching, and counseling. The MIST program is a natural evolution of her love and commitment of integrating health & wellness on a mind, body, and soul level. It is Jackie’s intention to guide people to their full potential through holistic practice & inspiration.