the view from heti

Houston organization strives for equity for energy transition for young women in STEM

Despite making up more than 57 percent of the workforce, women are still significantly outnumbered by men in STEM professions. The SUPERGirls Shine Foundation is hoping to change that in Houston and beyond. Photo via htxenergytransition.org

STEM occupations account for nearly 7 percent of all U.S. occupations, however, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, women make up only 27 percent of STEM workers. Studies continue to show that between the ages 8 and 14, girls’ confidence levels drop by 30 percent and by the time they reach middle school, they completely lack confidence and self-esteem to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Loretta Williams Gurnell is working to change the narrative for Houston students.

In 2016, Gurnell established SUPERGirls Shine Foundation, which is a Houston-based nonprofit organization that is focused on providing underserved girls with the opportunity and resources to succeed in STEM. By providing a strong STEM foundation, the organization equips girls with the tools to excel in professions that traditionally have low female and diverse representation.

In addition, the organization focuses on closing the gender gap in STEM, noting that their goal is to increase the number of girls in STEM classes, degrees and careers by 25 percent by the year 2025. Despite making up more than 57 percent of the workforce, women are still significantly outnumbered by men in STEM professions.

On a yearly basis, SUPERGirls Shine Foundation awards graduating high school seniors and collegiate ambassadors up to $10,000 dollars to close the financial gaps for college degrees. The foundation offers internships for college students and recent graduates to bring awareness, access and equity for more women and girls from underserved communities in STEM, innovation and leadership initiatives.

Through their 40/40 Mentorship Program, the foundation matches high-level industry leaders to grades 8th – 12th to provide skill-building and networking opportunities. The SUPERGirls Collegiate Ambassador Membership Program serves as a network for college students and recent graduates seeking community, careers and access to industry experts and mentors in STEM.

Learn more about Greentown Labs startup SUPERGirls Shine Foundation and how the organization is providing underserved girls with the opportunity and resources to succeed in STEM.

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This article originally ran on the Greater Houston Partnership's Houston Energy Transition Initiative blog. HETI exists to support Houston's future as an energy leader. For more information about the Houston Energy Transition Initiative, EnergyCapitalHTX's presenting sponsor, visit htxenergytransition.org.

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A View From HETI

Vicki Hollub, president and CEO of Occidental, said the company's Stratos DAC project is on track to begin capturing CO2 later this year. Photo via 1pointfive.com

Houston-based Occidental Petroleum is gearing up to start removing CO2 from the atmosphere at its $1.3 billion direct air capture (DAC) project in the Midland-Odessa area.

Vicki Hollub, president and CEO of Occidental, said during the company’s recent second-quarter earnings call that the Stratos project — being developed by carbon capture and sequestration subsidiary 1PointFive — is on track to begin capturing CO2 later this year.

“We are immensely proud of the achievements to date and the exceptional record of safety performance as we advance towards commercial startup,” Hollub said of Stratos.

Carbon dioxide captured by Stratos will be stored underground or be used for enhanced oil recovery.

Oxy says Stratos is the world’s largest DAC facility. It’s designed to pull 500,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from the air and either store it underground or use it for enhanced oil recovery. Enhanced oil recovery extracts oil from unproductive reservoirs.

Most of the carbon credits that’ll be generated by Stratos through 2030 have already been sold to organizations such as Airbus, AT&T, All Nippon Airways, Amazon, the Houston Astros, the Houston Texans, JPMorgan, Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks and TD Bank.

The infrastructure business of investment manager BlackRock has pumped $550 million into Stratos through a joint venture with 1PointFive.

As it gears up to kick off operations at Stratos, Occidental is also in talks with XRG, the energy investment arm of the United Arab Emirates-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., to form a joint venture for the development of a DAC facility in South Texas. Occidental has been awarded up to $650 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to build the South Texas DAC hub.

The South Texas project, to be located on the storied King Ranch, will be close to industrial facilities and energy infrastructure along the Gulf Coast. Initially, the roughly 165-square-mile site is expected to capture 500,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, with the potential to store up to 3 billion metric tons of CO2 per year.

“We believe that carbon capture and DAC, in particular, will be instrumental in shaping the future energy landscape,” Hollub said.

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