Deescalating the Energy Wars

press release:

1106 Mechanical Engineering Building, 1513 University Avenue

Intensifying political battles have moved environmental conflicts to dinner tables and backyard barbeques. The scope of energy-environmental tensions range from global energy access to neighborhood drilling. In this talk, Tisha tells her story of moving from environmental activist to energy champion. Along the way, she served as the face of the oil and gas industry during five contentious years of Colorado community conflicts. Through personal experience and soul searching, she provides novel views on climate change, reducing energy poverty, and domestic energy conflicts. She will offer a pragmatic view of the energy wars and practical advice on deescalating these increasingly common conflicts.

Tisha Schuller consults private clients from Fortune 500 energy companies to non-profit environmental organizations in energy policy, business strategy, politics, and community engagement. She also serves as the Strategic Advisor for Stanford University's Natural Gas Initiative (NGI). In this role, she works with companies and stakeholders to interface with Stanford's diverse faculty conducting research in the areas of sustainable development, technology innovation, climate policy, and geopolitics. Tisha leads Stanford NGI's symposium to reduce energy poverty in the developing world using natural gas, scheduled for May 2017. Tisha conducts public speaking and consulting across the United States focused on energy policy, managing the divest-from-fossil-fuels movement, understanding the polarized landscape, and navigating successful stakeholder engagement strategies.

Tisha most recently worked as President & Chief Executive Officer of the Colorado Oil & Gas Association in one of the most dramatic and contentious times for energy development in Colorado's history. Prior to COGA, she served as a Principal and Vice President with Tetra Tech, a national environmental consulting and engineering firm for 15 years. Tisha has a B.S. in Earth Systems with an emphasis in Geology from Stanford University.