September 15-16, 2026
Colorado State University's Lory Student Center | Fort Collins, Colorado
Keynote Speakers
Jeremy Koster
Vice President, Natural Gas Sales and Operations Development
Duke Energy
As Vice President of Duke Energy’s natural gas business, Jeremy Koster leads the company’s Natural Gas Sales and Operations Development, including Work and Workforce Management, GIS and Data Integrity / Analytics, Residential / Commercial / Un-Regulated Sales, Digital Solutions and Automation, Technology Planning and Support, Continuous Improvement, Change Management, and Strategic Initiatives i.e. Climate and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI).
Prior to assuming his current position in 2023, Jeremy served as the Vice President of Strategic Operations, a position he held since 2021. In that role, he led Distribution Construction and Capital and Asset Planning in addition to his current responsibilities apart from the sales organization.
Koster previously served in several roles within the residential and commercial building and land development industry where he led Sales and Marketing, Land Development and Acquisition, Construction Operations, Supply Chain, and Customer Experience before joining Piedmont Natural Gas in 2012. At Piedmont he served in various manager and director roles within policy and resources, operations, technical training, operator qualification, and continuous improvement.
Following Duke Energy’s acquisition of Piedmont in 2016, he served as General Manager of Transformation and Sustainment before being named Vice President of Strategic Operations in 2021.
A native of Rome, N.Y., Koster is a graduate of State University of New York at Cortland, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Health and Environmental Science including a biology minor.
Koster serves on the Board of Operational Technology Development of the Gas Technology Institute, is a member of several committees for the American Gas Association and Gas Technology Institute, serves on several industry customer advisory boards, and is a regular speaker / educator in the industry and academic community.
Koster and his wife, Heather, have two sons and two daughters. While not at work you will find him with his family on various soccer and lacrosse fields across the US or on the water.
Speakers
Dorian L. Afanador
Project Manager
Southern Company Gas
Dorian L. Afanador is a Project Manager in Sustainability at Southern Company Gas, where she leads and supports strategic initiatives focused on greenhouse gas accounting, methane emissions management, measurement-informed inventories, and the development of data-driven pathways toward net-zero emissions. Through her work with the company’s Net Zero Task Force, she supports cross-functional initiatives across Southern Company Gas operating companies to advance emissions quantification, reporting, and mitigation strategies that balance environmental performance, operational practicality, and customer affordability.
Dorian plays a key role in supporting the company’s Veritas implementation and evaluation of emerging methane measurement and inventory methodologies, including advanced leak detection technologies, measurement-informed inventory approaches, and voluntary reporting frameworks. Her work leading the Net Zero Task Force supports efforts to improve emissions reporting, track reduction progress, strengthen decision-making, and better understand the effectiveness of methane mitigation investments across natural gas operations.
In addition to leading internal sustainability initiatives, Dorian collaborates with industry organizations, technology providers, academic partners, and peer utilities to evaluate innovative approaches to emissions measurement, data integration, and inventory improvement. Her experience spans regulatory reporting, voluntary sustainability programs, GHG accounting, methane intensity management, and the development of defensible emissions accounting practices that align with evolving stakeholder expectations.
As an active participant in industry working groups and collaborative research efforts, Dorian is passionate about translating complex technical information into practical business solutions. She is particularly interested in how operators can leverage measurement data, technology innovation, and cross-sector collaboration to achieve meaningful emissions reductions while maintaining safe, reliable, and affordable energy delivery.
At CH4 Connections 2026, Dorian will share perspectives on operator priorities, implementation challenges, and opportunities to accelerate progress in methane management across the natural gas industry.
Erin Blanton
Chief Operating Officer
Carbon Mapper
Erin Blanton is the Chief Operating Officer at Carbon Mapper. She has over 20-years experience in methane emission reduction strategy, technology deployment, and operationalizing emissions data, as well as advising on energy markets and investments. Prior to joining Carbon Mapper, she served as Vice President, Zero Emissions Systems at GTI Energy where she led the company’s methane emissions mitigation strategy and business unit. Previously, she headed the Natural Gas Research Initiative and Environmental Social Governance (ESG) research for Columbia University’s Center for Global Energy Policy. Blanton holds a Master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Cornell University.
Alex Bosiljevac
Senior Climate Advisor
EQT
Alex Bosiljevac has 17 years of experience in air quality and climate, with a growing focus on methane management, including 12 years at EQT. He began their career as an air permitting consultant specializing in atmospheric dispersion modeling across a wide range of industries, then transitioned to EQT to lead air permit coordination and air compliance management with a focus on upstream operations. Over the past eight years, Alex has worked in sustainability with a focus on climate, playing a key role in shaping EQT’s methane strategy through strategic guidance, analysis, and execution. Currently, Alex serves on the board of ONE Future, steering committees of The Environmental Partnership (TEP) and Energy Emissions Modeling Data Lab (EEMDL), is Co-Chair of the Appalachian Methane Initiative (AMI), and provides strategic and tactical leadership across these industry efforts.
Anna Campbell-Sowden
Emission Analyst
National Fuel Gas
Anna Campbell-Sowden is an Emission Analyst at National Fuel Gas, where she thrives on problem solving, data collection, and presenting ideas in an ever-changing regulatory environment. Based in Erie, Pennsylvania, she has experience in greenhouse gas accounting, climate policy, and energy efficiency. She supports emissions quantification for mandatory and voluntary reporting, utility decarbonization efforts, and regulatory filings. Anna is passionate about research; as an undergraduate, she completed research internships at the University of Minnesota in materials science and at the University of Akron in polymer science. Because of her analytical foundation, she has a strong interest in applying research and data analysis to advance leak detection methodologies and further methane mitigation efforts. She plans to study for her master’s degree in the upcoming year, advancing her education from Allegheny College, where she earned her B.S. in Physics.
Dylan Chandler
Scientist
GTI Energy
Dylan Chandler is a Scientist at GTI Energy, policy lead for RAISE (Reliable Affordable Infrastructure for Secure Energy), and a Contributor to the GTI Energy Center for Methane Research (CMR). Their work focuses on the intersection of methane emissions, pipeline safety, and energy policy, helping bridge the gap between emerging regulatory requirements and utility operations. Dylan leads research on advanced leak detection programs, natural gas infrastructure modernization, and regulatory trends, providing utilities, regulators, and industry stakeholders with actionable insights to support informed decision-making. They enjoy translating highly technical research and evolving policy landscapes into practical, easy-to-understand materials that make complex topics accessible to a broad range of audiences.
LaTisha Fluellen Crumbly
Manager of Operations Support Programs
Southern Company Gas
LaTisha Fluellen Crumbly is the Manager of Operations Support Programs for Southern Company Gas, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. In this role, LaTisha leads the program management team that executes the Gas Leak Survey, Emissions Survey, and Legacy Cross Bore inspection and maintenance programs. She administers these responsibilities throughout the gas company enterprise (in GA, TN, IL, and VA) while also ensuring strategic alignment with the safety, compliance, and reliability goals for the 76K miles of main, over 65K miles of services, and 4+ million premises across the various states and jurisdictions.
Prior to her current role, LaTisha served as the Engineering & Compliance Manager at Plant McDonough-Atkinson where she offered leadership for the safe, reliable, and efficient operations and maintenance of three natural gas, combined-cycle units that produced 2,500+MW of electricity. During her tenure at Plant McDonough, she was among the recipients of the 2022 Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Technology Transfer Award for a landmark hydrogen and natural gas blending test fire on an advanced-class gas turbine. LaTisha served in a number of other managerial roles within the power generation organization at Georgia Power Company across coal, natural gas, and solar generation facilities.
LaTisha’s formal education includes a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech).
Sara Dewey
Senior Staff Attorney
Harvard Environmental and Energy Law Program
Sara Dewey is a senior staff attorney at the Harvard Environmental and Energy Law Program, a research program at Harvard Law School. She joined EELP from Conservation Law Foundation where she served as director of the Farm & Food Initiative. Sara previously worked on environmental, agricultural, and energy issues as a legislative aide in the U.S. Senate. Sara holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School, a Masters in Environmental Management from Duke University, and a B.A. from Middlebury College.
Marsha Fisher
Head of Environmental, Regulatory & Sustainability
bpx energy
Marsha Fisher is the Head of Environmental, Regulatory & Sustainability for bpx energy, where she leads environmental compliance, regulatory affairs, methane management, emissions reduction initiatives, and sustainability programs across bp's U.S. onshore operations.
A trained atmospheric scientist with more than 20 years of experience, Marsha has spent her career translating complex environmental and regulatory challenges into practical solutions for industry. Her experience spans environmental consulting and oil and gas operations, with a particular focus on air emissions, methane mitigation, regulatory implementation, and environmental performance.
At bpx, Marsha has helped advance methane mitigation strategies, emissions transparency initiatives, certified natural gas programs, and digital solutions that strengthen environmental compliance and decision-making. Her work focuses on translating technical and regulatory requirements into actionable business strategies that improve environmental performance while supporting safe, reliable, and efficient operations.
Marsha holds a Bachelor's degree in Public Health (Environmental Science) and a Master's degree in Atmospheric Science. She is a frequent collaborator with regulators, industry groups, and technology providers on emerging environmental and methane management issues.
Amanda Harmon
Senior Director, Emissions Management
GTI Energy
Amanda Harmon Amanda Harmon is Senior Director of Emissions Management at GTI Energy, where she leads strategic initiatives focused on advancing greenhouse gas measurement, monitoring, reporting, and mitigation across the energy sector. In her role, she collaborates with utilities, energy producers, technology developers, regulators, and research organizations to accelerate the deployment of innovative solutions that improve environmental performance while supporting energy reliability and affordability.
With nearly two decades of experience spanning research, technology development, commercialization, program management, and stakeholder engagement, Amanda has led multidisciplinary teams in addressing complex challenges throughout the natural gas value chain. Her work has focused on infrastructure integrity, gas quality, advancing methane measurement and quantification approaches, evaluating emerging detection technologies, supporting regulatory and voluntary reporting initiatives, and developing practical pathways for emissions reduction.
Amanda currently serves as the managing advisor for Veritas, co-chair of renewable fuels for LCRI, committee assignments for Environmental Impacts at AGA and Sustainability at IGU, and principal investigator for WELL Check-supporting less capitalized upstream operators’ production efficiency by reducing product loss from operating assets.
Anna Hodshire
Assistant Professor
Systems Engineering Department
Colorado State University (CSU)
Dr. Anna Hodshire is an Assistant Professor in the Systems Engineering Department at Colorado State University (CSU). She leads the modeling group at the Methane Emissions Technologies Evaluation Center (METEC), currently focused on developing verifiable measurement-informed inventories and working on top down/bottom up reconciliation. As a part of this work, she leads field campaigns and intensive modeling efforts for top down/bottom down surveys and basin-wide surveys of oil and gas emissions of methane. Her latest excitement is grappling with wicked problems within air quality and other environmental spaces!
Her research interests are broadly on pollution emission and dispersion, air quality, climate change, and the intersection of planetary health among all these topics. Prior to joining METEC, Hodshire worked at small companies focused on measuring properties of atmospheric aerosols for health and climate applications. Hodshire holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Atmospheric Science from Colorado State University and is the host of the success in STEM podcast, STEMdentity.
Ali Lashgari
Scientific and Technical Director
MiQ
Ali Lashgari is the Scientific and Technical Director at MiQ, where he leads the evolution of MiQ’s performance standards, accreditation processes, and supply chain tools, supporting the organization’s mission to advance credible, independently certified methane emissions performance across energy sector.
Ali brings over a decade of interdisciplinary experience in greenhouse gas management, air quality compliance, methane measurement, and energy economics. Prior to joining MiQ, he served as Manager of Scientific and Academic Partnerships at Project Canary and as a Principal Investigator at Clean Air Engineering. Ali holds a PhD in Energy and Mineral Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University.
Rick Lattanzio
Senior Policy Advisor for Climate and Sustainability
American Petroleum Institute (API)
Rick Lattanzio is a Senior Policy Advisor for Climate and Sustainability at the American Petroleum Institute (API). His work focuses on the development and implementation of API policy positions on domestic and international climate and sustainability issues affecting the U.S. oil and natural gas industry. He staffs API's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Methodologies Subcommittee (GEMS) with responsibility for (1) greenhouse gas (GHG) measurement, reporting, and verification, (2) GHG inventories, including measurement informed inventories and compliance reporting programs such as the Environmental Protection Agency’s Inventory of U.S. GHG Emissions and Sinks (GHGI) and Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP), (3) external reporting frameworks, and (4) technology developments to monitor, measure, and reduce methane and other GHG emissions. Rick’s expertise supports additional API climate policy positions, including GHG mitigation, carbon pricing, voluntary carbon markets, carbon accounting, and corporate sustainability reporting.
Prior to joining API, Rick served as a Specialist in Environmental Policy at the Congressional Research Service (CRS) within the U.S. Library of Congress, where he authored and contributed to numerous CRS Reports and analytical products for Members of Congress and congressional committees. His portfolio at CRS included Clean Air Act implementation, greenhouse gas regulation, and international environmental policy. He has been recognized by Congress for providing objective, authoritative, and accessible analysis of complex policy issues to support legislative decision-making.
Based in Washington, D.C., and residing in northern Virginia, Rick holds degrees in chemical engineering and the humanities from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and in public policy and administration from Columbia University.
Ezra Levin, PhD
Research Scientist, Methane Emissions Technology Evaluation Center (METEC)
Energy Institute
Colorado State University
Ezra Levin, PhD is a Research Scientist at the Methane Emissions Technology Evaluation Center (METEC) at Colorado State University's Energy Institute, where he leads the above ground testing program.
Dr. Levin earned his Ph.D. in 2013 from the Atmospheric Science department at CSU. His post-doctoral experience spans academic research, scientific instrumentation, and environmental regulation, including positions at Colorado State University, Handix Scientific, and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. He is an author on more than 50 peer-reviewed publications and is recognized internationally as an expert in natural gas emissions measurement.
At METEC, Dr. Levin serves as a key investigator on several high-profile projects, including the DOE funded METEC 2.0. Dr. Levin is frequently consulted by leading organizations including the Environmental Defense Fund, the EPA, the EU Commission, and state regulatory agencies, and has worked closely with international test centers in France and Canada to align global methane detection protocols.
Ellie Martinez
Data Scientist
GTI Energy
Ellie Martinez is a Data Scientist at GTI Energy and an Applied Statistics master's student at Colorado State University. She holds a B.S. in Statistics and a B.A. in Economics from Colorado State University and specializes in applying statistical methods and data science to energy and infrastructure challenges.Her primary area of expertise is methane emissions measurement and advanced leak detection for natural gas distribution systems. Her work focuses on analyzing large-scale emissions measurement datasets to improve emissions inventories, evaluate leak detection technologies, and support data-driven utility decision-making. She has contributed to research on methane emissions estimation, advanced leak detection performance, emissions factor development, and the integration of operational data from utilities.In addition to her methane-related research, Ellie has supported transportation and mobility studies focused on hydrogen infrastructure planning and low-emission freight transportation.
Jason Northern
Engineer
Williams
Jason Northern is an Engineer at Williams, where he focuses on emissions monitoring, regulatory compliance, and digital transformation across natural gas gathering, processing, production, and transmission operations in the midstream sector, as well as the company’s growing power generation portfolio. In his current role on the Environmental team, he works directly on streamlining emissions data, applying AI and machine learning, and driving emissions reductions, bringing a hands-on, implementation-focused perspective to these topics for complex assets and real operating conditions.
Jason leads the development of a company-wide emissions tracking and analytics application that spans Williams’ midstream and power generation businesses. He collaborates across organizational boundaries with operations, engineering, and IT to integrate operational data, automate emissions calculations, and improve transparency for diverse assets. This work connects evolving environmental requirements with advanced analytics capabilities, helping Williams move from static reporting toward data-driven decision-making and more proactive emissions management.
Over his career in the natural gas industry, Jason has worked with field operations, environmental compliance, and application development, giving him an end-to-end view of how data, technology, and regulatory frameworks intersect.
Amanda O'Connor
Program Director
Planet Labs
Amanda O'Connor holds an M.S. in geology from the University of Colorado. After graduating, she worked at Stennis Space Center on calibration projects, sensor noise simulations, and the commercialization of hyperspectral remote sensing. She then headed west to the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology at Stanford University, working with Greg Asner on tropical ecology projects using AVIRIS, Landsat, and LiDAR. There she supported large-scale carbon cycle assessments and invasive species research across the tropics.
Amanda next joined RSI (now NV5 Geospatial Solutions), taking on a wide variety of roles supporting government, commercial, and educational customers with ENVI and IDL, bid and proposal work for difficult remote sensing problems, and managed the commercial sales operations. She went on to serve as Director of Geospatial Solutions at Teledyne Brown Engineering, supporting the DESIS hyperspectral mission on the International Space Station, before returning to NV5 Geospatial Solutions as a Hyperspectral Industry Principal and later managing the Professional Services Department.
She recently joined Planet Labs as Program Director for hyperspectral missions, collaborating with Carbon Mapper and JPL to build and launch the Tanager hyperspectral constellation. Designed to detect and quantify methane emitters and deliver very high-quality hyperspectral data, Tanager supports the global effort to identify, measure, and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions at scale.
Outside of work, Amanda loves traveling and reading, spends time with her human and cat family, supports her community's volunteer fire department, and mentors the next generation of geospatial students.
Adam Pacsi
Lower Carbon Policy Advisor
Chevron
Adam Pacsi is a Lower Carbon Policy Advisor at Chevron, specializing in methane emissions measurement, policy, and regulatory engagement. He has more than a decade of experience working at the intersection of methane science, technology, and public policy. Adam holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin. He has authored peer-reviewed publications on methane emissions measurement and quantification, including studies on equipment leaks, pneumatic controllers, liquid unloadings, and the integration of advanced measurement technologies into emissions inventories. He has contributed to publications and technical resources developed through organizations such as the National Petroleum Council, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative.
Chris Page
Chief Impact Officer
Tradewater
Chris Page, Tradewater’s Chief Impact Officer, leads the development of superpollutant projects that prevent emissions of potent greenhouse gases like methane and halocarbons. She has an extensive background in sustainability and her career spans across local government, Fortune 500 companies, and the nonprofit sector. Prior to Tradewater, Chris held roles such as the Climate Director for the City of Seattle, Director of Energy and Environment at Amazon, and Global Director of Energy and Sustainability Strategy at Yahoo!, where her responsibilities included carbon reduction strategy and renewable energy procurement. She has also worked at Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), where she helped build their corporate sustainability consulting practice. Chris has a BA from Brown University and an MA from the Yale School of the Environment.
Sonal Patni
Vice President
Operations Technology and Development (OTD)
Sonal Patni, is a technical leader in the energy utility sector, specializing in operations technology, regulatory compliance, and risk mitigation. As Vice President of Operations Technology and Development she manages a R&D program for 29 utility companies across North America and France, focusing on projects that address system integrity, cost efficiency, and environmental challenges. Previously, Sonal worked for the American Gas Association, where she led national pipeline safety strategy, advocated for federal regulatory changes, and communicated technical policy impacts to stakeholders. Sonal has also led roles at both Southwest Gas and Pacific Gas and Electric that focused on operations, developing decarbonization plans, and managed regulatory strategy efforts. Sonal holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma and is pursuing a Certificate in Sustainability Management and Policy from Penn State.
Jason Quinn
Interim Executive Director
Energy Institute
Colorado State University
Jason Quinn is a professor in the Mechanical Engineering at Colorado State University and the Interim Executive Director of the Energy Institute. His education and research have always been centered on energy, with current work focused on system evaluation of electric transportation, microalgae biofuels, agricultural systems, and fission power systems. Research efforts are dedicated to the development of engineering system models validated through experimentation and leveraged for techno-economic feasibility, life cycle assessment, and resource demand of emerging technologies. Results from modeling work are used to focus research and development efforts to high impact areas. Jason completed a master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in nuclear engineering and engineering physics, and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering at Colorado State University. In the summer you can find him on the rivers and in the winter chasing snow.
Johanna Schmidtke
Vice President
Applied Energy Infrastructure
GTI Energy
Johanna Schmidtke is Vice President of Applied Energy Infrastructure at GTI Energy, where she oversees teams developing integrated technical solutions across energy production, process technologies, energy infrastructure, and emissions management. She shapes GTI Energy's research and commercial strategy, driving growth through market engagement, research partnership development, and customer relationships — with a focus on accelerating innovative solutions that expand capacity, strengthen resilience, and improve the reliability of energy systems. She joins GTI Energy with two decades of experience spanning energy technology, investment management, and federal policy, including roles at First Solar, Aramco Ventures, Ara Partners, and the U.S. Department of Energy. Johanna earned her PhD in Physics from the University of Cambridge and a B.S. in Biochemistry and Mathematics from the University of Arizona.
Adam Silva
Manager of Applied Artificial Intelligence
Duke Energy
Adam Silva is the Manager of Applied Artificial Intelligence at Duke Energy where he helps drive the identification, development, and deployment of artificial intelligence solutions across the enterprise. In his role, Adam partners with business and technology teams to transform complex operational challenges into practical AI applications that improve decision-making, enhance reliability, and create measurable business value.
With nearly a decade at Duke Energy, Adam has worked across a wide range of initiatives spanning advanced analytics, machine learning, geospatial intelligence, computer vision, cybersecurity, and generative AI. His team focuses on rapidly prototyping and scaling AI solutions that supports critical business functions across the utility value chain. Adam has led and contributed to projects ranging from methane emissions analytics and environmental monitoring to AI-powered operational assistants, intelligent ticket enrichment, and cybersecurity decision support systems.
A strong advocate for responsible and practical AI adoption, Adam is particularly focused on bridging the gap between emerging technology and real-world operations. His work centers on helping organizations build the data foundations, governance models, and organizational capabilities needed to successfully deploy AI at scale while managing risk and ensuring trust.
At CH4 Connections, Adam will share perspectives on how AI is transforming operational workflows, unlocking new value from methane and emissions data, and creating opportunities for safer, more efficient, and more informed decision-making across the energy industry.
James Van Horne
Senior Principal Engineer
SLR Consulting
James Van Horne is a licensed Professional Engineer and Senior Principal Engineer with SLR Consulting who specializes in methane emissions quantification, measurement-informed inventories, emissions reconciliation, and air quality compliance for the oil and gas sector. Over the past 17 years, he has worked across upstream, gathering, boosting, processing, and midstream operations, helping operators leverage operational, engineering, and measurement data to improve emissions performance and decision-making.
James helped develop the GTI Energy Veritas protocols for upstream oil and gas operations, with a particular focus on gathering and boosting facilities. He has supported multiple operators implementing methane management and reporting frameworks, including OGMP 2.0 and MiQ certification programs, both on behalf of operators and as an independent auditor. He also works with operators on regulatory methane programs, including the European Union Methane Regulation and Colorado's Methane Verification Program. His experience spans field measurements and verification, greenhouse gas inventory development, measurement-informed inventory implementation, monitoring program design and assessment, audit preparation, and emissions reconciliation efforts across North America and internationally. He has also authored best-practice guidance on methane mitigation and marginal abatement cost curve tools through the Methane Guiding Principles initiative.
A central focus of James's work is helping operators extract greater value from data they already collect. By integrating operational records, engineering calculations, emissions measurements, and inventory data, he helps companies improve emission inventory accuracy, identify mitigation opportunities, and prioritize actions that maximize capital resources to minimize emissions.
Joe von Fischer
Professor
Department of Biology
Colorado State University
Joe von Fischer is a Professor in the Department of Biology who studies how the function of ecosystems is structured by the interactions among humans, plants, the soil and soil microbes, with particular focus on how these factors influence the emissions of greenhouse gases like methane. Joe’s research seeks to characterize the physical and biological diversity of systems that give rise to micro-sites with exceptional influence on overall system function. Joe’s lab maintains two primary research areas. One is the study of how biological diversity among the bacteria that consume methane within soils leads to spatial and temporal patterns in soil methane fluxes. The other is in collaboration with the Environmental Defense Fund to use Google Streetview Cars to measure the leakage rate of natural gas from urban distribution systems around the country.
Cynthia Wagener
Methane Venture Manager
ExxonMobil
Cynthia Wagener is the Methane Venture Manager at ExxonMobil, where she leads the implementation of the company’s methane reduction strategy across its global upstream operations and OGMP 2.0 reporting requirements. Her team works at the intersection of technology, operations, and policy to help achieve ExxonMobil’s ambition of near zero methane emissions from operated oil and gas assets by 2030.
Cyndi is passionate about turning technical innovation into practical, field-implementable solutions that can improve environmental performance. With over 20 years in the environmental field, Cyndi has held roles in technology, design, regulatory compliance, and corporate environmental policy. She holds a B.S. and M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Louisiana State University and conducted post-graduate research as a Fulbright Scholar at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.
Zach Weller
Senior Manager
GTI Energy
Zach Weller is a Senior Manager, Data Science at GTI Energy where he uses statistics and data science to address applied problems in the energy domain. He specializes in working with subject matter experts and communicating technical concepts in a relatable way. He has authored or co-authored over 30 peer-reviewed publications. He has expertise in advanced leak detection technologies, methane emissions accounting, and advanced metering infrastructure data. More recently, his work has explored topics in AI and data centers. He holds a PhD in statistics from Colorado State University.
Daniel Zimmerle
Director, Methane Emissions Program
Energy Institute
Colorado State University
Daniel Zimmerle is the Director of the Methane Emissions Program in the Energy Institute at Colorado State University. Zimmerle was a principal investigator on seven major studies of methane emissions in the natural gas supply chain, including studies of upstream, midstream, and distribution systems at a national and/or regional scale, and leads the Methane Emissions Technology Evaluation Center, one of the largest test facilities for natural gas leak detection solutions. Zimmerle’s group conducts research on natural gas emissions including studies of equipment and pipeline emissions, field studies, and fundamental investigations of commonly utilized methods. Recent work has branched into agricultural and waste emissions area.
Additionally, Zimmerle also works on energy access and development in rural communities in the developing world and the integration of distributed generation into power systems.
An ‘accidental academic,’ Zimmerle’s pre-CSU experience is all industrial. He served as the Chief Operating Officer at Spirae, Inc. and 20 years at Hewlett Packard and Agilent Technologies including experience as both a division general manager and R&D manager, leading organizations in multiple businesses and organizations that included personnel in the US, Ireland, Singapore and other countries.
He holds a BSME and MSME from North Dakota State University.
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