ANNIe birkental

President

Annie Birkentall currently serves as Project Manager in the Asset Management division of Enhanced Capital’s Climate Finance & Impact Real Estate team. Before Enhanced Capital, she was a Project Coordinator for Jones Lang Lasalle’s Hotels & Hospitality and a Supply Chain Master Data Analyst for Chevron Oronite’s downstream supply chain & logistics petrochemicals team. Annie is a registered Project Management Professional & member of the Project Management Institute since 2017. Annie graduated Tulane University in 2011 with a BSM Legal Studies in Business & 2013 Masters in Finance.

AVERY AUTIN

SECRETARY

Avery is an attorney at Lugenbuhl, Wheaton, Peck, Rankin & Hubbard. She works across several practice areas, including Admiralty & Maritime and Commercial Law & Litigation. She graduated from Louisiana State University in 2019 with a B.S. in Accounting and from Tulane University Law School in 2022 with her J.D.

Alexander aguilar
treasurer

Alexander works at Rice Voelker as an Associate performing consulting work for large asset managers. Previously, he worked as an analyst for the investment banking M&A department of Chaffe & Associates, Inc. Alex holds a Master’s in Finance from Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business and received his bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University’s E.J. Ourso College of Business.

Aayush Prasanna
Education co-chair

Aayush is a Process Engineer at Shell.

paul freese

education co-chair

Paul is an associate attorney at Perrier Lacoste. He serves as counsel for insurance carriers and corporations in the fields of transportation, personal injury, wrongful death and premises liability.

alexandra lamb
membership co-chair

Alex is a civil defense attorney with Adams and Reese LLP. Her practice consists of appellate and complex litigation, with a focus on environmental contamination litigation and commercial litigation.

Lauren Guichard
membership co-chair

Lauren Guichard is an attorney with Kean Miller. She practices with the offshore energy and marine litigation practice group. She has experience in handling cases involving Jones Act and marine personal injury defense, maritime litigation, contract disputes, vessel and cargo damage, ship collisions, ship allisions, and marine insurance.

eLizabeth Griffin

Membership Co-Chair

Elizabeth is a civil defense attorney at Carver Darden Koretzky Tessier Finn Blossman & Areaux LLC. Her practice consists of a wide variety of complex commercial litigation matters, including business and corporate disputes, oil and gas matters, and labor and employment litigation. She is a two-time Loyola University alumna, and graduated in 2019 with her J.D.

LILI HANSEN

SOCIAL EVENTS CO-CHAIR

Lili is a Graduate Recruitment Consultant with NES Fircroft. She joined NES in November of 2022, and recruits for roles in Oil, Gas, and Energy. She graduated from the University of Mississippi in May 2022 and previously worked as a Sales Recruiter.

Annie Torrans

Social Events Co-Chair

Annie is a Senior Tax Attorney at Entergy. She supports Entergy in all areas of federal income tax, with a particular focus on tax credits for renewable energy projects included in the Inflation Reduction Act. She also does pro bono work for Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, assisting clients in disputes over the Earned Income Tax Credit. Prior to joining Entergy, Annie clerked for the Honorable Judge James L. Dennis of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. She graduated summa cum laude from Tulane University Law School in 2018, and served as Editor in Chief for the Tulane Law Review. She continues to support Tulane Law School as an Adjunct Professor, assisting in teaching Advanced Corporate Tax.

ali gourlay
public relations

Ali is the VP of Sales and Marketing for Gasology, a digital marketplace for motor fuel. She specializes in driving platform adoption among diverse players across the supply chain. Previously, Ali developed and led marketing departments for several e-commerce businesses, focusing on growth strategies. She graduated from Tulane University in 2010 with a BS in Marketing.

dEVIN MERZ
DEVELOPMENT/
PARTNERSHIP CO-CHAIR

Devin is a Mechanical Engineer at Worley, where he works as a consultant specializing in upstream oil and gas projects for Chevron. Prior to joining Worley, Devin was a Project Manager at Artigues Construction overseeing a wide range of commercial construction projects in the New Orleans area. He attended Louisiana State University and graduated in 2018 with a BS in Mechanical Engineering.

mATTHEW COSCINO
DEVELOPMENT/
sponsorship CO-CHAIR

Matthew currently serves as a Strategic Finance Analyst at International-Matex Tank Terminals (IMTT), a bulk liquids storage and logistics terminaling company headquartered in New Orleans. The Strategic Finance group serves many functions including but not limited to M&A transaction facilitation, financial modelling, market research, data compilation and analysis, asset optimization analysis, and other Ad Hoc financial demands. The group works closely with the Corporate Development and Commercial & Marketing teams of IMTT.
Matt was born and raised in New Orleans, and received a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering degree from Louisiana State University and a Master's of Management in Energy degree from Tulane University.

kYLE KINCAID
DEVELOPMENT/
sponsorship co-CHAIR

Kyle currently serves as a project manager for James Controls, specializing in instrumentation, electrical, and systems engineering. He primarily works in the midstream and downstream oil and gas industry; however, recently his emphasis has been around sustainable Renewable Diesel initiatives. Prior to relocating to New Orleans, Kyle worked in the northeast, while residing in Philadelphia, after graduating from Rowan University in 2013 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Christine Berger

Development/sponsorship Co-Chair

Christine is Associate General Counsel at PosiGen, a solar energy company headquartered in New Orleans, that focuses on providing clean energy and energy efficiency upgrades to the LMI population in Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Connecticut. She is well versed on consumer and employment matters and has proven experience as resourceful in-house counsel in the renewable energy industry handling a wide range of consumer and labor issues in multi-state jurisdictions.

Kevin maccurdy
development/sponsorship co-chair

Kevin MacCurdy serves as a Director for Pickering Energy Partners’ (PEP) Research team where he leads upstream research. Previously, he worked at Heikkinen Energy Advisors and Capital One Securities and has over a decade of research experience. His previous experience also includes natural gas marketing and corporate FP&A. He holds an MS in Finance and a BS from Tulane University.

YPE Alumni Advisors

LIBBY NELSON

LEADING Alumni Advisor

Libby currently serves as a Process Engineer at Shell supporting the Mars facility. Previously Libby was a Process Engineer Section Manger at Worley, formerly Jacobs Engineering and worked as a lead engineer on upstream oil & gas projects. She began her career in 2014 after graduating from Tulane University with a BS in Chemical Engineering.

Sam miles

leading Alumni advisor

Sam Miles is vice president, corporate development at IMTT, the largest independent bulk liquids storage and logistics provider in North America. At IMTT, he assists with the company’s corporate development and pursues innovative opportunities in support of the energy transition. Prior to joining IMTT, he held a variety of management roles in the energy investment banking, renewable energy and environmental services industries. Sam graduated from the University of Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in ecology and holds an MBA from the University of Texas.

jamie spalt

ALUMNI ADVISOR

Jamie is currently serving a handful of clients as an independent management consultant. Prior to his current engagements, Jamie was a corporate development consultant at Wood Mackenzie along with upstream management, a co-founder of The Offshore Exchange and an owner/general manager for Cape Coastal Marine which provided offshore upstream marine transportation services. Jamie began his career as a credit analyst with Guggenheim Partners Leveraged Debt Group in NY. Jamie graduated from Hobart College in 2009 with a degree in History.

Billy Hennessey
Alumni advisor

Billy Hennessey is the Business Development Manager of Belle Chasse Marine Transportation. Belle Chasse Marine specializes in the sales, storage and delivery of Marine Lubricants along the Gulf Coast and Panama Canal. Prior to his current position he served in the US Army Infantry and deployed multiple times in support of the Global war on terror. After his tour of duty Billy attended Louisiana State University and graduated in 2012 with a BS in Business Management.

Robert miller
Alumni Advisor

VP of Finance - Gasology

John Peter laborde
alumni advisor

Currently, John Peter serves as the Director of Finance at Laborde Marine Management, an offshore supply vessel company operating in the GOM. He spent 3 years as an equity analyst at Tightline Capital, which is a long/short energy-centric hedge fund in Baton Rouge, LA. He attended Tulane University and received a Bachelor’s of Science in management, a Masters in Accounting, and a Masters of Management in Energy.