Tina Jeffress
Sustainability and Energy, Panasonic
Durham, North Carolina
Careers and Alumni
The Recent Alumni Council consists of Energy Concentration graduates who have gone on to positions of responsibility in a wide variety of energy companies. Members are selected on the basis of their leadership of the Energy Club during their years at UNC Kenan-Flagler and for their support of the program since graduation. Consistent with the program’s Full Value Chain emphasis, council members work for firms in the oil and gas, power and renewables industries. The council provides the program’s leadership and the Advisory Council with perspectives rooted in a younger generation’s interests and concerns. Individual alumni advise prospective applicants on the program’s attributes and on career possibilities. Several also teach sections of energy courses in the curriculum. Their individual stories can be viewed by clicking on the Success Stories link.
Recent Alumni Council
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Tina Jeffress
Sustainability and Energy, Panasonic
Durham, North Carolina
Tina Jeffress is a senior manager with Panasonic North America’s Corporate and Government Affairs team, covering energy and sustainability.
She was previously a management consultant at ScottMadden where she specialized in the electric utility business and ESG issues.
A member of the UNC Kenan-Flagler Class of 2018, Tina served as president of the MBA Energy Club and received the Core Value Award for Leadership. Tina holds an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler and a BA in international development from UCLA.
Christine Shaner
Commercial Manager, XTO Energy/ExxonMobil
Houston, Texas
Christine Shaner
Commercial Manager, XTO Energy/ExxonMobil
Houston, Texas
Christine Shaner is a 2016 UNC Kenan-Flagler grad and former president of the UNC Kenan-Flagler Energy Club.
Since leaving UNC Kenan-Flagler, Christine has held a variety of roles in ExxonMobil’s finance and commercial business functions, including natural gas trading, strategy, and gas markets development. She is the commercial manager of West Texas crude oil infrastructure for ExxonMobil’s U.S. affiliate, XTO Energy.
Christine holds a BA in economics and international studies from Johns Hopkins University. A native of Virginia, Christine has lived in France, Switzerland, and Hungary, and currently resides in Houston, Texas.
Trey Martin
Vice President of Corporate Development, StarTex
San Antonio, Texas
Trey Martin
Vice President of Corporate Development, StarTex Field Services, LLC (“StarTex”)
San Antonio, Texas
Trey Martin serves as the vice president of corporate development for StarTex Field Services, LLC (“StarTex”), an Eagle Ford-focused natural gas gathering company.
Prior to joining StarTex, Trey was an associate at Tailwater Capital, LLC from 2015 to 2017 and held various positions as an operations engineer at Chesapeake Energy Corporation from 2011 to 2015.
Trey holds a MBA from UNC-Kenan-Flagler, earning concentrations in Energy and Corporate Finance, and a bachelor of science in petroleum engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a registered professional engineer in the State of Texas.
Laurel Meeks
Director of Renewable Business Development, Duke Energy
Charlotte, North Carolina
Laurel Meeks
Director of Renewable Business Development, Duke Energy
Charlotte, North Carolina
Laurel Meeks is responsible for a team of professionals managing strategy and project development of regulated microgrid and battery energy storage systems. Her role allows her to generate and execute opportunities for the utility to invest in clean energy technology. She covers the vertically integrated Carolinas region as well as Midwest market territories.
Laurel holds an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler with an emphasis in energy and real estate development. Prior to business school, she held a business development role with an energy efficiency contractor in the Charlotte area, allowing her to pursue growth in the green building space.
Laurel resides in Charlotte with her husband John.
Byron Kelly
Finance Manager, Tax Projects, NextEra Energy Inc.
West Palm Beach, Florida
Byron Kelly
Finance Manager, Tax Projects, NextEra Energy Inc.
West Palm Beach, Florida
Byron Kelly currently works as a finance manager for NextEra Energy, focused on special projects related to corporate finance, accounting and energy tax credits. Before joining NextEra, Byron worked as a commercial strategy advisor for ExxonMobil, leading various initiatives in M&A, corporate strategy, competitor intelligence and long-term planning.
Byron obtained his MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler in 2018, during which he served as a Kenan Scholar and was awarded the 2018 Rollie Tillman Jr. Outstanding Achievement Award for superior leadership in and out of the classroom. Byron also has an M.Sc. in geophysics from the University of Calgary, and a B.Sc. in geology from Memorial University of Newfoundland. Byron holds two patents related to oil field production technologies and has authored numerous publications in the energy space.
Collin Breit
Strategy & Business Development Advisor, Marathon Petroleum Corporation
Findlay, Ohio
Collin Breit
After graduating from Kenan-Flagler with an Energy concentration in 2021, Collin began working as a Strategy & Business Development Advisor at Marathon Petroleum Corporation.
Anthony Miner
Enterprise Strategy Associate, Caterpillar
Chicago, Illinois
Anthony Miner
Enterprise Strategy Associate, Caterpillar
Chicago, Illinois
Anthony is a Corporate Strategy Associate for Caterpillar based in Chicago, Illinois. In his role he focuses on analyzing energy transition and sustainability related strategic opportunities and challenges for the company. Prior to Caterpillar, Anthony received his MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler’s full time program, serving as Energy Club President and interning in utilities consulting and with a cleantech startup.
Anthony spent 5 years in technology management consulting with PwC, where he focused on go-to-market strategy, project management, and change management for Fortune 100 digital transformations and software implementations.
Anthony is from Seattle, WA and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Washington.
Nathaniel Margolies
Private Wealth Advisor, Goldman Sachs
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nathaniel Margolies
Private Wealth Advisor, Goldman Sachs
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nathaniel Margolies is an investment advisor at Goldman Sachs where he advises wealthy individuals, family groups and non-profit organizations.
He graduated cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis with a BA in both chemistry and economics. Additionally, he holds an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler where he served as chair of the Graduate and Professional Schools Honor System and researched as a Kenan Energy Scholar.
Before joining Goldman Sachs, Nathaniel worked with hospital systems nationwide as the lead financial risk manager for Epic Systems.
Edward Hirsch
Senior Analyst, New Business, Baltimore Gas & Electric
Baltimore, Maryland
Edward Hirsch
Senior Analyst, New Business, Baltimore Gas & Electric
Baltimore, Maryland
Edward Hirsch is a Senior Project Controls Analyst with Baltimore Gas & Electric, part of the Exelon Corporation. Edward has spent nine years in the energy industry having previously worked at Salt River Project and Summit Midstream.
He graduated from Lehigh University in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and received his MBA from Kenan-Flagler in 2019.
Trevor Sprague
Chief Development Officer, Heelstone Renewable Energy
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Trevor Sprague
Chief Development Officer, Heelstone Renewable Energy
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Trevor Sprague is the chief development officer for Heelstone Renewable Energy, a utility-scale solar developer headquartered in Chapel Hill. He provides oversight for all aspects of project development while setting origination strategies and seeking new market opportunities. He first joined Heelstone upon graduation from the MBA program at UNC Kenan Flagler, where he concentrated in both Energy and Entrepreneurship/Venture Capital.
Prior to attending UNC Kenan-Flagler, Trevor taught high school science in Cleveland, Ohio, as a Teach For American corps member.
Bradley Harris
Manager, Rates and Regulatory Solutions, Duke Energy
Raleigh, North Carolina
Bradley Harris
Manager, Rates and Regulatory Solutions, Duke Energy
Raleigh, North Carolina
Bradley Harris is responsible for managing several strategic rate design and pricing reforms in Duke Energy’s regulated footprint, focusing primarily on the Carolinas and Florida. Some of his projects have included setting new time-of-use pricing periods for the Carolinas, leading rate design efforts related to electric vehicles, evaluating innovative solutions for financing energy efficiency, and creating programs to aid vulnerable customers.
Careers
Companies that employ our recent alumni are listed below.