by Stacy M. Brown
For New Pittsburgh Courier
(NNPA)—National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., has become the new Chair of the Energy Action Alliance (EAA).
EAA was created by the American Petroleum Institute (API) in 2012 to bring together diverse national non-profits to help strengthen relationships between people of color communities and the natural gas and oil industry, which provides economic opportunities and reliable and affordable energy to communities across the nation.
Dr. Chavis affirmed, “I am professionally and personally committed to environmental justice and equity, and as well I am equally committed to the sustainable economic development of all the people of color communities that we serve across the United States. As the chair of the Energy Action Alliance, I hope that we can increase awareness about opportunities in the natural gas and oil industry and give back to people of color through good paying jobs, community engagement and investments.”
The EAA network is comprised of 18 partners, including NNPA, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, American Association of Blacks in Energy, National Urban League, and US Black Chambers.
The mission of the EAA is to develop mutually beneficial relationships between the oil and natural gas industry and diverse communities around two priority areas: workforce and supplier diversity. Both areas focus on awareness and building diverse stakeholder alliances to meet future oil and natural gas needs.
According to a recent API study, nearly 54 percent of the 1.9 million job opportunities expected to be created over the next two decades in the natural gas, oil and petrochemical industry are projected to be filled by women and people of color.
“Building a diverse, inclusive and resilient workforce is a priority for API and our members to ensure the industry is prepared to meet future challenges,” said Amanda Eversole, executive vice president and Chief Operating Officer of API. “Working with the Energy Action Alliance is critical to API’s strategy for fulfilling our industry’s commitment to increased diversity and inclusion within our workforce and creating additional opportunities for minority owned suppliers in serving our industry. I look forward to working with Dr. Chavis and welcome his leadership as we advance solutions towards achieving our common goal of providing more opportunities for communities of color around the country.”
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