Leadership
Friends and Alumni Network Board 2023-2024
Nysha Chaderton, M.S. ’05, Ph.D. ’09
President
ExxonMobil
Nysha joined ExxonMobil in 2008 and is currently working as a Portfolio Advisor. She has held several positions across the Upstream, including Supervisor (Stratigraphy, Guyana Geoscience), Technical Team Lead, Commercial Advisor, Exploration Geologist, Development Geologist, and Production Operations Geologist. Prior to joining ExxonMobil, Nysha spent two years working as a Geologist for the Government of Barbados. She received her academic training at The University of The West Indies, Jamaica (BSc Geology, 2002) and Geoscience degrees from the Jackson School at The University of Texas at Austin.
Max Daniller-Varghese, Ph.D. ’19
President – Elect
CVS Health
Max is currently a Senior Data Scientist at CVS. He used to wrangle large-scale point-clouds of the Earth’s surface, forecast weather at the seasonal scale, and study how the Earth’s surface changes its shape through time by moving sediment in rivers, coastlines, and marine environments.
Christian Dohse, B.S. ’07
Past President
Waxwing Energy, LLC
Christian is President and Owner of Waxwing Energy, LLC., an independent oil and gas exploration company headquartered in Austin, TX focusing on onshore oil and gas exploration and development along the Texas Gulf Coast. He started his career focused on Deepwater Gulf of Mexico and offshore Brazil exploration, but has spent most of the past 15 years as a prospect generator working with independent operators in South-Central Texas.
Christian served as the President of the Austin Geological Society (AGS) from 2018-19, and is currently the Field Trip Chair for AGS. Christian also serves as Chairperson for the National Eagle Scout Association (NESA) and Scholarship Committees for the Capital Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
Favorite Jackson School memory: The amazing field geology experiences!
Sebastian Cardona, M.S. ’15
Outreach Director
ExxonMobil
Sebastian is originally from Medellin, Colombia. He completed a B.S. in Geology from UT San Antonio. He then completed a M.S. in Geological Sciences at UT Austin in 2015 working with Lesli Wood and Sean Gulick. He really enjoyed working with Lesli, so he decided to join her at Colorado School of Mines for his Ph.D. in Geology. After his academic career, Sebastian joined Equinor in Houston as an exploration geologist. He then worked for Tellurian LNG in its newly formed Low Carbon Initiatives team. In 2021, Sebastian joined the Low Carbon Solutions organization in ExxonMobil as a geoscientist.
Favorite Jackson School memory: The world-class people I got to interact with on the daily basis.
Emilie Gentry, B.S. ’15
Colorado Chapter Director
TEVERRA
Emilie Gentry is a Senior Geothermal Geoscientist with TEVERRA providing geological mapping, resource assessment, and geothermal conceptual model development. Her technical expertise is structural and subsurface geology with experience. Emilie uses her knowledge in faults and structural geology and her experience in oil and gas to address major challenges in the geothermal industry and bring opportunity to the larger energy industry. Emilie has always had a passion for females in science and is an active member of Women In Geothermal (WING) and was part of the WING Future Leaders Cohort. In her free time, Emilie loves to enjoy the outdoors with her dog Kya and travel.
Favorite Jackson School memory: All the field trips lead by incredible professors, and the community that really sets the Jackson School apart.
Dr. Rania Eldam Pommer, B.S. ’13
Colorado Chapter Director
bpx Energy
Rania is a geoscientist with bpx Energy in Denver, CO. She is a champion of DE&I ambitions in STEM fields and works to drive equity at all levels in industry and academia. Rania was one of the co-founders of G.L.O.W., the Geosciences Leadership Organization for Women, in the Jackson School in 2011, and she published two STEM-focused children’s books while in graduate school. She currently lives in Golden, CO, with her husband Max, daughter Nailah, two dogs, one cat, and nine chickens.
Marcy Davis, M.S. ’01
Austin Chapter Director
University of Texas Institute for Geophysics
Marcy is currently an Engineering Scientist at UTIG, a position she has held since receiving her M.S. Degree in Geology from the University of Texas at Austin in 2001. Marcy supports research staff and students in the field and in the lab and is the Program Manager for the Marine Geology and Geophysics Field Course.
April Duerson, B.S. ’07
Houston Chapter Director
Schlumberger
Started my career as a field hydrogeologist and transitioned to a field engineer with SLB. 15 years later I have been blessed to have various opportunities. Today, I am the communication manager or OS&IT. Outside of my career, I’m the owner of Peachez Eatery Event and catering company.
Favorite Jackson School memory: High Heel hike on a field trip
Matt Ramos, M.S. ’16, Ph.D. ’18
Houston Chapter Director
Chevron – CTC
Bio coming soon!
Sam Shrull, B.S. 16
Houston Chapter Director
Crescent Pass Energy
Sam graduated with a B.S. from the Jackson school in May 2016. He then went on to complete his M.S. in Geology at Louisiana State University in 2018. After a stint mud logging in the Delaware Basin, Sam returned to Houston (Sugar Land) in 2019. He has worked as an Engineering Tech and Geologist for Crescent Pass Energy since January 2020.
Favorite Jackson School Memory: Winning the chili cook-off during field camp (we used some field gathered sage as a secret ingredient)
Luciana Tinker, M.S. ’16
Houston Chapter Director
ExxonMobil
Luciana Tinker has worked as a Geoscientist with ExxonMobil since 2017. She began her career with the Mexico Exploration team, assessing the hydrocarbon potential of deepwater open acreage. Later, she joined the Brazil Salt Basins Operations team and supported the evaluation and drilling of multiple wells. Currently she is exploring for hydrocarbons in the Guyana and Suriname basin. Luciana obtained her B.S. from Trinity University and M.S. from The University of Texas at Austin. At UT, she worked for the Gulf Basin Depositional Synthesis Consortium, characterizing Paleogene deepwater stratigraphy in the Southern Gulf of Mexico.
Kathryn Young, M.S. ’06
Houston Chapter Director
Sharp Reflections
Kathryn gained her MS in Geophysics from the University of Texas at Austin. She began her career with EOG Resources in South Texas where she participated in the full evolution of the Eagle Ford play, from the early lease acquisition to rigorous field development. She then worked on technical projects in BP’s central upstream technology team for 10 years, supporting asset teams globally, in various geological environments, all with their unique challenges and complexities. Kathryn has been with Sharp Reflections since 2022 as their Business Solutions Manager for the Americas. She relishes the opportunity to collaborate in multi-disciplinary teams to overcome the oil & gas industry’s biggest challenges. Her success at the Jackson School was due to supportive staff and the invaluable friendships that she still enjoys today. In her sparse free time, she enjoys spending time with her kids on the beach and cooking all types of spicy dishes.
Favorite Jackson School Memory: Not favorite, but most memorable: Standing in 30F, windy weather in New Mexico in McKittrick Canyon and listening to Charlie Kerans talk about clinoforms and 1 degree dip for hours, wondering why I was the only one who couldn’t seem to concentrate on anything because of my chattering teeth.
Enrique Reyes, B.S. ’16
San Antonio Chapter Director
Incarnate Word High School/Catapult Learning
Enrique lives in San Antonio and has been in education since he graduated, working as a science educator. He is a GeoFORCE alumni, and worked for many years with the GeoFORCE program. He loves nothing more than spending time with his wife and baby daughter.
Favorite Jackson School Memory: Field camp is the best time you may not want to have again. I grew so much as a person, scientist, and geologist during those 6 weeks. I changed the way I walked (literally), I developed strong confidence in trying new things, and I finally felt like a good geologist.
Marcus Chroback, B.S. ’10
Midland Chapter Director
EOG Resources
Marcus is currently the Exploration Manager in EOG’s Midland division, where he joined through their college recruiting program in 2013. He holds a B.S. Degree in Geology from the University of Texas at Austin, an M.S. Degree in Geology from the University of Houston, and an MBA from the University of Texas of the Permian Basin.
Bobby Reece, Ph.D. ’12
College Station Chapter Director
AWS
Bobby is a technical advisor for cloud migration and modernization and the associated business transformation at AWS. He was previously a geophysics professor at Texas A&M and is interested in helping students map their skills and education to non-traditional career pathways, as well as early career or seasoned professionals with career field transitions. Bobby currently lives in College Station with his wife, Julia, and their two children, Luca and Maike.
Cristopher Marshall, B.S. ’97
Dallas Chapter Director
Earth/Space Science Teacher
Frisco Heritage High School
Christopher graduated in 1997 with a BS in Geophysics and worked briefly for Unocal (Sugarland) in their potential fields group. He got certified to teach HS Earth Science in 1999 and is now in his 25th year of education. Christopher worked 10 years at The Colony High School and 15 years in Frisco ISD, currently at Heritage HS. He has two sons, both in HS, and they participate in marching band so that takes up a lot of their time during the fall semester. Christopher and his wife recently celebrated 20 years of marriage. She is a HS counselor also in Frisco ISD. He loves to travel, hike, scuba, trek, and run. Christopher has climbed several of Colorado’s 14ers, and in the summer of 2021, he achieved a dream he’s had since his days back at UT in the Geology department—he summited Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, elevation 19,341 feet!
Gabe Garcia, B.S. ’08
Corpus Christi Chapter Director
Colson Properties, Ltd.
Born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas. Graduated from the Jackson School of Geosciences with a B.S. in General Geology in 2008. After graduation worked as a consulting geologist along side operators and independent exploration companies in South Texas putting together drilling prospects in the Gulf Coast Basin. Started working at Colson Properties, Ltd in 2016 with a focus on evaluating outside prospects for non-op working interest participation