Energy and The City Panel: The Decline and Fall of the Energy Empire?

7 p.m. Tuesday, April 28, in the Student Center Theater
Click here for directions to the Honors College or here for a map of campus.

Co-sponsored with UH Energy, this panel will look at how Houston stands by our resources and if we are vulnerable to other nations' larger oil supplies. Panelists include John Hofmeister of Citizens for Affordable Energy, Anne Korin of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, Mike Krancer of Blank Rome LLP, Joe Pratt of UH's Energy and Sustainability program, and moderated by Terry Hallmark of the Honors College. The panel is free to attend and a reception with light refreshments will follow. 

RSVP here

John Hofmeister

Upon retirement from Shell Oil Company in 2008, Hofmeister founded and heads the not-for-profit (501(c)(3) nation-wide membership association, Citizens for Affordable Energy. This Washington, D.C.-registered, public policy education firm promotes sound U.S. energy security solutions for the nation, including a range of affordable energy supplies, efficiency improvements, essential infrastructure, sustainable environmental policies and public education on energy issues.

As Shell president, Hofmeister launched an extensive outreach program, unprecedented in the energy industry, to discuss critical global energy challenges. The program included an 18 month, 50-city engagement program across the country during which he led 250 other Shell leaders to meet with more than 15,000 business, community and civic leaders, policymakers, and academics to discuss what must be done to ensure affordable, available energy for the future.

A business leader who has participated in the inner workings of multiple industries for over 35 years, Hofmeister also has held executive leadership positions in General Electric, Nortel and AlliedSignal (now Honeywell International).

Hofmeister serves as the chairman of the National Urban League and is a member of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technical Advisory Committee. He serves as non-executive director of the Hunting PLC, London, UK, CAMAC Energy, Inc., Sodexo North America Business Advisory Board, advisor to Liberty Power of Fort Lauderdale, Fl, the nation’s largest minority owned power company. He also serves on the boards of the National Energy Security Council, Washington, D.C.; the Foreign Policy Association, New York; Strategic Partners, LLC; the Gas Technology Institute and the Center for Houston’s Future. Hofmeister is a fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources. Hofmeiser also is a former chairman and now serves as a director emeritus of the Greater Houston Partnership. He is active in education serving on the Energy Advisory Board at the University of Houston.

Hofmeister earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science from Kansas State University. In May 2010, he was awarded an honorary doctorate of letters from the University of Houston.

John Hofmeister is the author of Why We Hate the Oil Companies: Straight Talk from an Energy Insider (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010).

Anne Korin

Anne Korin is co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security (IAGS) and a senior adviser to the United States Energy Security Council. She appears in the media frequently and has written articles for Foreign Affairs, The American Interest, The National Review, Commentary Magazine, MIT Innovations, American Legion Magazine, and the Journal of International Security Affairs. She is co-author of Energy Security Challenges for the 21st Century (2009,) Turning Oil into Salt: Energy Independence through Fuel Choice (2009,) and Petropoly: the Collapse of America's Energy Security Paradigm (2012.) Her education includes an engineering degree in computer science from Johns Hopkins University and work towards a doctorate at Stanford University.

Mike Krancer

Michael Krancer is a partner at Blank Rome LLP. Prior to rejoining Blank Rome, Mr. Krancer served as secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) under Governor Tom Corbett. During his tenure, Mr. Krancer oversaw the environmentally responsible development of shale natural gas in Pennsylvania and was a key member of the Governor’s team that attracted new and environmentally sensitive economic development to the Commonwealth.

Mr. Krancer was a litigation partner with Blank Rome from 1992 to 1999. He served as judge, chief judge and chairman of Pennsylvania’s Environmental Hearing Board (EHB) and assistant general counsel to Exelon Corporation. At Exelon, Mr. Krancer was responsible for environmental health and safety matters, as well as energy policy development and government relations for the company.

As a prominent and popular speaker and writer, Mr. Krancer is widely recognized for his practical thought leadership on a wide range of energy policy issues, including the emerging, global geopolitical importance of Pennsylvania shale gas and energy resources; federal and state regulation of shale gas extraction, LNG export potential and the future of America’s energy revolution.

Mr. Krancer serves on the board of directors of Inn Dwelling, a non-profit faith-based initiative corporation associated with St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. He has worked with Inn Dwelling high school students as a volunteer writing skills coach. He also serves on the board of trustees of Neumann University, a private Catholic co-educational University in the Franciscan tradition in Aston, Delaware County, and on the board and as vice president of the Riverbend Environmental Education Center in Gladwyne, PA.

Mr. Krancer has a B.A. from the University of Virginia and a J.D. from Washington & Lee School of Law.

Joe Pratt

Joseph Pratt is the NEH-Cullen Professor of History and Business at the University of Houston and the director of the UH energy and sustainability minor. He is a leading historian of the oil and natural gas industry and of the Houston region. Pratt received his undergraduate degree at Rice University and his Ph.D. in economic historyfrom Johns Hopkins University. He taught at University of California, Berkeley, the Harvard Business School, and Texas A & M University before coming to UH in 1986. His most recent publications include “Exxon: Transforming Energy, 1973-2005" and a collected volume of essays on energy capitals around the world.

Terry Hallmark

Terry Hallmark is Visiting Clinical Instructor in the Honors College. He teaches the Human Situation sequence, along with courses in ancient, medieval and early modern political philosophy, American political thought, American foreign policy and energy studies. His current research is focused on the political rhetoric and writings of Will Rogers.

Prior to his appointment in the Honors College, Dr. Hallmark worked in the international oil and gas industry, where he had a 30-year career as a political risk analyst. He has been an advisor to international oil exploration and service companies, financial institutions and governmental agencies, including the World Bank, U.S. Department of Defense and members of the intelligence community. He is the Honors College coordinator for the minor in Energy and Sustainablility Studies.