UW SER Launches New Energy Engagement, Leadership and Careers Program

A new program dedicated to community engagement, leadership and workforce development for energy-producing and energy-adjacent districts in Wyoming has been launched by the University of Wyoming's School of Energy Resources (SER).

The Energy Engagement, Leadership and Careers (ELC) Program will work toward the development of a skilled energy workforce; engage industry stakeholders; empower communities by incorporating local knowledge into program development and research; advance social science capacity building; and inspire the next generation of leaders through innovative education.

Erin Phillips, who will take on a new role as director of cross-cutting programs, and Senior Research Professional Selena Gerace, who will oversee the Energy ELC Program, will lead the new program.

"I am excited to step into this new role and work with our social science-based team," Phillips says. "With the onset of Community Benefits Plans in all of our federally funded projects, there is an increased need to streamline our engagement efforts and formulate a more cohesive strategy for aligning new energy research with community needs and priorities."

Joining SER in 2017, Phillips has served as a program manager in SER's Center for Economic Geology Research, where she has overseen a team of applied research professionals examining rare earth elements and critical mineral prospects in Wyoming. Through her leadership as a principal investigator on federally funded projects, she has expanded the scope of her work to include community engagement and workforce development strategies and supply chain considerations for a critical materials economy.

Her new role will not only focus on implementing the Energy ELC Program, but also will help facilitate the achievement of common goals among SER's Centers of Excellence. She will collaborate directly with SER's outreach and academic programs to streamline engagement and workforce development efforts.

Gerace has been instrumental in providing a baseline of understanding in what Wyoming citizens value and their perspectives on energy development through multiple surveys conducted between 2019 and 2023. Work in the Energy ELC Program will build on her findings and inform decision-making for Community Benefits Plans.

"SER has done a lot of work to gauge the sentiments of Wyoming citizens around the shifting energy landscape and inventory resources accordingly," Gerace says. "The Energy ELC Program will work to connect those existing educational resources and programs with the communities and stakeholders that need those most."

Focal areas of the new program will include innovative energy-focused K-12, community college, undergraduate and graduate education; continuing education for working professionals; meaningful engagement with energy communities and tribes; social science research; and energy workforce development in existing and emerging industries.

Following a yearlong review, the long-term goal of the new program will convert it into a nationally recognized center of energy workforce development and social science excellence.

"Dr. Phillips and Ms. Gerace have been working over the last several years to create SER's approach to Community Benefits Plan development and implementation on our federally funded projects -- which includes a national network of collaborators within the Department of Energy, National Laboratories, other universities -- and connecting those networks to local communities and community colleges across Wyoming," says Scott Quillinan, SER senior director of research. "Under their guidance, I have no doubt that this new program will flourish and provide the much-needed support for capacity building and meaningful engagement among Wyoming's citizens."

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