Currently a production engineer for the Texas Oil and Gas Institute, Yogashri Pradhan has been decisive in developing new initiatives right from the start of her career. Growing up in Houston, she was active in speech and debate teams in school days, which exposed her to many current events and technical details of the oil and gas industry.
As a high school senior, Pradhan wrote her paper on CO2 flooding and carbon sequestration, submitting her findings to various companies, which turned into her first oil and gas internship opportunity before university. Since entering the industry, she has played a pivotal role in the SPE Gulf Coast Section (SPE-GCS), SPE international young professional events, and many of SPE’s conferences.
Pradhan has also shown a natural ability for mentoring. Precollege, she took part in the gifted and talented mentorship program, and with SPE she continues to mentor students at her alma mater, the University of Texas at Austin, as well as Texas A&M Univerisity.
“I enjoy empowering others when I volunteer. I enjoy meeting professionals and students, sharing my experiences, asking for advice, and working with SPE members on initiatives that are greater than ourselves.”
She is now a founding member of SPE Cares, a new initiative to get SPE members to actively engage and develop outreach activities within their communities. She is also a member of the SPE-GCS Members in Transition Committee and study groups. Her experience is now sought after and she has been invited to join SPE’s new Women In Energy Committee. An editor for The Way Ahead, Pradhan represented SPE at the Emerging Leaders Alliance conference last year.
The outgoing approach toward her career has made Pradhan a young professional to look out for and a great example of someone taking control of her own opportunities.
The purpose of “Spotlight on Young Professionals” is to share interesting voluntary contributions and technical achievements of young professionals with their peers. If you know someone who deserves to be put in the spotlight, tell us via our online form.