Deirdre Shepherd works every day to manage and mitigate the company’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. With the company’s 24/7 air monitoring, her responsibilities literally never stop, but she enjoys ‘downtime’ on the sidelines of soccer games.
As manager of the Air team, what are your team’s responsibilities?
My team’s primary responsibilities encompass a range of critical initiatives aimed at environmental stewardship and emissions management. We oversee the carbon accounting process, ensuring compliance with EPA mandatory GHG reporting and tracking progress against the company’s internal goals.
Additionally, we manage our emissions detection programs, including our flyover, fixed methane sensor and traditional Optical Gas Imaging (OGI) programs. We also take a leadership role in emissions reduction projects, working to implement and drive sustainable practices across the organization.
Our team is responsible for managing key company-wide, federal-level compliance programs, while also spearheading voluntary initiatives like the Responsibly Sourced Gas (RSG) certification process and participation in the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP 2.0).
You have a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in environmental engineering. Why specialize in air quality?
After completing my undergrad, I worked as an environmental consultant where we had billable hour requirements. I quickly noticed that our air quality specialist was consistently the most billable, which piqued my interest. I started collaborating with him more and found myself drawn to the complexity and challenges of air regulations and their intersection with engineering processes across various industries.
While I enjoyed working in all environmental media — whether it was managing American Burying Beetles in the field or conducting environmental assessments for manufacturing facilities — air quality work stood out as the most engaging for me. This passion led me to pursue a master’s degree in environmental engineering while working full-time, further deepening my expertise in this field.
Your team is currently implementing an enterprise-wide carbon accounting platform. What does this entail and why is it important?
When the company transitioned from a compliance-driven approach to a more proactive stance on GHG emissions reduction, it was essential to rethink our carbon accounting program. The shift meant we needed to track emissions at a much more granular level than before, in line with our interim targets.
Integrating all assets into this new, more detailed framework is a critical part of the process. This involves consolidating various source systems that track information such as equipment at our locations, which could be sources of emissions, and harmonizing our record-keeping processes and emissions database across both companies. This integration is key to ensuring a unified and accurate approach to tracking, managing and reducing emissions.
As a key partner in Expand Energy’s RSG certification process, how have you seen RSG certification impact the company’s processes and procedures?
The RSG certification process, with its annual audits and site visits to a percentage of our locations, has had a significant impact on the company.
It has helped foster a sense of shared responsibility for emissions across the organization. Employees at all levels are more aware of our goals and commitments, and there’s a clear understanding that everyone plays a role in ensuring EXE is a responsible operator.
The RSG certification has become a catalyst for greater accountability, aligning our processes and procedures with the broader vision of sustainability and emissions management.
What do you like to do for fun?
I’m currently a mother to two biological daughters and one foreign exchange student, all of whom play competitive and school soccer. So, when I’m not working, I’m usually involved in some soccer-related activity or something kid-adjacent. While true ‘days off’ are few and far between, I’m thoroughly enjoying this busy season of life.
Outside of soccer, I love to travel, especially exploring local grocery stores in foreign countries. It’s fascinating to see the similarities and differences compared to what we have here — it’s a fun and unique way to experience a new culture.
