Stanford
Diana Gragg

Work Experience

Work Experience:

Summer 2005: MAP Fellow at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in Washington, D.C. for the Vehicles Campaign

  • Organized a road tour for NRDC and Set America Free to speak with veterans groups, world council groups, environmental groups, and universities in key congressional districts to present to constituents information about the perils of our dependence on oil and a bill to address these concerns that is under consideration in the House and the Senate

  • Contacted hundreds of NRDC's e-advocates for their help - the first time they had been contacted personally for this kind of involvement

  • Completed an assessment and wrote a report about plug-in hybrids as the beginning of a long-term report between NRDC, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and Joe Romm, the executive director for the Center for Energy and Climate Solutions

  • Attended briefings and hearings to gather information about biofuels, oil security, and global warming

  • Helped lobby on the 2005 energy bill by contacting congressional staff

  • Participated in Oil Shockwave, a program sponsored by Securing America's Future Energy that demonstrates the susceptibility of our oil distribution system to disruptions and the related consequences

August 2003 - August 2004: Energy Efficiency Focal Point for Membrane Chlorine Plant at the Dow Chemical Company in Freeport, Texas

  • Conducted survey of all motors in the plant; developed a plan to improve their energy efficiency by replacement with more efficient or smaller motors, changing to variable speed motors, and by optimizing the usage of pumps

  • Developed project ideas to improve energy efficiency through reduced waste in several proprietary areas

August 2003 - August 2004: Certified Black Belt Six Sigma Methodology Project Leader at the Dow Chemical Company in Freeport, Texas

  • Completed and implemented a filter run-time improvement project (>$1 million/year in savings, which saves natural resources by allowing salt to be recycled)

  • Successful completion of a heat-exchanger improvement project (>$750,000/year in savings, most by reduction in energy-intensive steam usage and improvement in process heat utilization)

August 2000 - August 2003: Production Engineer for Membrane Chlorine Plant (new technology) at the Dow Chemical Company in Freeport, Texas

Responsibilities:

  • Provide advice as the subject matter expert on process technology

  • Apply skills in process engineering and process control to maximize asset utilization while reducing raw material usage and meeting business production goals

  • Optimize safeguards to eliminate environmental spills

  • Compile data for environmental reporting

  • Troubleshoot and implement solutions to short-term and long-term issues

  • Work with project managers to successfully integrate new projects in the plant

  • Contribute to startup and shutdown activities - planning and execution

  • Collect and analyze data for ongoing production-scale research

  • Assist in training of operations personnel

Accomplishments:

  • Participated on several Six Sigma projects for cost savings >$500,000/year and defect reductions which reduced excess usage of raw materials

  • Reduced unscheduled shutdowns by 26 % over three years through process improvements (which also reduced chlorine releases to the atmosphere)

  • Sponsored the plant Hiring Team, successfully leading the hiring for 4 staff positions

  • Sponsored the plant Recognition Team to increase recognition of extraordinary work

  • Worked with operators towards Dow initiative called "Empowerment" - increasing the responsibilities and contributions of the operators

Summer 1999: Intern in the Coordination and Product Quality Department of the Baton Rouge Refinery for Exxon Company, U.S.A. in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

  • Determined increased crude viscosity limits for crude system to help increase revenue by allowing additional usage of tanks and built a computer modeling system of crude pipelines

  • Designed and estimated wax tank circulation system to reduce wax waste

  • Compiled sample data for FTIR Diesel Cetane Analyzer to help improve diesel blending capabilities

Summer 1998: Intern at the Port Allen Lubricants Plant for Exxon Company, U.S.A. in Port Allen, Louisiana

  • Developed system for SARA environmental reporting to reduce errors and improve the ease of reporting

  • Studied plant tank usage for plant optimization and proposed several improvements to optimize loading and unloading

Volunteer Experience:

August 2008 - February 2009: Save the Bay, San Francisco Bay Area, California

  • Planted native plants and removed non-native plants to restore the natural wetlands to the San Francisco Bay

April 2008: GRID Alternatives, California

  • Installed energy efficiency measures in low income housing in San Jose to reduce energy costs for residents

August 2006 - November 2006: Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund - Defeat Representative Richard Pombo Campaign for California District 11

  • Canvassed key areas in the district

  • Provided voters with information about the upcoming election

  • Completed a survey of voter preferences

January 2001 - August 2004: Gulf Coast Wildlife Rescue in Brazoria County, Texas

  • Ran educational booths at fairs/public parks with non-releasable animals such as owls and opossums

  • Attended and organized training courses for volunteers and the public

  • Transported injured and orphaned wildlife from the public to licensed rehabilitators

  • Assisted with releasing rehabilitated wildlife back into the wild