Powerful Conversations to Encourage Your Employer to Invest in Your Personal Development
Are you ambitious? One of the main ways you can learn new skills or knowledge in a workplace environment is through training, attending conferences or taking part in events. Yet many find this conversation intimidating. This workshop will help you gain confidence in making the ask so you don’t miss out on opportunities for your professional development.
Learning Objectives:
1. Understanding ownership of career development
2. Preparing for a career development discussion
3. Overcoming obstacles for a successful conversation
4. Building your plan
5. Delivering results
Lunch will be provided.
RSVP is required, and the workshop is limited to 16 attendees.
Instructor Bios:
Suzanne Ogle
Suzanne Ogle serves as Chief Executive Officer of Southern Gas Association (SGA) and President of the Gas Machinery Research Council (GMRC). With more than thirty years of experience in the oil and gas business and more than a decade of membership and volunteer leadership, Suzanne is passionate about the energy industry and helping it evolve to meet societies changing expectations as well as the demand. Over her professional career, Suzanne has designed and implemented sales, marketing, communication and leadership development strategies across the oil and natural gas value chain for companies including Approach Resources, Wilbanks Energy Logistics, Regency Energy Partners, Valerus and Exterran.
Suzanne is a member of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) and the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). She earned the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) credential from PRSA in 2009 and the Investor Relations Charter (IRC) credential from NIRI in 2018. In 2021 she achieved her Certified Association Executive (CAE) by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE). She is also a Certified Sustainability Practitioner (CSP).
Ms. Ogle holds an Advanced Marketing certificate from Southern Methodist University, both a Finance Management and a Business Analytics certificate from Cornell University and an Executive Leadership for Energy Professionals certificate from the University of Houston. She received a Master of Education in educational psychology and a Bachelor of Arts in business marketing from California Lutheran University.
Cindy Mitchell
Cindy Mitchell serves as the Vice President of Operations for the Southern Gas Association in
Dallas, TX. In this role, Cindy works in every aspect of the business, and she specializes in
delivering first class service, solving complex problems with solutions that work and developing
cohesion among the business units. Cindy Mitchell retired from her first career as the elected
County Clerk of Denton County, TX, in December 2014, where she served four consecutive
terms. She spent 20 years in local government service and found her career serving others both
essential to community and very rewarding.
After retiring from local government service, Cindy assisted with a culture change initiative that
involved coaching and delivering both skills and leadership training to nearly 600 leaders in the
natural gas industry. This initiative brought her to the Southern Gas Association where she has
been able to utilize her vast experiences to continue to develop best in class service and culture.
In 2021, Cindy received a certification from Texas A&M University for DEI Leadership in Non-
Profits. She has various certifications with leadership assessment tools and applies them to
individual development, work pairs & team interactions and culture-building. Cindy is an
Executive Coach and has extensive experience leading and developing teams and individuals
while creating and amplifying a service-minded culture.
Cindy is passionate about using her Strengths to bring out the best in others while elevating
service delivery in our industry. When not working, Cindy loves entertaining and cooking,
serving her community and most importantly, spending time with her family.