Business

API’s Energy Research Collaborative Focus is on Diversity

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Elia Quintana, the director of Stakeholder Relations for API , Dr. Carlos Rodriguez, and Stewart joined the National Newspaper Publishers Association’s (NNPA) Midwinter Training Conference in Orlando, Fla., in January

Published

7 years ago

February 3, 2019

Oakland Post

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent

The capacity of petroleum to power transportation and manufacturing has proven a game changer that marked America’s first Generation Energy, according to American Petroleum Institute (API) President and CEO Mike Sommers.

Today’s energy is made up of innovators, problem solvers and disruptors – in the sense that American energy is changing the country’s narrative and altering its trajectory in historic terms, Sommers said.

That America’s Generation Energy supplies the foundation for modern life – it provides the fuel, power and products which make everyday life safer, healthier, and more comfortable –probably could not have been summed up better than by what Frank M. Stewart said.

“The energy workforce opportunity could lead to an economic emancipation for many in our community,” said Stewart, a consultant for API and president of Frank M. Stewart & Company.

Elia Quintana, the director of Stakeholder Relations for API , Dr. Carlos Rodriguez, and Stewart joined the National Newspaper Publishers Association’s (NNPA) Midwinter Training Conference in Orlando, Fla., in January

It’s Quintana’s department that will lead API’s Energy Research Collaborative (ERC) with strategic partners focused on workforce development and engagement with nontraditional allies.

With alliances with NNPA, – the Black Press of America with more than 215 African American owned newspapers and media companies – and the National Association of Hispanic Publications, the American Association of Blacks in Energy and others, API hopes to encourage minorities and women to be petroleum engineers, geologists, welders, electricians, accountants, business managers and fill other necessary posts.

The ERC also includes Asian Americans in Energy, the Environment and Commerce, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, Hispanics in Energy, National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development, The Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers, United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and others.

The group meets regularly and continues to provide feedback and recommendations to API.

“The Black Press, probably more than any organization in the nation has a history of communications with the Black community, reaching policy leaders in the community as well as young folks,” Stewart said.

“We believe we have a unique opportunity and the way to reach the community is by [aligning] with the people they trust,” he said.

Rodriguez said the same can be said about America’s Hispanic community.

“The analogy is also with the Hispanic Press,” he said.

“We have a big presence in cities where we have Latino and Black press and from an API perspective, we want to figure out how we leverage that power,” Rodriguez said.

API counts as the only national trade association representing all facets of the natural gas and oil industry in support of 10.3 million U.S. jobs and nearly 8 percent of the American economy.

With at least 40 percent of the industry’s worker base on track to retire by 2035, ERC’s research has shown that a vast number of those positions will be filled by women and minorities over the next decade and beyond.

“API is specifically prioritizing on ensuring that the future workforce of tomorrow is being able to impact a diverse community,” Quintana said.

“The oil and gas industry represents 10 percent of the workforce and within that we have 50 percent of the current workforce who will be retiring so we’re making sure to create allies and strategies so that we can fill those jobs,” she said.

Quintana, Stewart and Rodriguez agreed that the talents of all are needed to fill jobs –many of which carry a near six-figure income to start.

Particularly through the ERC, API is working with its partners to increase the awareness of the industry in underrepresented communities.

The company has noted that there’s an industry-wide recognition of how imperative it is to equip more students for those jobs – especially African Americans, Hispanics and women –all of whom historically have been underrepresented in the natural gas and oil business.

“The issue of awareness has to translate into an action issue for penetration into communities of color,” Rodriguez said. “We will study to see if the numbers that we have still hold and how it’s distributed among people of color and what are the implications.”

The industry supports 10.3 million jobs, according to a recent study.

Additionally, an IHS Market Study estimates that a total of 1.9 million direct job opportunities – STEM-related and those of other skill sets – through 2035.

The study projects that Hispanic workers will hold 576,000 of those jobs while African Americans account for 131,000.

Women are projected to fill nearly 300,000 jobs in the industry through 2035.

“What is the nature of those jobs? Are we only talking about PhD’s? No, we’re looking incredibly wide range from high school training to post doctorate training,” Stewart said.

“We’re looking at Houston, Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio and other areas where our communities are within reach of these opportunities.”

Said Rodriguez: “You get a high school degree, stay drug free and get a certification, you can start making $85,000 or $90,000. It’s incredible.”

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Activism

At the event, 16 entities signed the EIP pledge, vowing to take steps to increase public contracting opportunities in their spheres for small and historically underutilized businesses. The pledge signees included Hub International, the Port of San Francisco, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, California High-Speed Rail Authority, the Port of Oakland, Robert Graham of Webcor Builders, Holder Construction, the Weitz Company, Sky Blue Builders, Hornblower, Swinerton, Luster National, Talson Solutions, Center for Community Wealth Building, and the Construction Contractors Alliance.

Published

3 days ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Toks Omishakin, secretary of the California State Transportation Agency, was one of the speakers at the event. Photo by Shellee Fisher Photography and Design.

By Calvin Naito, Special to The Post

On June 4, a national nonprofit named the Equity in Infrastructure Project (EIP) – which aims to increase public construction contracting opportunities for small and historically underutilized businesses – held a day-long event in downtown San Francisco to rally supporters and build momentum to its cause.

It was attended by more than 100 individuals from public agencies, private firms, and other organizations committed to increasing contracting opportunities with governmental agencies, thereby creating more competition and lowering public costs.

The EIP event was held the Hyatt Regency San Francisco in conjunction with BuildIT, which aims to increase contracting opportunities for LGBT-owned businesses.

At the event, 16 entities signed the EIP pledge, vowing to take steps to increase public contracting opportunities in their spheres for small and historically underutilized businesses.

The pledge signees included Hub International, the Port of San Francisco, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, California High-Speed Rail Authority, the Port of Oakland, Robert Graham of Webcor Builders, Holder Construction, the Weitz Company, Sky Blue Builders, Hornblower, Swinerton, Luster National, Talson Solutions, Center for Community Wealth Building, and the Construction Contractors Alliance.

Following the workshop, BuildIT hosted a VIP evening reception honoring EIP, whose principals – Phil Washington, John Procari, and Rick Jacobs – accepted the award.

The event also set in motion the coalition’s efforts to implement recommendations from EIP’s “Procurement for Prosperity: A Playbook.”

The Playbook is a practical guide for public agency leaders and procurement and contracting practitioners to grow the capacity of small and first-time contractors, strengthen competition, and deliver better value for taxpayers.

Toks Omishakin, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), a long-time EIP supporter, also told attendees, “This is about commitment. This has been a life’s work. This is a tailwind moment.”

The event’s presenting sponsor was Hub International, one of the largest insurance brokerages in the nation, which was joined by partners Travelers Insurance and the State Compensation Insurance Fund.

After the pledge-signing ceremony, attendees participated in a workshop in which they examined the policies, practices, and programs needed to meet EIP goals, learned from practitioners, and identified next steps toward utilizing the Playbook.

Ingrid Meriwether, formerly of Merriwether & Williams Insurance Services (MWIS) and current president of Hub International’s Aligned Risk Management, MWIS, described the hard-fought lessons she and her MWIS team have learned over the last three decades administering contractor development programs (CDPs) for the City and County of San Francisco, Alameda County, City of Los Angeles, LA Metro, and other municipalities.

The CDPs help small and local construction firms win public infrastructure contracts with these government agencies. The program provides bonding assistance, contract financing, technical support, training, and other services to underrepresented businesses funded by public agencies who seek greater contracting participation with these firms.

Merriwether said programs like these “break down systemic barriers, create greater fairness, and save taxpayers money by enabling more competition. The contractor development programs have, cumulatively, over two decades, helped contractors access over $1 billion in bonding, supporting over $380 million in awarded contracts, and maintaining a loss ratio 250 times lower than the industry average – while saving participating municipalities more than $27 million in contracting costs as a result of enabling more competition.”

Rick Jacobs, EIP co-founder and co-chair urged attendees make plans to meet again in the near future “to continue building on this work, share progress on organizational commitments, and discuss how we can collectively advance the goals of the EIP pledge.”

For more information on the EIP and to access a copy of the Playbook, go online to https://equityininfrastructure.org/

Calvin Naito is communications manager for Equity in Infrastructure Project.

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Oakland Museum Presents Landmark Retrospective Celebrating Beloved Bay Area Artist Mildred Howard

“Poetics of Memory” coincides with a year of major recognition for Howard. In 2026, she received the California Arts Council’s 50th Anniversary Award, honoring artists whose work has shaped California’s cultural and civic life, as well as the Museum of the African Diaspora’s Artist Impact Award. In 2025, she was awarded a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship in recognition of her transformative contributions to American cultural life.

Published

3 days ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Mildred Howard. Photo by Christine Cueto for the Oakland Museum of California, 2025.

Special to The Post

The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) opened “Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory,” the first major museum survey of Bay Area artist Mildred Howard, on June 12.

The exhibition spans five decades of Howard’s influential work, bringing together immersive installations, found-object sculptures, archival materials, and new commissions that explore memory, identity, and power in American life.

Howard was born in San Francisco in 1945 and raised in the East Bay, where she went on to study Afro-Haitian dance, make and sell clothing, and experiment with collage and sculpture.

Her multimedia art practice emerged from these experiences, later becoming associated with West Coast conceptual art, San Francisco funk, and a vibrant community of artists like Oliver Jackson, Betye Saar, and Raymond Saunders. Since the 1970s, she has used found materials and family stories to explore memory—both individual and collective.

At OMCA, visitors enter “Poetics of Memory” through a series of intimate galleries featuring Howard’s early mixed-media pieces and sculptures, along with a large video projection of a number of her public artworks.

Together, they emphasize Howard’s interest in everyday objects as powerful carriers of individual and shared stories. Highlights include collages that remix images of the artist herself; found-object sculptures like The History of the United States with a few Parts Missing (2007) that address omissions in dominant narratives; and public works like “Locks and Keys for Harry Bridges” (2001) that transform urban space into a meditation on access and labor.

This culminates in a richly detailed “studio” environment, where works in progress, archival exhibition flyers, historic photographs of Howard and her community, postcards from fellow artists, and other materials offer insight into her creative process and daily life.

The exhibition then opens into a high-ceilinged, dramatically lit space that brings together Howard’s signature immersive installations. On one end, “Crossings” (1997/2026) – a field of hundreds of ceramic eggs leading to an ornate mirror – suggests cycles of birth, motherhood, and transition, while drawing on the emotional echoes of the Middle Passage. On the other end, “Blackbird in a Red Sky” (a.k.a. “Fall of the Blood House”) (2002) – a red glass shack bordered by a pond – also uses reflection and transparency to draw viewers into the work and prompt consideration of themes of identity and home.

Howard’s newest video installation, “Moving Stills” (2026), repurposes never-before-seen family footage she took as a teenager on a train trip to the American South. Projected onto cascading layers of translucent fabric that stretch across an entire gallery wall, the piece immerses viewers in a layered meditation on memory, migration, and time.

The “Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory” exhibit will be on display through Oct. 11 at the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St., Oakland, CA 94612. Museum hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours on Fridays to 9 p.m.

This story is sourced from the Oakland Museum of California press office.

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Alameda County

Ferry Fares to Increase July 1 as Ridership Hits Record Highs

The Oakland and Alameda routes will increase from $4.90 to $5.10, the South San Francisco route will go up from $7.40 to $7.60, and the Vallejo route will increase from $9.90 to $10.

Published

3 days ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Courtesy photo.

By Mike Aldax, The Richmond Standard

Starting July 1, the standard adult fare for the San Francisco Bay Ferry route between Richmond and San Francisco will increase to $5.20, up from the current $4.90.

Discounted fares for eligible passengers, including youth, seniors, people with disabilities, and Clipper START users, will rise to $2.60 from the current $2.40. Children under 5 will continue to ride for free.

The Oakland and Alameda routes will increase from $4.90 to $5.10, the South San Francisco route will go up from $7.40 to $7.60, and the Vallejo route will increase from $9.90 to $10.

The adjustments are part of a systemwide fare update approved by the agency’s Board of Directors, which is moving away from a flat 3% annual increase to route-specific pricing for the 2027 and 2028 fiscal years.

This fare update arrives as San Francisco Bay Ferry celebrates a historic May, transporting 301,270 passengers. The record-breaking figure represents an 8% increase over May 2025 and marks the third consecutive month of record-setting ridership.

Furthermore, it is the sixth month in a row that passenger numbers have exceeded pre-pandemic levels. Weekend travel has been a primary driver of this growth, with average weekend ridership seeing a 56% increase compared to pre-pandemic trends.

The agency states that the fare adjustments are necessary to ensure the long-term fiscal sustainability of public ferry services. By shifting to route-specific adjustments, the agency aims to offset rising operating costs while maintaining the high levels of service frequency and reliability.