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Ethanol group starts women’s networking group

The Chairperson for the Renewable Fuels Association says she’s proud of a new networking group for the women involved in the ethanol industry.  Jeanne McCaherty tells Brownfield the first meeting of the group during the National Ethanol Conference was only the beginning. “One of the things I’ve learned over my many years in male-dominated industries is women don’t network very well, and so what we did here was just provide a forum for women to get together and let them talk about what they do and what their challenges are and where they’re headed.”

McCherty says more than 50 women in the initial meeting are involved in sales and technical roles in the ethanol industry, and this helps them connect with others in the industry. “We had women say, yeah, I walked through the bar on the way here and it was all men, and I kind of felt like, I wondered if I spilled ketchup on my way in. And now, I have this support group and the women feel like they are more involved in the industry, and I’m proud of that.”

McCherty says the Women in Ethanol group will meet annually at the National Ethanol Conference, and she says other activities and events are also possible.

McCherty is with Guardian Energy, which operates three ethanol plants in Janesville and Hankinson Minnesota and Lima Ohio.