From the Women’s Energy Alliance panel at EMC24 featuring Ashely Murphy (Nordic Energy), Misti Day (Spark Energy), Mollie Gaby (CG Infinity), Emily Pitman (Atlantic Energy) and moderated by Christina Corcoran (Women’s Energy Alliance)

Remember when mentorship happened organically? You’d overhear a conversation at the neighboring desk, grab coffee with your manager, or catch a veteran colleague after a meeting to ask “that one quick question” that turns into a career-changing discussion.

Those days feel like ancient history for many in competitive energy. At the recent Women’s Energy Alliance panel at EMC24, Christina Corcoran started with two simple questions to the panel that revealed our industry’s new reality: nearly everyone raised their hand when asked if a mentor made a difference early in their career. Then, nearly the same number of hands went up when asked who works remotely or manages remote teams.

Therein lies the challenge—and the opportunity.

The Great Remote Work Debate: Finding Middle Ground

The panel didn’t shy away from the elephant in the room: return-to-office mandates. And refreshingly, the four panelists represented the full spectrum of perspectives.

Ashely Murphy, who has been remote her entire energy career across multiple companies, didn’t mince words when asked about mandatory return-to-office policies: “I think that’s a horrible idea.” She’s living proof that remote work can thrive in energy, having built successful relationships with mentors throughout her career without ever sitting in a traditional office. The key, she emphasized, is commitment from employers to invest intentional time with their remote employees and make space for mentorship to happen.

Misti Day took the opposite stance. As VP of Operations at Spark Energy, she believes everyone should be in the office. “Our industry is not easy to pick up on,” she explained. “Every state, every utility has their own rules, and all of that is really hard for someone, especially right out of college, to grasp.” The organic learning that happens from overhearing conversations and building camaraderie over lunch? That’s irreplaceable in her view.

Mollie Gaby and Emily Pitman both landed in the middle ground—and their reasoning reveals what might be the future of work in energy. Mollie advocates for younger employees starting in the office to learn from leaders and see how they interact but acknowledges there’s a place for remote work as people develop. Emily’s story is particularly compelling: as a mom of four young kids, the hybrid option at Atlantic Energy brought her back to the workforce when a fully in-office role wouldn’t have been possible.

“I feel like you could lose valuable people that are out there in different phases of life if your company isn’t willing to be flexible,” Emily noted—a reality check for an industry already facing talent challenges.

The consensus? Hybrid is here to stay. But that means we need to get intentional about mentorship.

From Organic to Intentional: Making Mentorship Work

Ashely shared a brilliant analogy from her children’s school. When her kids came home and she asked what they learned, the inevitable answer was “nothing.” So, their teacher created “nothing notebooks” where students had to write what they learned each day.

The lesson for mentorship? “As employers, if we offer that to our newer employees and say, ‘Create me a business plan for this, bring this to the table,’ allowing them that window to bring something makes them a lot more apt to engage,” Ashely explained. “And as older women and gentlemen in the industry, be open to those ideas because you can teach old dogs new tricks.”

Misti’s team at Spark takes a coordinated approach to remote work: encouraging most employees to be out of the office on the same day, so they’re all together the other four days. “Then the managers and directors can pull them all into a room together and have conversations and training sessions on those four days,” she said. It’s not just about being physically present—it’s about maximizing the impact when you are.

The Power of External Mentors

One of the most valuable aspects of the Women’s Energy Alliance mentorship program? It pairs mentors and mentees across different companies.

Mollie explained why this matters: “Some of the most impactful mentors I have had over my career were my bosses. But there is always a time that you’re going to need a different perspective. You’re going to need a safe place. You’re going to need to be vulnerable.”

What if you’re questioning whether to change jobs? Dealing with a challenge involving your manager? These are conversations you can’t have with your boss—no matter how great they are. “You always need a different safe space to be able to talk about things you could not talk with your boss about,” Mollie emphasized.

Reverse Mentoring: Learning Goes Both Ways

Here’s where the conversation got really interesting. The panel discussed reverse mentoring—where senior professionals learn from junior colleagues.

Ashely, despite being the “junior” on the panel, shared advice from her mentee (who happens to be older than her): “Don’t wait for a seat at the table. Pull out your own chair and sit down.”

Misti admitted she leans on younger team members for social media strategy and navigating new systems beyond Excel. Mollie shared perhaps the most profound lesson: her mentee of 12 years taught her how to develop relationships outside her bubble, taking time to really get to know people instead of rushing through pleasantries into business.

These aren’t throwaway skills. In an industry facing rapid technological change and generational shifts, the ability to learn from those junior to you isn’t just nice to have—it’s essential.

Making Mentorship Sustainable

The panelists were honest about a critical concern: how do you make mentorship sustainable without it becoming another overwhelming obligation?

Misti’s standing calendar meeting with her mentee (who works at a different company) provides structure without rigidity. “There are times where we text each other and say, ‘Hey, today’s busy and we can’t do it, but here’s some things from the week that we want to talk through when we can get a chance.'”

Here’s the key insight: “It’s not always going to be a training scenario. It’s not always going to be giving advice. Sometimes it’s just listening.”

Mollie added that passion is prerequisite: “You have to be passionate about wanting to be a mentor. You have to be willing to make time for your mentee.”

And Ashely reminded everyone that mentorship doesn’t have to be formal to be impactful: “Every single person in here can be a mentor. Don’t shy away from offering somebody one good piece of advice—that’s still a mentor that can have a lasting impact.”

The Stories That Inspire Us to Pay It Forward

Each panelist shared the mentor who made a difference. Ashely credited Larry Leiken for bringing her to EMC as an entry-level employee, which led to connections with other mentors. That experience inspired her to challenge the audience: give junior employees the opportunity to attend conferences.

Emily doubled down on this message with passion: “I would challenge you to allow some of the lower-level employees to come to the next EMC in Houston because it really did make a difference for me. It energized me in wanting to be better and learn.”

Mollie’s mentor taught her not to hold her team to the same standards she held herself—a perspective shift that reduced frustration and helped her appreciate that some people want to do great work without aspiring to leadership. “There is a place for those people,” she realized.

Misti’s mentor at Spark pushed her to take on M&A work that she thought was “more of something that the C-level should be doing.” That became her favorite part of her role today. “Someone had the faith in me to just say, ‘No, you can do it, here it is, go do it.'”

Your Challenge This Week

Emily delivered perhaps the most powerful call to action of the session: “I really challenge anybody here that has been in the industry for a long time. Somebody taught you. So, take the time to teach the new generation. I don’t think that you understand how valuable it can be to somebody that is brand new.”

She added a reality check: “Some people really are shaking in their boots to even just come and have a conversation with you. So, remember, you were not as important as you are now at one point.”

And as Emily added with characteristic directness, the demographics in the room tell a story: the energy industry needs to prioritize developing the next generation of leaders before it’s too late.

Get Involved

Ready to make a difference? Here’s what you can do:

Become a Mentor or Mentee: The Women’s Energy Alliance mentorship program connects professionals across companies and experience levels. Men are welcome too—we have several male mentors in the program!

Invest in Conference Attendance: Consider sponsoring junior team members to attend EMC25 in Houston this April 14-15, 2026. As Emily said, “Pay the extra ticket, write it off, and let some younger people come in.”

Start This Week: As one audience member suggested, just be available. Ask your boss to suggest a mentor. Or reach out to someone junior and offer to grab coffee (virtual or in-person).

The energy industry is transforming faster than ever. The mentorship circuits we build today will power the leadership of tomorrow.

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Visit the Women’s Energy Alliance online to learn more about our mentorship program.

Watch the entire panel session here.

Registration is open for EMC25 in Houston, April 14-15, 2026.

By Ashely Murphy, Co-Founder, Women’s Energy Alliance