Energy Spotlight: Melissa Pagen
Melissa Pagen returned to her roots when she changed careers five years ago to work in water management.
Her father led environmental groups while she grew up in Dearborn, Mich., and she loved biology field trips in high school.
“He planted the seeds for that, talking about water and sustainability,” said Pagen, 39, who this month joined Canonsburg-based Comtech Industries as manager of well field solutions.
The company handles water management needs — including building mobile tanks and dealing with wastewater — for the burgeoning shale gas industry. Pagen will oversee sales of tanks and related products.
Her water management work has focused on the oil and gas industry, taking her to the Bakken shale fields and elsewhere. She most recently was a water treatment specialist and assistant vice president at GreenHunter Water in Ohio.
“It's fed my interest in how water management allows the energy industry to bring what it has to the United States,” she said.
As a history buff, she's excited to live in an area of Pennsylvania that played such a crucial role in the industrial revolution.
“I am looking forward to getting up close and personal with one of the most significant hubs during that time. It will also be nice to live in a bigger city again. I went from Los Angeles to Dickinson, N.D., to Marietta, Ohio.”
The career path to Pennsylvania's shale fields often includes a stop in Texas. In Pagen's case, the Lone Star entry on her resume comes from her role in the production crew of the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” remake.
She spent several years working for Hollywood production companies after graduating from UCLA's prestigious film school. It could be a glamorous life.
“Truly, I find it more exciting when I get to gear up, go on a drilling rig, and get mud on my face from the shakers,” she said.
Managing the oil and gas industry's water needs — one of its most pressing environmental challenges — gives Pagen a meatier role than she found in Hollywood.
“I love digging into anything. If I went back to school I'd get into chemistry,” she said.
