2020 Young Leaders Institute: Energy and the Environment
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In a world more interconnected than ever before, leaders need to be well-prepared with the right knowledge, attitudes, skills, and behaviors to be successful. Asia Society's Young Leaders Institute (YLI) is a week-long summer program for high school students aimed at promoting global competence as well as leadership skills.
In light of the ongoing COVID-19 uncertainty, this summer's Young Leaders Institute is moving online! Learn more about what that means. Read the FAQs »
Throughout the week, students will engage in the four tenets of global competency: investigating the world, recognizing perspectives, communicating ideas, and taking action. They will learn about the global policy issues of the day from expert speakers — from Houston and around the country — then work in teams researching, debating, and presenting solutions for the challenges facing the world. Students will hone their critical research, writing, and presentation skills while receiving guidance and feedback from Asia Society staff and online mentors. On the Institute's final day, student groups will present their policy recommendations developed from all they have learned throughout the week.
Since launching in 2016, the Young Leaders Institute has provided new perspectives and strengthened skills for more than 200 students. The Institute's fifth year has broadened each session from a country-specific focus to highlight current, timely issues.
Topics discussed during the Energy and the Environment session may include the following (subject to change):
- Asia's energy portfolio and the growing demand
- Roel of demographics impacting energy consumption in Asia
- The sustainability of current and future energy sources
- U.S. energy independence and Houston's role
- Public health concerns linked to different energy sources
- Importance of clean water and access to it
- How climate change will impact cities in Asia and the U.S.
- Goals and challenges of transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy in Asia
- Role of technology in advancing alternative fuel sources or conserving the environment
- Use of nuclear energy in Asia and associated risks and benefits
Speakers will be announced soon. For questions, please email TXYLI@asiasociety.org.
Testimonials
"What I realized was, these are all students [who] have a similar interest as you, which is why they're in the same session as you are. And really everybody around you is really invested into helping you grow as both a person and a student." — Tina Li, Carnegie Vanguard High School, 2019 YLI alumna
"No matter what job you choose to have or what you choose to major in college, leadership skills and collaboration skills are necessary in all areas of life. So whether you choose to become a political science major and work with other countries, or if you choose to do something in the U.S., the skills that you've learned from [YLI] will doubtlessly help you." — Pranav Brahmbhatt, Challenge Early College High School, 2019 YLI alumnus
"The Young Leaders Institute offered me the opportunity to work with people of different backgrounds, from different schools and different grade levels. These people taught me how to look at different perspectives, especially since they all had their own information." — James Li, Bellaire High School, 2019 YLI alumnus
"I came in expecting to learn from my peers. I left not only having done that but also having learned from prestigious individuals in this field that I would never have had a chance to meet otherwise." — Chloe Jin, The Woodlands High School, 2019 YLI alumna
"For me as a leader, this actually gave me the tools to use in my own personal projects that I'm doing right now. The Young Leaders Institute really empowered me on multiple planes, and really helped me become a better person in a number of different ways. [...] If anyone ever wanted to join the Young Leaders Institute, I would tell them that they have the right idea and they should definitely go ahead and do it because they are going to gain so much out of it. And there's really no better place to be over the summer than here at the Asia Society." — Norah Rami, Clements High School, 2019 YLI alumna
"I thoroughly enjoyed hearing the presentations, and all three of us remarked at how impressed we were with the quality of information dissemination on very specific topics in such a short timeframe. I think this is a signature series for Asia Society Texas Center and one that should only gain traction in summers to come." — 2019 YLI presentation judge
"I felt proud about the fact that Asia Society Texas Center is engaged in encouraging high school students to develop necessary leadership skills to face the real world. This is particularly true recognizing that they are going to be our future leaders." — 2019 YLI presentation judge
About the Speakers

Andrew Deighan is general manager of Exploration for Chevron North America Exploration and Production Company, based in Houston, Texas, a role he assumed in April 2019. In this role, he is responsible for Chevron’s North America exploration program, and is a member of Chevron’s Global Exploration Leadership Team. Deighan joined Chevron in 2008 as an appraisal geophysicist for the Greater Gorgon assets of NW Australia. Prior to joining Chevron, he worked for BG Group for 11 years, based in the UK and Canada. He has workedon exploration, appraisal, development and business planning projects in the UK, Australia, Canada, Kazakhstan, Trinidad, Egypt, Mexico, Suriname and Morocco. From 2015 to 2017, Deighan was the Exploration Manager for Frontier Exploration and Appraisal inChevron Africa and Latin America Exploration and Production Company in Houston, and immediately prior to his current role, he was the Manager of Chevron’s Exploration Review Team, responsible for the technical assurance of Chevron’s global conventional and unconventional exploration portfolio. Deighan is a native of Glasgow, Scotland, holds a bachelor’s degree in physics with geology from the University of Glasgow, a master’s degree in geophysics from the University of Durham, and doctorate in geophysics from the University of Glasgow. He is a member of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists and the Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain.

Kelly Sims Gallagher is Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy at The Fletcher School, Tufts University. She directs the Climate Policy Lab and the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy at Fletcher. From June 2014-September 2015 she served in the Obama Administration as a Senior Policy Advisor in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and as Senior China Advisor in the Special Envoy for Climate Change office at the U.S. State Department. Gallagher is a member of the board of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement and she also serves on the board of the Energy Foundation.
Broadly, she focuses on energy innovation and climate policy. She specializes in how policy spurs the development and deployment of cleaner and more efficient energy technologies, domestically and internationally. Shei s a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She is the author of Titans of the Climate (The MIT Press 2018), The Global Diffusion of Clean Energy Technologies: Lessons from China (MIT Press 2014), China Shifts Gears: Automakers, Oil, Pollution, and Development (The MIT Press 2006), and dozens of other publications.

Ruth Reitmeier is the Assistant Director for Coaching at the Doerr Institute for New Leaders. Ruth oversees the hiring, training and managing of professional coaches who work directly with Rice students to increase their leadership capacity.
Ruth is an ICF-certified coach and received her coach training at Rice University through the Doerr Institute. She has 20+ years of experience in developing leaders and she is passionate about helping leaders grow, flourish and maximize their potential.
Ruth graduated magna cum laude from Rice University (Brown College, 1992) with a double major in cultural anthropology and Latin American Studies. She is married to Tyler Reitmeier and has three children, Reagan, AveryAnne and Reece.

Al Vickers is the Chief Executive Officer of BP Wind Energy. He is a member of BP’s Alternative Energy executive team and has worldwide responsibility for BP’s Wind Energy activities. Prior to his appointment as CEO, Al held a number of executive leadership roles spanning a wide range of BP’s business. Most recently Al held Senior Vice President positions in both Upstream Production Operations and Wells Organizations in which he was responsible for a wide range of BP’s global activities in both areas. Al also held the role of Vice President Safety and Operational Risk for BP’s Wells organization in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon incident and was heavily involved in leading BP’s response and recovery from the event.
The majority of Al’s career has been spent in operations and engineering roles in oil and gas and petrochemicals businesses but he has also held roles in strategic planning, business development and in BP’s global executive office. During his career, Al has worked across five continents including work in two joint ventures.
Al is a Member of the Board of Directors of BP Bunge BioEnergia, the world’s second largest biofuels company. Al also chairs the Board HSSE Committee.
Al has a Masters degree in Chemical Engineering from Manchester University and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chemical Engineers. He is a graduate of the Executive Operations Academy at MIT.
Al has been an active representative for BP and the energy industry over a number of years. He has served on a number of industry committees and trade associations handling a range of issues such as fiscal policy, human capability, risk management and safety and environmental regulations. Al is the executive sponsor of several diversity and inclusion programs within BP and is a board member of the Asia Society, a non-profit organization which promotes business understanding between Asia and the Rest of the World.
In Al’s spare time he runs marathons, travels and enjoys both golf and cycling. He also enjoys cooking and reading but most of all loves time with his wife Starlee, their three boys, Jack, Cade and Ethan, and their close friends.
Additional Sessions
Session 2: Food Security
Monday – Friday, July 27–31, 2020
Explore the challenges presented by food insecurity in Asia and Houston, the driving actors behind the issue, who is most impacted, and solutions for access and education.
Session 3: COVID-19: Reflections and New Realities
Monday – Friday, August 3–7, 2020
Examine the local, national, and international impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the role of technology, social disruption, and effects on international students.
Education and Outreach programs at Asia Society Texas Center are made possible through generous funding from BP America and the George and Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation. Additional support is provided by Friends of Asia Society Texas Center, a dedicated group of individuals and organizations committed to bringing the best in exhibitions and public programming to Houston.
Lead Sponsors

Event Details
For event details visit https://asiasociety.org/texas/events/2020-young-leaders-institute-energy-and-environment For event details visit https://asiasociety.org/texas/events/2020-young-leaders-institute-energy-and-environment