Staff Spotlight: Katie Jones

How did you first get involved working on oil and gas issues?

I am from a community in the Mon Valley in southwestern Pennsylvania, where I grew up in the shadow of an old steel mill that continues to produce coke. My upbringing inspired me to oppose industries that value profit over people, which led me to environmental activism related to coal when I lived in Austin, Texas. When I moved back home to southwestern Pennsylvania I was deeply concerned about how extensive the oil and gas buildout has been in a relatively short amount of time in a region already heavily affected by the fossil fuel industry, and I am incredibly excited to be able to work on these issues with FracTracker.

What will you actually do in your role?

Katie Jones is FracTracker’s Ohio River Valley coordinator.

As Ohio River Valley Coordinator, I will work closely with other groups and collaboratives in the Ohio River Valley region and beyond to provide resources for other non-profit groups and campaigns focused on protecting human health and the environment. I also will develop maps and other technical support that helps the public better understand oil, gas, and petrochemical development risks and current events.

Previous Position and Organization

I’ve had an eclectic career path, but I’ve always had a strong data collection and analysis focus. I was a lab manager for an ophthalmology research group studying glaucoma for almost six years, then I worked in water planning for the State of Texas. Most recently I worked as a fire ecology field technician studying post-fire regeneration and resilience in the ponderosa pine and piñon-juniper woodlands of Colorado. I am very interested in protecting natural resources and hope that my water and ecology background can be applied in my work with FracTracker.

What is one of the most impactful projects you are excited to be involved in with FracTracker?

I recently began working on a project that looks at idle and abandoned wells in this region. There should be more attention paid to decommissioning idle and abandoned wells since a substantial amount of emissions can leak from those wells. I’m also excited to support efforts to enact protective buffers in Pennsylvania that will increase the distance between human infrastructure and oil and gas development.