dpugh24@nul.org
Speaker Bio
Darylene Harris Pugh is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana. Her 33+ year career in the energy sector began at Shell Oil Company as a summer intern and continued full time at the Shell Norco (Louisiana) refinery in 1991 after receiving her Chemical Engineering degree from Tulane University and Chemistry degree from Xavier University of Louisiana. Darylene holds an Executive MBA from Tulane University, and she is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Leadership and Human Resources Development at the Louisiana State University.
Over her career, Darylene has held local, regional, and global leadership positions within many parts of the Shell organization, such as Technology, Manufacturing, Strategy, Joint Venture Management for Shell’s former Deer Park Refinery and within the Global Projects. Darylene has been a trailblazer for diversity in Shell having been the first African American Production Unit Manager at the Norco and Deer Park refineries.
In January 2018, Darylene assumed her current position within Shell’s catalyst business and is the General Manager for Shell’s world-scale powder and catalyst manufacturing plant in Port Allen, Louisiana.
Darylene is very active in the Baton Rouge community and is also an advocate for STEM careers. She is the Shell board member within the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME). Darylene is also a board member with Greater Baton Rouge Industrial Alliance (GBRIA), and the Baton Rouge Area Chamber of Commerce (BRAC). She is a mentor with the Baton Rouge Youth Coalition (BRYC) and mentors second graders in Reading with the Volunteers in Public Schools (VIPs) program. Within the West Baton Rouge Parish, Darylene is on the advisory board for the WBR Career Academy and supports STEM activities at local schools. She is also an active member of community service organizations such as Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, the Links, Incorporated, and Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated. In May 2023, Darylene was selected as one of Baton Rouge’s most influential women.
Darylene is married and is the biological mother of two adult children and has two bonus sons. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, watching college and professional football games, reading, mentoring, and volunteering within the community.