C. Susan Howes, PE, PHR is president at Subsurface Consultants & Associates, LLC (SCA), where she is responsible for all facets of the company’s consulting, recruitment and training services business, including maintaining the highest technical quality standards. Susan joined SCA as VP of engineering in 2016. She was formerly a reservoir management consultant at Chevron, with an assignment in organizational capability as Horizons Program manager.

Previously, she held roles of increasing responsibility in reservoir engineering, business development, corporate engineering and HR for over 25 years at Anadarko. Susan is recognized as an industry leader in petro-technical talent attraction, development and retention. She has co-authored more than 40 publications on uncertainty management, risk management, talent management and ethics for Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) conferences and publications.

As a high school student, Susan received the SPE Gulf Coast Section (GCS) scholarship. She has served in several leadership roles on the GCS board, including chair, and has held a variety of roles on several SPE standing committees including the Soft Skills Committee and the Talent Council. She represented Gulf Coast North America on SPE’s International Board as regional director and chaired the SPE US Advisory Council. She received SPE’s Young Member Outstanding Service Award, Distinguished Service Award, and DeGolyer Distinguished Service Medal. Susan is a Distinguished and Honorary Member of SPE and served as SPE Distinguished Lecturer for 2019–2020. She chaired the 2024 Program Committee for SPE’s Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE) and serves as past-chair of the SPE Management Technical Section.

Susan has served on the Industry Advisory Board, Petroleum Engineering Department at Montana Tech; the External Advisory Committee, Hildebrand Department at UT Austin; and the Program Advisory Board, Petroleum Engineering Department at Colorado School of Mines. She serves on the Geology Foundation Advisory Council, Jackson School of Geosciences at UT Austin.

Susan is on the Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council Board of Directors and chairs the Society of Women Engineers–Houston Area (SWE-HA) Awards Committee. She received the 2020 Woman of Excellence award from the Federation of Houston Professional Women and the 2024 SWE-HA Volunteer of the Year Award. Susan and her husband Hal are the proud parents of Elizabeth Howes, Rachel Cosgrove and son-in-law Patrick Cosgrove.