[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 71 (Thursday, May 1, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E793]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         WOMEN IN THE PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRY--LISA VANDER LAAN

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 1, 2008

  Mr. POE. Madam Speaker, today I am proud to pay tribute to Lisa 
Vander Laan, Plant Manager of ExxonMobil's Chemical Polyethylene Plant, 
in Beaumont, Texas.
  Mrs. Vander Laan earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering 
from Louisiana State University, graduating summa cum laude and 
receiving the University Medal. She joined Exxon Corporation in 1989 as 
a process engineer in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and spent her first 
decade in various manufacturing assignments in engineering and 
supervision before becoming intermediates technical manager.
  Vander Laan spent the next 7 years at the corporation's Houston 
headquarters for chemicals in marketing and business planning, as 
global basic chemicals financial manager, americas low density 
polyethylene product manager; and ExxonMobil Chemicals global 
manufacturing planning manager. In February 2007, she took over at the 
polyethylene plant in Beaumont as plant manager.
  Mrs. Vander Laan is seeing more women in leadership roles in the 
petrochemical industry. When she started in engineering, there were 
very few female supervisors and managers. She now believes there are 
significantly more women in the petrochemical industry jobs like 
chemical engineering. She says ExxonMobil encourages girls to get into 
math and science, and has an ``Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day'' in 
the spring.
  Chemical Engineering seems to run in the family. Vander Laan's father 
is a chemical engineer as well as an older and younger sister, in 
addition, ``all the girls married ExxonMobil guys''. She is married to 
Jeffrey Dale Vander Laan and has two children, Cecilia and Abigail. She 
doesn't know if her daughters will show interest in chemical 
engineering like she and her sisters, who love math.
  Mrs. Vander Laan is on the board of the Beaumont Area United Way and 
a member of the Southeast Texas Plant Manager's Forum, for which she 
serves as chairman of the environmental committee.
  Madam speaker, Lisa Vander Laan is a success story in the male 
dominated petrochemical industry, and I am proud to celebrate her 
accomplishments.




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