Women in Law & Leadership: Houston

Dianna Jones is a global legal and compliance executive and board leader with over 20 years of experience helping multinational organizations navigate complex regulatory, ethical, and commercial challenges across the technology and energy sectors. She is known for translating risk into strategy by embedding early in high-stakes decisions and enabling growth through sound governance and principled leadership.

At Uber Technologies, Inc., Dianna serves as Legal Director of Commercial & Emerging Risks, where she drives risk-informed decisions across autonomous vehicle ecosystems, B2B partnerships, and complex commercial transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, partnering closely with senior business and product leaders. She previously held senior leadership and compliance roles at John Wood Group plc and began her career in private practice at Greenberg Traurig, LLP and Winstead PC.

Dianna currently serves on the board of Miracle Messages, an award-winning 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and on the Marketing Committee of the San Francisco Ballet. She formerly served as a public-company director at Next 15 Group plc in London, where she chaired the ESG Committee and served on the Remuneration and Nominating & Governance Committees.

She holds a B.B.A. from the University of Oklahoma and a J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School.

Elizabeth “Beth” Ganiere is Assistant General Counsel at EnergySolutions, where she delivers strategic legal leadership in support of the company’s energy and environmental management operations. In this role, she counsels on corporate legal matters including contracts, compliance, risk mitigation, and governance that support the company’s mission in safe and sustainable energy solutions.

Based in Houston, Texas, Ganiere brings broad experience in in-house legal practice across energy, engineering, and corporate sectors. Her career encompasses senior counsel and compliance roles in dynamic commercial environments, where she has advised on complex legal issues involving operations, regulatory frameworks, and transactional matters.

She holds a J.D. and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Southern California, grounding her practice in both strong analytical skills and strategic business insight. Ganiere maintains active bar licensure and is recognized for her practical, business-oriented approach to legal problem-solving in highly regulated industries.

Awesta Masshoor has over 15 years of experience navigating complex global commercial operations and driving strategic leadership within the energy and industrial automation sectors. Currently serving as Associate General Counsel at Schneider Electric, Awesta leads a legal team supporting multiple business units, including Process and Industrial Automation, Sustainability, and Solar. In this role, she oversees negotiations ranging from $6M to $1B including cybersecurity, data privacy, and intellectual property.

Throughout her tenure at Schneider Electric, Awesta has consistently broken barriers and built enduring organizational structures. As the former Head of the Canadian Legal Team, she was responsible for the legal affairs of an $800M annual revenue business, providing essential guidance on governance, compliance, and employment issues. Beyond her commercial portfolio, she is a dedicated advocate for inclusive leadership. She previously served as the Chair of the “Women in Schneider Electric” Employee Resource Group, where she launched the inaugural International Women’s Day event for the Greater Toronto Area and spearheaded professional development workshops. She also served as the Executive Sponsor for the LGBT+ Employee Resource Group, championing diversity and inclusion at the executive level.

Awesta holds a Juris Doctor from the Seattle University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Washington. She is dual-qualified to practice law in the State of Washington and the Province of Ontario, Canada.

Jennifer A. Carnahan is an intellectual property attorney serving as IP Expert Counsel at The Dow Chemical Company, where she provides strategic legal counsel on patent, trademark, trade secret, and broader IP matters for global materials science and chemical innovations. In this role, she collaborates with technical and business teams to align IP strategy with corporate objectives, support innovation protection, and manage complex portfolio and risk considerations.

Carnahan is based in the Pearland/Lake Jackson area and is licensed to practice law in Texas. She earned her law degree from the University of Houston Law Center and has developed deep expertise in intellectual property through both in-house corporate practice and participation in continuing education and professional forums focused on IP strategy.

She is a frequent participant and speaker in IP professional events, contributing insights on trade secret protection, patent strategy, and portfolio management.

Rachel Feiertag has nearly two decades of legal expertise with a strong focus on the energy sector, spanning domestic and international markets. Rachel’s experience includes energy efficiency and sustainability initiatives, power resiliency, utilities, and oil and gas exploration and production. As General Counsel at Concentric, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Rachel partners closely with business leaders to deliver practical, timely, and effective counsel. Rachel thrives in fast-paced environments, leveraging exceptional problem-solving and communication skills to drive innovation and achieve strategic objectives. Passionate about continuous improvement and technology, Rachel has implemented best practices and optimized processes to enhance efficiency and reduce costs, all while fostering a collaborative and inclusive work culture.

Jennifer Lee is Assistant General Counsel at ContourGlobal, where she provides strategic legal counsel across corporate, commercial, and risk-related matters in support of the company’s global energy operations and growth initiatives. In her role, she partners with internal business and legal teams to advise on contracts, compliance, governance, and operational legal strategy.

Lee is an active legal professional in the energy and corporate law community, regularly participating in industry events and contributing to discussions on legal collaboration, leadership, and professional development. Her engagement includes speaking on panels and attending forums that address current legal issues and effective partnership between in-house counsel and outside firms.

Based in the Greater Houston area, Lee earned her law degree from South Texas College of Law and has cultivated a career grounded in practical, business-aligned legal advice within complex commercial environments.

Katie Chatterton serves as Assistant General Counsel for Labor & Employment at S&B, where she provides legal leadership and counsel on workforce-related matters, including employment law compliance, workplace risk mitigation, policy development, and labor relations. In this role, she supports business partners and operational leaders in navigating complex labor and employment issues in dynamic industrial and construction environments.

Samantha Johnson is Senior Counsel at HP, where she provides legal advice and representation across complex corporate and business matters, supporting strategic legal needs within a leading global technology company. She earned her law degree from the University of Miami School of Law and is based in Houston, bringing deep experience in corporate counsel work within fast-moving commercial environments.

Erasmia Gardner is Vice President of Law and Chief Counsel at NCR Atleos, where she leads the legal function and serves as a strategic advisor on corporate, commercial, and regulatory matters in support of the company’s growth and operations. In her role, Gardner provides counsel on contracts, risk management, compliance, and governance, partnering closely with business leaders to align legal strategy with organizational objectives.

A business-minded corporate counsel leader, Gardner brings a blend of legal expertise and practical commercial insight to her work, focusing on solutions that balance legal risk with business imperatives. Prior to her current position, she accumulated experience in legal roles that emphasize cross-functional collaboration and strategic support for technology and operations teams.

She holds a J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center and a B.B.A. in Business Honors from Trinity University, providing a foundation that combines strong legal training with business acumen. Gardner is based in the Houston area and is recognized for her pragmatic approach to legal leadership in complex, fast-paced environments.

Jai Collier serves as Director of Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at LyondellBasell, where she leads enterprise-wide DEI strategy and programs that foster inclusive culture, equitable talent development, and organizational effectiveness across global teams. In this role, she partners with senior leadership and cross-functional stakeholders to embed diversity, equity, and inclusion into business operations, talent practices, and leadership development.

Collier is an award-winning attorney, industrial/organizational psychologist, and certified diversity executive (CDE®) with more than two decades of experience in DEI, change management, and leadership development. Prior to her current role, she built and led strategic DEI frameworks for major organizations, including Harris Health System and TDECU, where she championed cultural competence, equity-centered programming, and systemic transformation.

Her multidisciplinary background—blending legal insight, human capital strategy, and organizational psychology—enables Collier to drive measurable impact on inclusion outcomes, leadership accountability, and workforce engagement. She is also a TEDx speaker, author, and respected thought leader on inclusive leadership and workplace equity.

Based in Houston, Texas, Collier holds a J.D., is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), and maintains credentials that reflect her commitment to advancing equity and organizational transformation at scale.

Hillary Holmes is a partner in the global law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP and Co-Chair of the firm’s Capital Markets practice group.  Hillary advises public and private corporations, private equity firms and investment banks on long-term and strategic capital raising.  She regularly counsels companies on disclosure and reporting obligations under federal securities laws, corporate governance and ESG issues. She frequently advises boards of directors, special committees, and financial advisors in transactions involving conflicts of interest or unique complexities. 

Hillary has been recognized as top of her field. She is the only woman and the youngest lawyer to be recognized by the premier legal review organization Chambers USA in the category that covers capital raising in the energy industry, receiving ranking in the highest level, as well as in the categories covering national oil and gas transactions and Texas corporate transactions.  She has also been recognized by the National Law Journal as a Finance, Banking and Capital Markets Trailblazer, a Most Effective Dealmaker by Texas Lawyer, a Woman Who Means Business by the Houston Business Journal, as well as by Who’s Who, the Legal 500, the Houston Bar Association, the Greater Houston Women’s Partnership, and the National Association of Women Attorneys, among others. 

Hillary regularly writes and speaks on topics relating to the capital markets, developments in securities regulation, ESG issues and the state of the energy industry, and she is Co-Editor of the academic blog the Securities Regulation and Corporate Governance Monitor.

Hillary demonstrates a strong commitment to providing free legal services to those who cannot otherwise afford to access them, particularly abused women and immigrant girls, and serves on the board of directors of several local nonprofits, including Houston Volunteer Lawyers and Harrison’s Heroes.

Hillary received her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and her Bachelor of Arts from Duke University. Hillary is a native Houstonian who loves to run marathons and watch Avengers movies  with her two active young sons and one lovable pug.

Amanda Gutierrez is Senior Counsel for Labor, Employment & Benefits at Citgo Petroleum Corporation, where she provides strategic legal counsel on workplace law, employment policies, benefits programs, and compliance with labor regulations. In this role, she supports the company’s leadership and HR functions by advising on a wide range of employment-related issues, conflict resolution, and risk mitigation in a complex corporate environment.

Licensed to practice in Texas since 2010, Gutierrez focuses her legal practice on labor and employment matters, drawing on extensive experience advising employers on legal compliance and workforce-related challenges. She is based in Houston, where she partners with business and legal teams to align workplace practices with regulatory requirements and organizational goals.

Gutierrez received her J.D. from South Texas College of Law, grounding her practice in both legal analysis and practical counsel that serves Citgo’s operational needs.

An industry-leading environmental attorney, Lisa Rushton guides corporate clients, including global, multi-national, and local corporations, real estate developers, financial institutions and investment funds on matters relating to federal, state, and local environmental, health and safety laws and regulations and was identified by Chambers as one of the leading environmental practitioners for business transactions. Lisa serves as Head of the firm’s Business Litigation Practice Group, Co-Head of the Energy and Natural Resources Sector and Head of the firm’s Renewable Energy Subsector.

With substantial experience in matters relating to air and water pollution control laws, solid and hazardous waste management and cleanup, toxic substance control laws and the development of “brownfield” properties, clients rely on Lisa’s guidance and due diligence to understand environmental issues attendant to corporate and real estate transactions, debt and equity financings, public offerings, and bankruptcy proceedings. She routinely assists buyers, sellers, lenders, borrowers, debtors, landlords and tenants with understanding and apportioning environmental liabilities; manages the environmental due diligence process; and drafts and negotiates contractual provisions covering environmental aspects of business and real estate transactions.

Lisa has more than thirty years of experience representing clients in environmental litigation and overseeing the investigation and remediation of site conditions. She counsels clients on compliance obligations and the implementation of environmental management systems and assists clients in the defense of claims relating to environmental liabilities and allegations of non-compliance. She has specific experience representing clients in such industries as:

• Energy generation and sale
• Waste management
• Real estate development
• Telecom
• Pharmaceutical
• Chemicals
• Adhesives and coating manufacturing
• Pulp and paper manufacturing
• Aluminum and steel mills, and
• Airport management

Lisa is described as “incredibly responsive, efficient, business-oriented and practical” by a client, who further highlights her ability to “parse through complicated environmental issues amazingly quickly and thoroughly.”

Lauren Brogdon is an energy litigation partner in Haynes Boone’s Houston office and chair of the firm’s Crisis Management Practice Group.

Lauren has significant experience representing corporations and individuals through all stages of crisis—from prevention, planning, and training to rapid response to long-term recovery. She specializes in mass tort litigation arising from catastrophic industrial accidents, suits related to hydraulic fracturing and other oil and gas operations, and toxic torts involving chemical exposure and environmental contamination. She is a vocal advocate for women and working parents both at her firm and in the Houston legal community.

Leigha Simonton is a Partner in the Dallas office of Dykema Gossett, PLLC, where she founded and leads the southwest branch of the firm’s White Collar & Investigations practice, which is composed of the largest concentration of high-level DOJ alumni in Texas. Before joining Dykema, she spent nearly 20 years in the U.S. Department of Justice and held several management roles. In her last two years as a DOJ attorney, she served as a presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed United States Attorney who led the Northern District of Texas, one of the largest districts in the nation. As U.S. Attorney, she was the top federal law enforcement official over 100 counties and almost 100,000 square miles. She is respected at the highest levels by fellow attorneys and courts as an expert strategist in investigations, trial, and appeals and thrives in fast-moving, high-stakes legal environments. She is also regarded as a specialist in Northern District of Texas practice and as one of the preeminent advocates in appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Prior to her government service, she clerked for two Texas judicial legends—Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn in the Northern District of Texas and Judge Patrick Higginbotham on the Fifth Circuit. She holds a J.D. from Yale Law School, where she was Managing Editor of The Yale Law Journal, and a B.A. with highest honors from the University of Texas at Austin.

Sheena R. Hamilton concentrates on employment litigation and internal investigations. Primarily, Sheena defends public and private employers in state and federal courts and before administrative agencies nationwide. She leads strategy handling all aspects of litigation through trial and appeal. She also handles sensitive, high-stakes internal investigations for corporations, public entities, and educational institutions, bringing experienced judgment to matters that demand independence, credibility, and strategic clarity. Her focus is helping prevent and address concerns through comprehensive workplace, whistleblower, ethics, and Title IX investigations.  She is uniquely qualified to offer solutions and investigative findings are positioned to withstand regulatory, judicial, and public scrutiny.

During her tenure as the City Counselor, Sheena served as the chief attorney for the City of St. Louis, overseeing its Civil Law Department which housed more than 80 civil servants. In that role, she represented the City’s elected and appointed officials along with its boards, commissions, departments, and agencies – including St. Louis Lambert International Airport, the St. Louis Development Corporation, and the Metropolitan Police Department. This role deepened her executive leadership experience and broadened her exposure to a wide variety of complex civil and class action litigation, legislative review and enforcement, and complex investigations across a large, decentralized organization subject to overlapping regulatory and public accountability frameworks.

Sheena regularly speaks and writes on emerging legal issues. An author of more than 20 articles in publications such as Missouri Business and St. Louis Lawyer, Sheena also has been quoted as an authority on legal matters by The New York Times, Law360, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and the ABA Journal.

Early in her career, she clerked for the then-Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

Kelsi Stayart White focuses on dispositive motions and appeals in state and federal court. She began her career as a trial lawyer, which allows her to bring a practical perspective to high-stakes motions, appellate briefs, and oral arguments. As a large part of her practice, Kelsi supports trial teams in presenting critical legal issues to judges and handling the jury charge and other appellate issues at trial.

Kelsi is Board Certified in civil appellate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and has handled appeals of all types in both state court and the Fifth Circuit, including interlocutory appeals, mandamus proceedings, and direct appeals. She has handled oral arguments before the Texas Courts of Appeals, the Texas Supreme Court, and the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Some of her noteworthy career wins include obtaining a precedent-setting reversal of a female firefighter client’s hostile work environment claim in the Fifth Circuit in 2022; securing reversal of a federal agency’s FOIA decision concerning a client’s confidential information at the Fifth Circuit; and three Texas Supreme Court wins as a petitioner in 2024 and 2025.

Kelsi was named to the 2021-2026 lists of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch for commercial litigation. This is a national peer review award developed by Best Lawyers in America to target associates for their outstanding professional excellence early in their careers. She was also named on the Texas Rising Stars lists from 2022-2025 for her excellence in plaintiff civil litigation. Rising Stars, which is compiled by Thomson Reuters’ Texas Super Lawyers, honors leading attorneys age 40 and younger and those who have been in practice no more than 10 years.

Kelsi is a graduate of the University of Texas School of Law. She served as a law clerk for Judge Leslie H. Southwick, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. During law school she served as associate editor of the Texas Law Review and interned for U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Tony M. Davis in Austin. She graduated with highest honors, Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Texas at Austin. Kelsi is actively involved in the Appellate Section of the HBA. She attends St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, plays a lot of tennis, and most importantly, loves spending time with her three children.

Jill Willhoft has built a successful legal career across the Gulf Coast supporting maritime companies and, by association, numerous other businesses. Her knowledge of the industry and broad range of legal skills gives her an edge as a trusted adviser who not only stays ahead of potential problems but also quickly resolves those that materialize. Her practice has focused for many years on maritime personal injury and other admiralty-related issues, including cargo matters, environmental spills and cleanup. She has defended countless creditors in bankruptcy matters across the Gulf Coast and elsewhere and has handled asbestos and other mass tort matters, gaining the experience required to manage class actions and other types of cases that produce a high volume of documents.

A natural outgrowth of her role as general counsel for numerous companies and corporations, Jill is a powerful asset on the transactional side, tracing the full cycle of a business from formation to dissolution. She partners with banks and insurers to see that her clients’ interests are represented and that deals go smoothly and as intended.

Kelli Clester Wayland is Senior Counsel for Digital Industrial & Energy Technology at Baker Hughes, a leading global energy technology company.  In this role she leads legal strategies for digital and industrial energy technologies, focusing on complex commercial and sourcing projects that support the company’s innovation and growth in energy and industrial markets.  Her primary focus supports Baker Hughe’s digital innovation priorities while ensuring compliance and effective risk management across dynamic technologies and industrial ecosystems. Baker Hughes is a global energy technology provider headquartered in Houston and London.

Malgorzata “Gosia” Kulczycka is an experienced attorney in the firm’s San Jose office with a broad-based IP law practice. With more than 15 years of legal experience, Gosia works to protect and support her client’s intellectual property through patent preparation and prosecution and by employing trademark and brand protection strategies for and against infringement claims.

Inventor herself, Gosia practices in various IP areas and technologies, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, communication technologies, complex software, and more.

Gosia also has extensive experience in computer graphics and computer networks. She has procured and managed large IP client accounts in computer graphics and AI.

Morgan Hollins is a partner in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at White & Case based in Houston, where she represents both public and private clients on complex domestic and international corporate and transactional matters. Her practice spans mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, carve-out transactions, joint ventures, and corporate governance, with notable engagements across energy, natural resources, renewables, health/biomed, chemicals, consumer products, and financial services sectors.

Morgan’s strategic acumen has earned recognition in the legal industry: she was ranked fourth among Texas female attorneys leading or co-leading transactions by Texas Lawbook in 2023, was named a MCCA Rising Star in 2023, and featured on The Deal’s “Top Rising Stars” list for M&A in 2021, as well as by Euromoney as a U.S. Rising Star for Mergers & Acquisitions.

She brings a deep academic foundation to her practice, having earned her Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Harvard Law School and her B.S. in Economics, cum laude, from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Admitted to practice in New York and Texas, Morgan combines legal precision with business insight to guide sophisticated dealmaking and governance strategies for global clients.

Kate Skagerberg is a partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP, where she focuses her practice on intellectual property litigation and counseling. Her work spans complex patent disputes, trade secret matters, and broader IP risk management issues for companies operating in technology-driven and innovation-intensive industries.

Kate regularly advises clients on developing and defending IP strategies in high-stakes litigation environments, including matters involving enforcement, competitive disputes, and portfolio-level risk assessment. She brings particular experience navigating the intersection of business objectives and IP protection, helping organizations make defensible decisions under litigation and commercial pressure.

She earned her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and is admitted to practice in Texas, Tennessee, and Idaho. Kate is also a frequent speaker on IP litigation trends and strategy, with a practice grounded in practical, outcome-oriented guidance for in-house legal teams.

Michelle I. Taylor is an Associate General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Defense, where she advises on complex legal matters supporting federal operations and national defense priorities. Her work spans regulatory compliance, environmental and energy law, government operations, and enterprise risk within highly structured, high-accountability institutions.

She brings more than 20 years of legal experience, including extensive service within the Department of the Air Force, where she held senior legal roles advising leadership on statutory, regulatory, and operational issues. Across her career, Michelle has been deeply engaged in navigating legal risk, institutional governance, and decision-making in environments defined by scrutiny, public trust, and mission-critical outcomes.

Michelle is licensed to practice law in Texas and holds a Juris Doctor from Thurgood Marshall School of Law.

Lauren Woodard is a senior lawyer in Shell’s Downstream business, where she advises on complex commercial, operational, and stakeholder matters across the portfolio. Before her current role in the Fuels business, she advised Shell’s Low Carbon Sectors businesses, including carbon capture and storage, as well as emerging Low Carbon Fuels projects.  Lauren began her legal career in Houston at a maritime and energy law firm, where she represented Transocean in the Deepwater Horizon litigation, transitioning in 2012 to Shell’s litigation department, where she spent a decade managing high-stakes disputes across all lines of business.

Jordan Warshauer focuses on complex commercial litigation, including breach of contract, business torts, trade secret misappropriation, and trademark infringement. She also has extensive experience in employment law, including wage-and-hour collective actions and class actions, discrimination claims, and breaches of covenants not to compete. Her clients include individuals, multinational chemical companies, publicly traded companies in the energy sector, and medical practices.

Ms. Warshauer has had an active role in multiple trials in state and federal court, including opening and closing statements, direct examination of experts, and cross examination of key witnesses.

Ms. Warshauer has experience in all pretrial stages of litigation, such as obtaining restraining orders and injunctions, drafting and arguing dispositive motions, taking depositions of fact and expert witnesses, and working with computer forensic experts.

Her recent representative matters include defeating claims of roughly $15 million for a refiner sued for fraud, trade secret misappropriation, and breach of contract while prevailing on her client’s counterclaim after a federal bench trial, winning punitive damages in a jury trial on behalf of a female firefighter, and defeating class certification in a multi-million-dollar overtime case on behalf of a midstream services company.

Her pro bono work has included representing a local non-profit organization in a trademark infringement suit and volunteering for the Houston Bar Association Legal Line.

She graduated with honors from The University of Texas School of Law. She then served as a law clerk for Judge David Hittner, a judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, where she refined her legal research and writing skills by drafting orders on civil and criminal motions and assisting Judge Hittner during numerous jury trials.

During law school, she interned in New Orleans for Judge Lance Africk, a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. She graduated with distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.