My name is Rachael Colley and I am very honored and excited to become a part of the wonderful Energy in Depth Northeast Marcellus Initiative (“EID Marcellus”) team as a field director.  I’m looking forward to helping everyone I possibly can become familiar with the natural gas opportunities to be found in the Marcellus Shale economic rebirth sweeping Pennsylvania and New York.  I will be working with Bill, Nicole and the rest of the team on all sorts of things, covering activities in the eastern part of our region, but pitching in wherever they need me.

I graduated in August of 2010 from SUNY Oswego with a BA in Economics and a BA in Political Science, concentrating in American Politics.  I am a landowner in my hometown of Afton, New York, which is a small Chenango County town located between Binghamton and Oneonta.  Residents in Afton are still debating natural gas production, although my sense is the overwhelming majority recognize the tremendous benefits to be had.  Education is the key to success in every aspect.  I am eager to work with Energy in Depth to help people learn more about the advantages of developing the Marcellus Shale on local, regional and state-wide levels.

Having a degree in economics, I must say I am fascinated with the ever-changing world in which we live along the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York.  Basic economic analysis reveals that even the smallest change creates a ripple effect across an entire economy.  The James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, Rice University published a report on national security through natural gas and, in the opening Kenneth B. Medlock states, “Natural gas is nothing new. In fact, most of the natural gas that is brought out from under the ground is millions and millions of years old. However, it was not until recently that methods for obtaining this gas, bringing it to the surface, and putting it to use were developed.”

Although producing natural gas isn’t anything new in Pennsylvania or New York, it’s something that has evolved to become a more efficient process through modern technology.   Natural gas production is a prime example of something that changes, evolves and improves with time.  The technological advances are amazing!  Easy to see why I find it captivating, don’t you think?

I hope to meet many of you over the coming weeks.  Drop me a line at Rachael@eidmarcellus.org if you have something to share!