# Women’s History Month Spotlight: Tracy Keenan, DLA Energy Americas at Houston deputy director

/ Published March 30, 2018
HOUSTON, Texas, 
*Editor's note: This year’s Women’s History Month theme is “Nevertheless She Persisted” and honors women who are committed to ending discrimination against women and girls and work with strength, tenacity and courage to overcome obstacles and achieve joyful accomplishments. Throughout the month of March, DLA Energy will highlight a few employees who go to great strides to embody this spirit.*

**What is your job title and what do you do?** As the deputy director for Defense Logistics Agency Energy Americas at Houston, I am responsible for providing holistic energy solutions for Department of Defense forces and multiple energy partners operating in an area of responsibility encompassing 37 states in U.S. Northern Command and all of U.S. Southern Command (Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean). I assist the DLA Energy Americas commander in exercising command, control, and operational oversight of the largest field-level command within DLA Energy that is responsible for one-third of the worldwide DLA Energy enterprise. I help guide a team of 98 civilian and military personnel in inventory management, distribution, quality assurance, and direct execution of over $2.5 billion in multi-product bulk energy contracts across 400 Defense Fuel Support Points and 840 product accounts in support of warfighter and interagency missions. I supervise all staff support functions to include budget, personnel, communications, and administrative actions required to support our mission.  

**If you could go back in time, what would you tell yourself about the future?** I’d tell myself to ignore conventional wisdom and go after what you want. It’s OK to make mistakes, but learn from them and continue to grow.

**As a woman, have you encountered discrimination based on race and ethnicity, class, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status?** I was commissioned an ensign in the Navy in 1989, because I was a woman, I was restricted to non-combatant military assignments. My first assignment was on the USS Simon Lake (AS-33), a submarine repair ship, in Holy Loch, Scotland, United Kingdom. Since then, I’ve seen a lot change and opportunities increase for women in all the military services. Even as naval combatant opportunities for females were opening up, I was steered toward a U.S. Navy Fleet Replenishment Oiler for my second sea duty assignment. My time on USS Willamette (AO 180) was fantastic, and I observed many of my female peers get combatant assignments and succeed in every way. Today, Navy Supply Corps assignments are based purely on merit, and the best officers get the best jobs. Discrimination based on gender, race, and sexual orientation still exists, but the majority of organizations and individuals have embraced the value that diversity brings to the work place.

**Have you had a mentor that helped you grow in your career?** I wouldn’t be where I am today without several good mentors. My first female commanding officer was Navy Capt. Lee Hackney onboard the USS Willamette. She pushed me to be a naval officer first, and a supply officer second. I was the first Navy Supply Corps officer to qualify as Officer-of-the-Deck underway. I was also qualified as a Command Duty Officer in port. She became my first female role model, and I looked up to her and consulted with her when it was time to pursue my next set of orders. I met Navy Capt. Kurt Kunkel in 2006 at a U.S. Naval Academy football game. By this time, I was a commander in the Navy, had completed a successful tour as the fuel officer at Fleet Logistics Center Jacksonville, and had reported in to DLA Energy as deputy chief, Inventory and Distribution Management. Capt. Kunkel became a trusted friend and mentor who helped guide me through my final tour as a naval officer and through the transition to a career civil servant. I was thrilled when he was named as the DLA Energy commander, but the enthusiasm turned to despair through his battle with cancer. His cheerful enthusiasm and contagious optimism are my lasting memories of him, and I think about him every day.

**If so, how are you paying forward in terms of mentoring?** I have an open door and always make time for personnel who want to talk about their careers. I do my best to be a positive role model and to treat others, as I want to be treated. I do keep an eye out for other women who are working in the petroleum management career field. The career field is still dominated by men, and there are several women who have the potential to go all the way to the top. I do look forward to the day when DLA Energy will have either a commander, or deputy commander who is female, but only if she earns it on merit!