COLETTE BAGERT HIRSTIUS ’92

we look forward to enabling a future where we all move to net-zero emissions as well as ensure stability of supply and, we insist, a more peaceful world because of that stability. Working together, industry, governments, policymakers, and consumers must move toward a world that meets a growing global energy demand and stabilizes supply…while at the same time accelerating the transition to net-zero carbon emissions.”

Colette’s two-decade career with Shell begins with her passion for geology. She holds a Bachelor and Master of Science degree in Geology from Tulane University and the University of Colorado in Boulder, respectively. At the end of 2003, she started work at Shell New Orleans. More than a decade later she accepted major projects in Trinidad and Tobago, and also at the company’s headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands.

Her family ties to Louisiana are strong. Growing up in Gentilly, the second oldest of four children has found inspiration from family. Her father, Broderick Bagert, was a lawyer and in the 1970s, served on the New Orleans City Council. In 1980, he was appointed to the Louisiana Public Service Commission and was a strong consumer advocate. In the early 1990s, he decided to quit a career in politics and became a writer. He credits Colette for the inspiration to become a children’s poet. He wrote a poem when she could not find a suitable one for her third-grade class presentation. The author has sold more than one million books of poetry for children.

Another family member, Colette’s Great Aunt May Glo Grisoli Monteleone, followed her own path at a time when it was still difficult for women in the South to own property or a business. When she started her business in 1966, Townhouse Kindergarten in New Orleans, she listed her husband as the owner. The childcare center operated for 54 years, until the COVID-19 pandemic permanently closed its doors.

“She had this approach to life where she didn't let things scare her and she was willing to tackle big challenges. She has always been a role model for me because that's what life takes,” Colette said in an interview with Upstream.