The GCS team brings together a diverse and necessary set of disciplines to realize the climate, social and economic benefit from a business of this scale. This includes geoscience, engineering, commercial, financial, legal and regulatory expertise, amongst others
Team Members
Gaby Brickhouse is an experienced Technical Manager with over 13 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. Early in her career, she worked as a Halliburton Landmark Drilling Consultant supporting Shell Energy, focusing on data management and customer advocacy. In 2014, she was recruited by Aim Directional Services to spearhead the creation of their Real-Time Operations Center. Gaby’s strategic leadership during this project led to the successful transition of 10+ drilling rigs to remote MWD operations, resulting in a significant increase in efficiency and safety. She was promoted to VP Technical Operations in 2019 where she oversaw the directional focus for 4 Technical departments and was dedicated to driving innovation and impactful results. Gaby has a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin.
David Cook joined GCS as CEO in October 2023. Prior to joining GCS, Cook served as a chief executive, senior leader, and non-executive board member for several global, publicly traded, and private companies. Most recently, Cook was a Director of Vaalco Energy, following its merger with TransGlobe Energy Corporation of which he was Chair from 2019 to 2022. Previously, he served as CEO of Noreco in London and INEOS DENOS in Copenhagen. Earlier in his career, he spent more than 20 years with BP in various international assignments. Cook earned a bachelor’s degree in Geophysics and a Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from Michigan State University.
Ryan Furby is an international corporate affairs and strategic communications expert with more than 25 years of experience at FedEx Corporation, Philip Morris International and Biogen. His specialties include corporate branding and messaging, media relations, crisis communications and stakeholder engagement for companies in highly regulated and dynamic industries. Ryan began his career at Edelman, the world’s largest independent public relations firm, in New York City. Ryan earned his bachelor’s degree from Loyola University New Orleans. A native of Louisiana, Ryan is married with two children
Kaycee has over 15 years of experience permitting Underground Injection Control (UIC) wells. She worked for 10 years as a UIC regulator at the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources applying state and federal regulatory requirements to the design and operation of injection wells. Prior to joining GCS, she spent five years as a consultant advancing injection well permit applications across the Gulf Coast. Kaycee has a Bachelor’s degree in Geology from Louisiana Tech University and holds professional geoscientists licenses in Louisiana and Texas. She also serves as a representative for District 5 on the Louisiana Board of Professional Geoscientists.
Benjamin Heard has over a decade of experience in the energy industry, founding companies, leading business development, and providing legal counsel.
As an entrepreneur, he has started retail electricity, energy infrastructure and exploration and production companies. Benjamin led business development efforts in North America for Centrica plc, with a focus on energy technology. He also worked for Centrica in the company’s general counsel’s office.
He began his career at Bracewell LLP in the energy transactional and regulatory practice group. Benjamin has a juris doctor degree from Emory University and a bachelor of science, magna cum laude, from Vanderbilt University.
Joy Hill is a highly accomplished professional with over 20 years of experience in the areas of finance, accounting, internal controls, strategic planning, investor relations, and risk management. She’s worked for several major corporations spanning different industries, geographical locations, and stages of growth. Joy has had proven success in developing and optimizing financial infrastructure for start-up entities. Prior to joining GCS, she was responsible for implementing key finance processes and systems for two leading LNG companies.
Jonathan has over 10 years of international experience in the energy industry, with focus on CCS and investment banking, during his tenure in the US, Norway and the UK. While in Acquisitions and Divestitures at UBS, he led projects resulting in 20+ successful transactions, generating over $1.5 billion in sales revenue for clients including BP, Anadarko and EOG. He started his career at Centrica as a geoscientist working in exploration, with a focus on evaluating multi-billion dollar unconventional opportunities in the US and Europe. Jonathan has a Bachelor’s degree in Geology and a Masters in Petroleum Geoscience from Imperial College London.
McKenzie has three years of experience permitting Underground Injection Control (UIC) wells. She began her career specializing in drilling, completion, and production fluids across the Permian Basin for three years. Prior to GCS, she worked as a consultant in researching, writing, and preparing injection well permit applications and petitions for all UIC wells across the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Gulf Coastal Region of the United States. McKenzie has a Bachelor of Science in Geoscience from Texas Tech University and a Master of Science in Geology from the University of Texas Permian Basin where she assessed the porosity and permeability of Delaware Basin sandstones for CO2 sequestration storage potential.
Huan (Lee) Nguyen is a Reservoir Engineer/Data Scientist with more than 25 years of extensive experience maximizing asset value, field development planning, and completion optimization in both domestic and international settings. Lee excels in utilizing data science and machine learning techniques to tackle complex engineering and business challenges.
Lee began his career specializing in process engineering with Dow Chemical and ConocoPhillips, which solidified his foundation in core engineering principles. His experience is rich, encompassing roles at ComboCurve, Equinor, EOG Resources, and ConocoPhillips. Lee led groundbreaking initiatives including the research and development of Gas-to-Liquid technology, spearheaded successful exploration ventures in Nigeria, and championed unconventional well performance optimization across various geological formations.
Lee holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering (with highest honor) from Georgia Tech, a Master’s degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Houston, and certification in Data Science and Machine Learning from MIT Schwarzman College of Computing.
Sam has 5+ years of experience managing, visualizing, and automating subsurface datasets and workflows in the energy industry. He is an expert in Master Data Management (MDM), Web-GIS, Python, and Subsurface Mapping. Prior to GCS, he worked for ExxonMobil with assignments in Melbourne, Australia, and Spring, Texas, supporting Guyana Development, Asia Pacific New Opportunities, and Middle East New Opportunities. While at ExxonMobil, he led and managed the transferring of 220 TB of data from Houston to Melbourne as well as implemented the end-to-end technical development of the Asia Pacific Data Inventory map that enabled rapid and dynamic visualization of internal and external data allowing decision makers to see data availability across the region. He also served on the Enterprise GIS team supporting the Delaware Basin Asset Team at Anadarko Petroleum. Sam has a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology and Master of Science degree in Energy from Texas A&M University.
Juan has more than 30 years of well design and operations experience and has held engineering and management positions at BP, Schlumberger, OXY, BHP, Nabors and, most recently, Frontera Energy Corporation.
Throughout his career, he has made important contributions on exploration, development, and appraisal projects in North, Central and South America, Canada, Gulf of Mexico, Trinidad and Guyana Offshore. These portfolios have made positive impact on the industry (conventional and unconventional projects), some of them characterized with operational challenges in drilling and completions, including High Pressure / High Temperature, wellbore instability, horizontal stresses and steeply dipping beds. Before joining GCS, he worked for Frontera Energy as Corporate Drilling, Completions and Well Interventions Director.
He is currently a Well Construction curriculum advisor for SPE (Society Petroleum Engineers), American Association of Drilling Engineers (AADE), and The Competency Alliance (PetroSkills). Juan is a recipient of a Service Award by the AADE.
Juan earned a BS in petroleum engineering from Universidad de America in Bogotá, Colombia.
He enjoys cycling outdoors and has completed 21 MS150 bike tours (Houston to Austin-College Station, NYC and San Antonio), to support Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Maryellen Roberson joins GCS with nearly 30 years of experience spanning the Oil and Gas and Petrochemicals industries. She worked at an international supermajor for 20 years in global Engineering and Operations leadership roles. She led and was accountable for delivery of operational readiness for major projects in Trinidad and Tobago, as well as building Operations capability in major projects across the world. Prior to those roles, Maryellen led multidisciplined engineering teams in the UK and US. She has extensive experience in Process Safety and Operational Risk management. She has worked engineering, project, and operational roles in multiple US onshore oil and gas basins, from Colorado and New Mexico to Texas and Louisiana. She began her career in the Petrochemical industry, working for Lyondell and Equistar. She has a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from Ga Tech.
Mr. Stepp has a proven track record in developing actionable strategic analyses, generating investment ideas and responsibly deploying capital. He has served as the Chief Investment Officer for Matilda Stream Management, Inc., a single family office based in Louisiana, since 2014. There, he is responsible for the creation of an overall asset allocation strategy as well as execution of the investment process he helped design. On behalf of the Family, Mr. Stepp has successfully deployed capital across many asset classes including: private equity and debt, real estate, public securities and other alternative investments, including credit and hedge fund strategies. He currently serves on the boards of private companies in which the Family has invested. Prior to his current role, Mr. Stepp worked at investment banks including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Wachovia Securities and Wasserstein Perella, in various capacities of increasing seniority. He has acted as both principal and advisor on transactions including corporate restructurings, debt and equity capital raises, as well as mergers and acquisitions. His industry experience has included: Chemicals, Manufacturing, Oil & Gas, Aerospace & Defense, Technology & Telecommunications, and Gaming & Lodging among others. Mr. Stepp is a graduate of the Georgetown University College of Arts and Sciences. He lives in Austin, Texas with his wife and two daughters.
W. Gray Stream (Gray) is the President of the Stream Companies, which manages several operating companies and a sizeable land position in Louisiana, primarily composed of timberland, agriculture, and coastal marsh. Gray also oversees an investment portfolio on behalf of the Stream Companies, which focuses on early-stage companies, venture capital, private equity, and structured credit. The Stream investments primarily focus on Louisiana-based companies and those providing solutions for the energy transition.
A commitment to long-term stewardship defines the culture of the Stream Companies, as evidenced by their generational approach to natural resource management, which has persisted for more than 125 years. Approximately 30 years ago, the Stream family founded Stream Wetland Services, which has restored tens of thousands of acres of coastal wetlands in Louisiana and Texas – and has grown millions of trees and plants in the region. In 2018, Gray founded Gulf Coast Sequestration, which is developing world-scale capabilities to permanently store captured CO2 emissions into deep geologic formations.
Gray is passionate about serving the Louisiana community and has led numerous charitable and civic causes to improve the quality of life in the state. He has served on the Louisiana Innovation Council, the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Coastal Protection, Restoration, and Conservation, and the Board of Directors for the SWLA Economic Development Alliance. He also currently serves on a committee for the Governor’s Climate Initiatives Task Force.
Gray is a member of YPO and is Immediate Past Chair of the Louisiana Committee of 100 for Economic Development. He formerly served on the Louisiana Board of Regents as Regent for the 3rd Congressional District and as Chairman of the National Hurricane Museum and Science Center. He currently serves as a Trustee for the National World War II Museum. In 2010 Gray received the Southwest Louisiana Civic Service Award from the Chamber of Commerce.
He began his career in Washington, DC serving Louisiana’s 7th Congressional District following his undergraduate degree at Vanderbilt University. He later earned his MBA from Rice University.
Bio Coming Soon
Stephanie Nwoko is a reservoir geologist and geomodeler with over 21 years of international experience in the energy industry. Her expertise spans conventional and unconventional plays across offshore and onshore reservoirs in United Kingdom, Norway, Denmark, United States, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Brazil, and Colombia.
Having started her career working offshore in the North Sea, she has gained broad operational wellsite experience and a wide range of business delivery skills, combined with strong technical acumen and strategic focus.
Stephanie has led projects in enhanced oil recovery, carbon capture utilization, and unconventional resources in US onshore basins, including Louisiana, South Texas, and Permian Basin. She specializes in building 3D geological models, providing end-to-end integrated value across the full lifecycle (from exploration to production) through her experience as both a technical contributor and project manager to optimize field recovery and cost-effectiveness.
She holds a Global Executive MBA from IESE Business School in Barcelona, a Master’s in Petroleum Geoscience from Royal Holloway University in London, a Bachelor’s in Geology from the University of Port Harcourt in Nigeria, and a certificate in Reservoir Geomechanics from Stanford University.
Rob has more than three years of consulting experience primarily working with upstream Oil & Gas clients and government agencies. During his time in consulting, he conducted subsurface investigations to assist with property acquisitions and divestitures and site remediation in the Texas and Oklahoma regions. He is experienced in subsurface mapping and data management tools including Petrel, GIS, and Python. Rob has a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from Illinois State University and a Master of Science in Geology from the University of Alabama where he utilized terrestrial LiDAR to create outcrop scale 3D models of rock units for fracture characterization.
Colin Williams is the Head of Business Development for Gulf Coast Sequestration, where he leads strategy and commercial efforts for the preeminent permanent carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) project in North America. Colin is also President and Managing Member of Tilden Energy LLC a Richmond-based energy and infrastructure focused investment holding company focused primarily on international infrastructure project development around the natural gas space. In that role he is Executive Chairman of GNL Talcahuano SpA, a LNG import development project in Central Chile. He has worked at a number of large multi-billion dollar investment firms including the Blackstone Group as a senior investment professional and partner investing proprietary capital in energy, mining and infrastructure projects globally with a specific emphasis on emerging markets. Colin is a graduate of the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia. He resides in Richmond, Virginia with his wife and four children.