Full Name:  Janet Lorraine Stoner

Awards:  1999 Champions Beyond the Game

Since women's intercollegiate sports had not come to FSU when Ms. Stoner was a student, she was an active member of the Tarpon Club (the women's swimming club) and F-Club. She received her BS in physical education and two years after receiving her master's degree in mathematics in Scotland in 1972, Ms. Stoner joined Texaco as senior petroleum engineer. She rose quickly through the ranks, serving as director of technical service, general manager of productions, and vice president of exploration and production in Texaco's Latin America/West Africa division. In 1997, she moved to New York and assumed her current position as vice president of Texaco, Inc., overseeing the company's worldwide human resources policies and programs. Ms. Stoner was recently appointed to Texaco's Executive Council, which is composed of six senior managers.

By Anna Phillips, The Oasis Center for Women & Girls

Janet Stoner never planned on becoming an engineer. In fact, her undergraduate degree is in physical education. However, Stoner went on to become a trailblazer in the oil and gas industry as an engineer, where she has paved the way for others through her leadership.

Stoner earned a master's degree in mathematics from Florida State University in 1972. Her first job after graduate school was as an engineer's assistant at Texaco in 1974. In 1977, Stoner was promoted to petroleum engineer, the only woman employed as an engineer in her division. At the time, only about 5% of all engineers in the U.S. were women and most other women with Stoner's company were in administrative jobs. Today, women continue to be underrepresented in engineering — making up only 14 percent of engineers and 18-20 percent of engineering students nationally, according to the American Society of Mechanical Engineering.

Stoner was driven, and recalls that her parents always told her she could do anything.

Though she lacked female engineering colleagues, Stoner did receive support from her co-workers and superiors, including several male mentors over the course of her career. She advanced within Texaco by taking on new roles, being flexible, and mobile. Over the years, new opportunities included global travel to regions including the Gulf of Mexico, the North Sea, Latin America, and West Africa.

Stoner is a strong leader and credits her athletic background for her abilities to work well with and coach people. These strengths paid off for Stoner, who earned the role of vice president of Texaco in 1997, with responsibility for worldwide human resources. Just a year later she was appointed to the Executive Committee in 1998, the first woman to achieve this rank within the global corporation. She continued to serve Texaco through the Chevron-Texaco merger in 2001 and then retired, returning to Tallahassee.

In retirement, Stoner has taken to serving our community. She has been a supporter of several initiatives at FSU including, among others, Women for FSU and women's athletics. She also served on the Refuge House Board of Directors and currently serves on the FSU Foundation Board of Trustees.

Each year in March, as part of Women's History Month, The Oasis Center for Women & Girls recognizes local women who have rewritten history by blazing trails. Trailblazers are honored for the barriers they have crossed and glass ceilings they have shattered, paving the way for other women to follow. Stoner is being recognized for her leadership in the oil and gas industry, where she became the highest ranking woman at Texaco in 1998.

Stoner believes Women's History month is an important time of year. "We have not even begun to explore all that women have to contribute to society," she said. "We need to continue to tell stories and inspire younger women. We need to not become complacent. We need to keep moving forward."