The roots of Duane Howe’s passion to protect New Mexico’s environment are home-grown. “Growing-up in the beauty of The Four Corners, I came to truly cherish New Mexico’s four seasons and world-renowned sunsets when I moved away to Texas for a few years.”

For the past 16 years, Duane Howe has worked as an operations supervisor in the San Juan Basin for Marathon Petroleum, where he and his staff coordinate with other oil and gas companies to safely and efficiently move petroleum through hundreds of miles of pipeline from northern New Mexico into the Permian Basin.

Raised on the Navajo Nation between Cove, Arizona and Mittenrock, New Mexico, Howe currently resides in Fruitland, New Mexico. “It’s vital to keep the crude moving while keeping it off the ground and our waterways,” believes Howe. “It’s the important part of my job.”

Howe’s oil and gas career started in the control center at Giant Refining, where he worked his way up to control center supervisor. “It was there that I had the opportunity to help build SCADA screens and the programming part of the system,” said Howe.

Howe also values his work with Marathon’s Tribal Affiliation Group, where he and volunteers for Diné Baadeti haul firewood to various chapter houses.

Truly a family affair, Howe has relatives who work in the field and in control centers for other companies as well. Driven by the challenges of his work, Howe enjoys the comradery with long-time industry professionals, as well as the new generation of oil and gas professionals.

Howe and his wife Alicia have two boys and a daughter, and are raising two nieces. “I love working in New Mexico,” asserts Howe. “The hardest decision is deciding if you prefer green or red chile.”