Meet Shane Miller
While Shane Miller has a definite “grew up in a small town” vibe and makes you feel like you’ve known him forever, there are many layers to Shane. He’s an aficionado and active volunteer in the arts, an experienced outdoorsmen and Boy Scout, a lifelong learner, and has had careers in both academia and oil and gas. While he’s a relative newcomer to Houston, he very quickly ingrained himself into Houston and so much of what the city has to offer. And did we mention that he’s a member of Leadership Houston’s Best Class Ever, Class XXXIX?
Shane’s small town vibe comes from his West Virginian roots. He grew up in St. Albans, West Virginia, where his parents also grew up and still live. He attended West Virginia University (WVU) and went on to get a master’s degree in education leadership. Shane’s early career path was focused in college administration at his alma mater, but as much as he loved the university, he knew he needed to gain experience outside of WVU. He applied to a lot of academic institutions, but it was a bad time to be looking. A neighbor, who had a land title company and knew he had done research as a masters student, convinced him to apply for a job with Chevron. That led to ten years in oil and gas, during which Shane worked in every part of the land spectrum. In 2016, Chevron decided Shane should move to Houston, and while the move wasn’t part of Shane’s life plan, as soon as he got here he decided he was going to get involved, and he did!
Houston has crazy ridiculous diversity that makes it interesting and fun to live here… there's always something new. If you can't find something that interests you in Houston, you're not trying.”
In his first year in Houston, Shane was invited to be part of the city’s GABR hosting committee. During volunteer orientation he began to learn about – and love – Houston’s diversity. Shane said, “I remember being told that more than 100 languages are spoken in Houston, and thinking to myself I couldn’t name more than 30 languages. I like how Houston embraces all people, that it’s a melting pot. For example, I had no idea when I moved here that Houston has one of the largest Vietnamese communities outside of Vietnam.”
One of Shane’s favorite events in West Virginia is the concert the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra puts on each first Sunday in June. The Symphony sets up on the lawn of the University of Charleston, right on the river and opposite the state capitol. People pack picnics and just have a time of it. When Shane moved to Houston, he immediately fell in love with Houston’s arts and cultural scene, joining the Houston Symphony Young Associates Council and recently joining the governing Boards for Houston’s Symphony and Ballet. He’s a good guy to know if you’re interested in Houston’s arts and culture scene!
Hiking The Lone Star Trail, the longest hiking trail in Texas, is on his bucket list. Want tips on parks and hikes across Southeast Texas, Shane is your guy!
The Boy Scouts have also been an important part of Shane’s life. He spent many summers working for the Boy Scout camp in the West Virginia and believes that, “living in a canvas castle and doing my own laundry for a month every summer helped me become more independent and ready for college.” In 2019, the World Scout Jamboree took place in West Virginia. As a member of the Scout’s National Alumni Committee, he got to help staff it and worked with people from close to 150 countries. While Texas doesn’t offer the beauty or cool mornings of the West Virginia Mountains, Shane thinks ever kid should go to summer camp.
“Houston was the personal and professional move I didn't realize I needed. That's beautiful.”
Sometimes life throws you a curve ball, and that was the case last year when COVID-19 hit and Shane was laid off. While he says it shook up his life, he also reflects that, “It's made me really think about what I want to do next. There are opportunities that I never would have considered, so it's been a good thing in that way, to pivot and see where the road takes me.” Shane is completing a certificate in clean energy through Yale University. He’s thinking Houston might become one of the hubs for clean energy, and that could tie very nicely to him being able to stay here.
