Author Archives: nmills@fostermarketing.com

2025 Annual Meeting – Johnny Quinn

Your audience deserves more than just a speech—they deserve an unforgettable experience. Johnny Quinn, a highly sought-after keynote speaker, brings thought-provoking, action-packed presentations that equip leaders to conquer tomorrow’s challenges head-on. Leveraging the discipline, resilience and mental toughness that shaped his Olympic bobsled and pro football careers, Johnny’s strategies resonate deeply with audiences, driving real change and measurable outcomes.

One of three athletes to play professional football (Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers, Saskatchewan Roughriders) and compete in the Winter Olympics (Sochi 2014), Johnny delivers dynamic presentations tailored to fit the unique needs of every audience. Whether it’s a high-energy keynote or an interactive workshop, Johnny speaks directly to leadership, resilience, peak performance and building unstoppable teams.

Johnny’s powerful life story and actionable insights have made him a go-to speaker for organizations of all sizes. Featured by global media outlets like ABC, BBC, CNN, ESPN, FOX, NBC, TIME, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal, his influence extends far beyond the stage. His book, PUSH: Breaking Through The Barriers, takes readers on a heart-pounding journey from life’s valleys to rocketing down icy mountains at 80+ mph—with no seatbelts.

When he’s not inspiring audiences, Johnny enjoys life in McKinney, Texas, with his wife Amanda, and their two children, Amelia and Oliver. Follow him on social media: @JohnnyQuinnUSA

2025 NTGPA Annual Meeting – Sypy Thomas

Sypy Thomas currently serves as Senior Vice President of Engineering & Operations for ONEOK’s Natural Gas Gathering & Processing Segment.   In this role, he oversees the safe, reliable and efficient operations of approximately 6 Bcf/d of natural gas gathering and processing assets. He joined ONEOK in late 2024, from Medallion Midstream where he served as the Chief Operating Officer since 2018.  In that role he had responsibility for all Engineering, Operations, EHS, Sustainability/ESG, Land and IT activity for Medallion.  He was also responsible for the execution and management of both the company’s Capital and Operating Expense budgets and was a key part in setting and implementing the strategic direction of the company along with the company’s other Executives.

From 2016 until joining Medallion, Mr. Thomas served as Vice President of Midstream & Marketing for Atlas Energy.  Mr. Thomas was responsible for facility design, operations, gathering, processing and marketing of all natural gas, crude oil and NGLs.

From 2006 until 2016, Mr. Thomas worked at Ovintiv, formerly known as Encana Oil & Gas, USA, serving in various roles including Facilities Engineer, Engineering and Operations Manager, and ultimately, Director of U.S. Midstream. Along with his day-to-day responsibilities of overseeing all U.S. midstream activity, Mr. Thomas was involved in A&D midstream transactions that accounted for nearly $500 million in midstream divestitures along with commercial negotiations of Encana’s midstream arrangements totaling over $2 billion. Mr. Thomas was also involved in numerous facilities and engineering projects throughout Encana’s portfolio and the design and optimization of oil and gas gathering systems, gas treating and processing systems.

Prior to Encana, Mr. Thomas spent eight years with Brenntag as Technical Service Manager, managing a process and production chemicals Technical staff in both Calgary, Alberta, and Denver, Colorado.

Mr. Thomas graduated in 1996 with a Bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

2025 NTGPA Annual Meeting – Chris Sonneborn

Chris Sonneborn is Vice President for Project Controls and System Planning for Energy Transfer. He oversees the planning and hydraulic analysis of Energy Transfer’s portfolio of intrastate gas transmission, gathering, and liquid pipeline and rotating equipment assets, as well as working closely with the company’s Alternative Energy team exploring opportunities in renewable fuels, hydrogen, ammonia, and carbon capture and sequestration spaces. He also has the project controls team, overseeing project risk analysis, scheduling, and forecasting for major projects. Chris has over 29 years of experience in the midstream industry, working in a variety of roles including project management, project engineering, estimating, SCADA development, leak detection, and hydraulic analysis.

Chris has held a number of board positions and currently serves as the Chairman for the Emerging Fuels Institute under Pipeline Research Council International. He holds a Bachelor of Science (1993) and a Master of Science degree (2001) in Mechanical Engineering, with a focus on optimization and fluid dynamics from Rice University.