Whether she’s creating code to replace a manual process or helping her team reach their goals, Danielle Rapley’s IT career has provided her with a framework to help others.

Learn more about Danielle, supervisor of application support, and her career.

What advice would you give to a young girl starting out in your field?
Don’t be afraid to speak up and voice your opinion. Your ideas are just as important and worthwhile as anyone else’s.

What inspired you to go into this field?
The ability to code a process or screen behind the scenes and have a user see a nice web page or have a computer do steps that people had to do manually is pretty exciting.

What do you like most about what you do?
I truly enjoy the people I work with. As a supervisor, I like the ability to help my team reach their career goals by helping them get specialized training, letting them mentor with others in the company in fields they are interested in, and helping them get past any obstacles in their daily routine. I feel that the role of any supervisor/manager is to help your team be the best they can be.

Tell us about a woman you look up to and why.
My mother, who showed me how to work hard for what you want.

Throughout the MDU Resources family of companies, women fill many roles in the field and in the office. March is Women’s History Month, an opportune time for us to shine the spotlight on some of our female employees, their contributions and how they’re challenging career stereotypes.

Accounting is the foundation upon which Michelle Harris, president of Rocky Mountain Contractors, built her career. Ultimately, it became the blueprint that would lead her across a variety of industries and landing her in the construction industry in her home state.

Learn more about Michelle and her career.

How did you get started in the contracting/construction industry?
I began my career in public accounting, which exposed me to a variety of industries. I eventually left public accounting to work for Intermountain Gas Company where I learned a lot about the utility industry. This made it an easy transition to my role at Rocky Mountain Contractors, an outside utility line construction company. During my time at Rocky Mountain Contractors, I have been fortunate to continue expanding my knowledge base outside of the accounting arena and into all aspects of the business, including operations.

What or who inspired you to go into this field?
Moving into the construction industry allowed me to live and work in my home state of Montana. I admit to having some self-doubt prior to coming to work at RMC. I wondered if I would fit in and if my skill set would benefit the company. At that time, many family members and friends provided me encouragement.

From the first day at RMC, I felt welcomed by my co-workers. Since then, I have been privileged to have worked with and learned from several mentors who shared their love for the competitive nature of the business and the variety of the job.

What do you like most about what you do?
The best part about my job are the individuals I get to work with. There is a “can-do” mentality in our industry. I am constantly awed by what our people create and how quickly they are able to respond, whether it be to an emergency i.e., a storm or to a change in plans by our customers. I work with incredibly skilled, genuine, down to earth, caring people.

Throughout the MDU Resources family of companies, women fill many roles in the field and in the office. March is Women’s History Month, an opportune time for us to shine the spotlight on some of our female employees, their contributions and how they’re challenging career stereotypes.

Georgiann Hersch, chief operator with WBI Energy, credits her upbringing on a dairy farm near New Salem, North Dakota, as one of the reasons for pursuing a career in the trades industry.

“I knew I could do it because of all the knowledge and exposure to hard work I had growing up on a farm,” she said.

Income potential and opportunities made it an attractive industry, too.

Georgiann got her start in the industry by getting a degree in Power and Process Plant Technology from Bismarck State College. She landed her first job in Colorado at a natural gas processing plant that turned natural gas into methanol. Eventually, she made her way back home to North Dakota.

As a chief operator for WBI Energy, she’s in charge of the day-to-day functions and duties at one of WBI Energy’s compressor stations. Compressor operators operate and maintain the compressor units and perform other maintenance duties like greasing and operating valves within the yard and on the pipeline, maintaining relief valves and regulators, and yard work like mowing grass and snow removal.

Georgiann said her favorite part of the job is the variety of work. “In winter and spring, we are doing maintenance in the yard, and the summers are spent out on the pipeline conducting line patrol,” she said.

Throughout the MDU Resources family of companies, women fill many roles in the field and in the office. March is Women’s History Month, an opportune time for us to shine the spotlight on some of our female employees, their contributions and how they’re challenging career stereotypes.

Throughout the MDU Resources family of companies, women fill many roles in the field and in the office. March is Women’s History Month, an opportune time for us to shine the spotlight on some of our female employees, their contributions and how they’re challenging career stereotypes. 

You might say the energy industry is a family affair for Tammy Nygard, controller with Montana-Dakota Utilities.

Both of her parents worked at power plants when she was growing up. So, when it came time to determine an industry to start her accounting career, the energy industry was at top of the list.

“I had great experiences with the energy industry because of my parents, and I knew I wanted to work for a utility,” Nygard said.

She started her career at Montana-Dakota Utilities in a professional development program, rotating between departments. Over the years, she expanded her experience by taking on different roles like financial analyst and director of Accounting and Finance, eventually becoming the controller, the position she currently holds.

“Montana-Dakota Utilities is a great company to work for, with endless opportunities for growth,” Nygard said.

She encourages girls to think about a career in the energy industry. “Go for it! It’s a very stable business to be in, as electricity and natural gas are essential to America.”