EXECUTIVE PROFILE
Name: Evya Potts-Richards
Title: Meeting Manager
Organization: The Energy Council
Location: Dallas
Education: Richland Community College, 1984
Career History:
• Corporate Communications Specialist, Electronic Data Solutions, 1985–1997
• Meeting Manager, KPMG, 1997–2007
• Meeting Manager, The Energy Council, 2007–present
Evya Potts-Richards says she didn’t find her career — instead, the career found her.
Potts-Richards, whose first name rhymes with “Chevy,” is the meeting manager for the nonprofit organization The Energy Council, a legislative institution made up of 16 energy-producing states and four Canadian provinces that assist the U.S. and its member jurisdictions to develop energy and environmental policy. Born and raised in Dallas, Potts-Richards is proud of her roots.
“I’m a native Texan, born and bred, which is kind of odd these days with so many transplants,” she said. “I’m in my early 60s, and I’ve really only had three jobs. I started in corporate, and I’ve stayed in every job for so long because I’ve enjoyed every place I’ve worked, and I’ve gained so many opportunities. Everything seemed to find me — I didn’t necessarily know what I wanted to do, and I was just guided to where I am now.”
Potts-Richards started her career as an administrator in corporate communications for Electronic Data Systems, where she worked for 13 years. It was there that she had a boss who pushed her to grow by taking classes and learning new skills.
“She was my mentor when I didn’t even know what a mentor was,” Potts-Richards said. “She always pushed me to do more, step up, talk more in meetings, learn different techniques. I used to think, ‘She’s pushing me so much — is she saying I’m not good enough?’ But what I learned later is that I just didn’t know what I didn’t know.”
It was through that mentorship that Potts-Richards discovered how much she loved projects that let her work with people in creative roles and brought out her own creative side. She started noticing what the people who organized and planned for the company’s board members did in their roles and thought it was a job she would enjoy. When a friend who worked for the accounting firm KPMG approached her because they were searching for a senior communications specialist in the HR department, Potts-Richards jumped at the opportunity.
“I thought, ‘Somebody would pay me to do what I actually like doing?’ And I worked in HR communications doing writing and planning fun things that would help people reduce their stress levels,” she said. “When a position as a meeting planner came up, and I applied. I had already been there for two years, so I was selected.”
Again, Potts-Richards was challenged by her boss to grow in the role of Southwest area meeting manager. Potts-Richards was encouraged to join her local Meeting Planners International chapter, to grow her confidence levels by trying new things, and to get her Certified Meeting Professional title.
Potts-Richards stayed at KPMG for roughly eight years before taking her current role as meeting manager at The Energy Council in 2007.
“I’m going into my 18th year here, and I feel like everything I’ve done has led me to where I am now,” she said. “This job can be very stressful and very hectic, and I’m grateful for every step I took to have more skills. I love this career.”
Tips from Evya Potts-Richards
• Being connected with your local meeting and event professional chapter (such as MPI or PCMA) is integral to our professional and personal growth.
• Develop or continually work on your interpersonal skills. The hospitality industry is very relationship-driven. People like working with people they like.
• Always say “please” and “thank you.” That should go without saying, but I found over the years that it’s not always common.
