T. Minh Tran, who was a Vietnamese refugee, arrived in Greenville, S.C., in April 1975 and graduated from Clemson University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Minh joined Piedmont Natural Gas in 1985 and had held various positions. In his last role before retirement at Piedmont, he was the Managing Director Construction, overseeing all distribution pipeline construction. Minh has more than 31 years of experience in the energy field and has remained active in several professional organizations. He was member of both the American Gas Association and Southern Gas Association’s Managing Committees for Utility Operations. Away from his professional life, Minh served on several Boards of Directors, including the Spartanburg Chamber of Commerce, United Ways of Coastal Carolinas and Spartanburg Community College Foundation. He currently serves on the Charlotte International House Board of Directors. Minh’s commitment to inclusion is evident through his leadership on many diversity initiatives. He is a Riley Institute Diversity Fellow at Furman University. He is also a graduate of the Charlotte’s Leadership Diversity Initiative and a graduate of the Innovation Institute at the McCall Center in Charlotte.