Otis A. & Phyllis Shelton
Otis Shelton received his B.S. and M.S. degree in chemical engineering from the University of Houston. In 1967, he joined Union Carbide Corporation in Texas City, Texas where he held various manufacturing assignments in low density polyethylene production, suspension/non-solvent vinyl chloride production and operations supervision of the Texas City Marine Terminal. Later, he worked in corporate human relations recruiting engineers for Union CarbideÍs US operations. Mr. Shelton worked at Union CarbideÍs Global Headquarters in New York as a business analyst for the silicones/urethanes intermediates business. He later worked at Union CarbideÍs Headquarters in Danbury, Connecticut as Manager of Financial Analysis and was responsible for the annual budget development of the Chemicals and Plastics operations, as well as financial business support.
In 1986, he helped lead the development and implementation of a corporate Health, Safety & Environmental Audit program which provided in-depth assessments of Union CarbideÍs worldwide manufacturing facilities. In 1992, Mr. Shelton joined Praxair where he lead its Safety and Environmental Assessment Program which conducted thorough assessments of health, safety, process safety, distribution, environmental and emergency planning programs at Praxair facilities worldwide. He worked as Director of the program until his retirement in September, 2012.
Mr. Shelton is an AIChE Fellow and a distinguished leader in his community and in his profession. He served on the AIChE Board of Directors from 2000_2002 and was Secretary of the Board from 2004 - 2006. He was instrumental in helping to direct the Institute during a challenging period in its history. He has spent several years serving as Chair of AIChE's Government Relations Committee and has served on the President's Blue Ribbon Committee on Government Relations which helped to establish the foundation for the current Public Affairs and Information Committee (PAIC). He currently serves as a member of the AIChE Board of Trustees and the Minority Affairs Committee. In 2012, Mr. Shelton was elected as 2013 AIChE President- Elect and will begin his tenure as AIChE President beginning on January 1, 2014. Mr. Shelton has also served for 20 years on the National Advisory Board of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) and for five years on the National Research CouncilÍs Committee on Chemical Demilitarization.