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About Pam
Community Involvement:
Pam McVicar has lived in La Habra Heights with her husband Michael Higgins for 22 years. They raised their two daughters Amy and Julie Higgins here.
In addition to serving on the Water Board, Pam serves on three other non-profit boards:
- La Habra Heights Improvement Association (LHHIA). Pam has served as a Director for 4 years. She was Secretary in 2007-2008 and President from 2008-2010. The LHHIA published the Heights Life, and sponsors Music in the Park, the Halloween Haunt, and the Easter Egg Hunt, as well as community events.
- La Habra Meals on Wheels (LHMOW). Pam is currently Treasurer. She has served on the board for 5 years and has been delivering meals to clients for 6 years. LHMOW delivers meals to needy individuals in La Habra and La Habra Heights.
- The Mad Hatter Guild of CHOC Foundation. Pam has served on the Board of the Mad Hatter Guild since 1999. She is currently Vice President in charge of Membership, but she has also been Secretary, Treasurer and President. The Mad Hatter Guild has raised over $1.5 million for CHOC Children’s. The Guild awarded Pam “Mad Hatter of the Year” for her dedication over the past year.
- Pam served as Vice-Chairman of the Ad-Hoc Park Master Plan Committee in 2008-2009. The Park Master Plan Committee was a community committee directed by the La Habra Heights City Council to develop a Master Plan for the Park, the only park in La Habra Heights.
- Pam is also a 15 year member of Highland Riders. Pam rides and competes with her Andalusian mare Bella in dressage.
Michael is currently editor of the Heights Life and the webmaster for the LHHIA website www.lhhia.org He retired from Falcon Waterfree Technologies in 2008, where he was Senior Vice President of Research and Development. He holds six patents related to the development of waterfree urinals.
Amy and Julie Higgins are currently graduate students at USC. Amy is working toward a Master’s Degree in the School of Social Work and hopes to become a therapist working with troubled teens. She is currently working with autistic children. As an undergraduate at USC, Amy was Captain and President of the USC Equestrian Team. Her Paint gelding, Taylor, is still a member of the team.
http://www-scf.usc.edu/~equestrn/
Julie is working on a dual degree program which includes a BS in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and a MS in Global Health Management. She hopes to work with the World Health Organization on Tropical Disease issues. Julie went to Honduras in May on a Community Service trip to assist families with life saving sanitation projects.
Both Amy and Julie were 6 year members of the Fullerton Assisteens and each earned over 300 hours of community service in high school.
Career:
Pam worked for Unocal from 1983 until 2005 when Unocal was purchased by Chevron. Summary of Pam’s experience with Unocal:
- Project Manager
(2001-2005)
Report to Vice President, Public Policy, Health, Environment, and Safety
- Led project to standardize pay practices across Unocal’s domestic business. Project exceeded sponsor expectations which led to Special Recognition Award
- Led major strategic study of Unocal’s Carbon Group to evaluate and select options for those businesses. Study led to revitalization of the business and increased business success
- Developed business model and implemented process for tracking performance of real estate and remediation portfolio
- Manager, Valuation Analysis, Global Exploration and Technology,
(1998 to 2001)
Report to Senior Vice President of Global Exploration and Technology
- Designed and implemented global exploration portfolio process incorporating geotechnical risk and financial return
- Coordinated and facilitated global council of senior executives to improve exploration performance
- Developed processes for communicating Unocal’s 8 billion barrel equivalent hydrocarbon resource base to the investment community
- Completed competitive benchmarking studies on attributes of successful exploration companies
Financial Advisor, Corporate Planning and Economics
(1997 to 1998)
Report to General Manager of Planning and Economics
- Made recommendations to CEO regarding oil and gas investment and acquisition opportunities
- Assisted in development of business unit goals and management against goals
- Developed guidelines for project evaluation of investment opportunities and business plans
Project Manager, Operations Analysis
(1995 to 1997)
Reported to Manager of Marketing Applications Development in 76 Products
- Implemented reengineering, redesign and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Total value of initiatives was almost $80 million, about $37 million were successfully implemented.
Scientific Associate, Unocal Technology Group
(1992-1994)
Reported to Manager of Geotechnical Alliances
- Coordinated major research project involving 35 Unocal scientists and 18 visiting Azerbaijani scientists and planned technical conference in Baku, Azerbaijan
- Developed new geophysical processes for improving hydrocarbon exploration success
District Geophysicist, Unocal International Division
(1991-1992)
Reported to Exploration Manager, Southern Africa-Latin America District
- Supervised all geophysical activity in district including nine geophysicists.
- Made investment recommendations for drilling and exploration projects
Manager, Potential Fields Group, Unocal International Division
(1989-1991)
Reported to Chief Geophysicist, International Division
- Managed all gravity and magnetics activity for Division including 5 Geophysicists.
- Improved value of service group by increasing client satisfaction and timely completion of projects.
Geophysicist, Unocal International Division
(1983-1989)
- Completed 2D and 3D geophysical projects in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Norway, Syria, Argentina, and Thailand and assisted in selecting well locations in these areas.
- Supervised and successfully completed technical service project in Abu Dhabi
Education:
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| 1997 |
MBA in Finance from USC |
GPA 3.9/4.0 |
| 1983 |
MS in Exploration Geophysics from Stanford University |
GPA 3.9/4.0 |
| 1980 |
BS in Physics from USC, Cum Laude |
GPA 3.7/4.0 |
| 1974 |
BA in Fine Art from UCLA |
GPA 3.3/4.0 |
| 1969 |
Marlborough High School, Hancock Park, CA |
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Honors and Awards:
-
| 1992, 1996, 1997, 2004, '05 |
Special Achievement Awards, Unocal |
| 1997 |
Phi Kappa Phi and Beta Gamma Sigma at USC |
| 1980 |
Phi Beta Kappa in Physics at USC |
| 1975 |
One Woman Show in Photography |
| 1969 |
Best Math Student in Marlborough High School |
| 1968 |
Best Science Student in Marlborough High School |
Hobbies:
Pam currently rides and shows her Andalusian mare Bella in dressage. She rides three to five days a week and competes in three or four shows per year. Pam and Bella have won many year- end awards at the Pomona Chapter of the California Dressage Society. Pam also won a buckle from Highland Riders in 2003.
The McVicar-Higgins family also enjoys traveling. They have taken family trips to England, France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, the Panama Canal, and the Caribbean. They are planning a cruise in South America for the holidays this year.
History in La Habra Heights:
Amy and Julie Higgins are fourth generation La Habra Heights residents. Pam’s grandfather, Harold Hastings McVicar, owned a house on 17 acres on Encanada in the 1940’s.
Harold Hastings McVicar invented the Removable Whipstock and was instrumental in developing many of the oil fields in Southern California. He was also a founding member of the Hollywood Park Turf Club, and owned several race horses. After they retired from racing, they were sent to his property in La Habra Heights. Pam’s father, Robert McVicar, had fond memories of galloping his horses through the hills of La Habra Heights, while he attended Fullerton College. He later transferred to Berkeley, and then graduated with a BS in business from UCLA. He settled in West LA where Pam grew up.
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