Jerry Schmitz is the Vice President/Engineering Staff for Southwest Gas Corporation. He directs support to five operating divisions for pipeline safety code compliance; transmission and distribution integrity management; damage prevention, technical training and qualifications; emergency response training; pipeline security; rights-of-way; quality assurance; material specifications and approval; environmental compliance; pipeline system planning; laboratory services; operations research and development; measurement; pipeline cathodic protection; SCADA support; GIS support; and project design.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Genetics from the University of California, Davis, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Arizona State University. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the States of Arizona, California and Nevada with a proficiency in Mechanical Engineering, and is certified as a Quality Auditor with the American Society for Quality.

Schmitz served as the chairman of the ASME B31Q Qualification of Pipeline Personnel Technical Committee from 2008 through 2011; he is a member of the ASME B31 Standards Committee; he also serves on the AGA Operating Section Managing Committee. He is a member of the Advisory Board of UNLV’s Multicultural Program for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) related disciplines. He also is a member of the Advisory Board of the University of Idaho’s Energy Executive Course and serves on the Board of Directors for Goodwill of Southern Nevada.