A native of Christiansburg, Virginia, where he was born in 1943, Jerry Brammer attended Virginia Tech and received a B.S. in Civil Engineering in 1968.



After graduation, Jerry went to work as an engineer at the TEXACO Refinery in Westville, New Jersey, and was promoted to Senior Engineer in 1970. Meanwhile, he enrolled in graduate studies at Virginia Tech in Environmental Engineering and earned his M.S. in 1971. Working his way up through the ranks at the Westville refinery in plant engineering design, contracts, inspection and testing, maintenance, and air and water conservation, he became a Senior Project Engineer in 1976.



Two years later, Jerry was promoted to Supervisor of Air and Water Conservation at TEXACO's refinery in Convent, Louisiana, and in 1981 the company sent him to Saudi Arabia as an environmental consultant to ARAMCO. When he returned to the Louisiana refinery, he served as Chief Engineer and later as Assistant to the Plant Manager.



In 1986, Jerry was named Chief Engineer for the TEXACO plant in El Dorado, Kansas, with responsibility for refinery engineering, mechanical integrity, contracts, inspection, modifications and new construction, capital and expense budgets, and the capital strategic plan.



He was appointed Manager of Environment, Health and Safety in 1991, and oversaw the refinery's environment, health, safety, personnel training, process safety management, and regulatory compliance. During this assignment, he initiated installation of the first TEXACO wetlands for tertiary wastewater treatment in El Dorado.



Jerry was promoted to Manager of Technical Services in 1996 and took charge of planning, controlling, and administering the refinery's technical services activities, including plant engineering, inspection, computer and information, process, process control, contracts, invoice control, and the laboratory.



A recipient of both the TEXACO SuperStar and the TEXACO Outstanding Contributor awards, Jerry retired from the company in January 1999 after 31 years of service.



A registered Professional Engineer in the state of Louisiana, Jerry is a past president of the Baton Rouge Chapter of the Louisiana Engineering Society. He also has served as an officer, a board member, and in leadership roles in several company-sponsored, professional, and civic organizations, including the New Jersey Petroleum Council, Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, Kansas Petroleum Council, Clean River Association (Louisiana), South Louisiana Port Commission's Industry Advisory Committee, Petroleum Refining Environmental Council of Louisiana, American Petroleum Institute, United Way, and American Heart Association.



Jerry has been actively involved with Virginia Tech for many years. He served on the Via Department's Alumni Board from 1994 to 2000. He is a member of Virginia Tech's Ut Prosim Society, the College of Engineering Committee of 100, and the Hokie Club, and he has served as team leader of TEXACO's College Relations Team for Virginia Tech. He also has contributed to TEXACO'S college relations activities at several other universities.



Jerry's wife, Sally, a Certified Public Accountant, is a graduate of Radford College and Virginia Tech. They reside in Wichita, Kansas.