Patricia (Pattie) Bryant Melcher

Patti Melcher joined SCF Partners at its founding in 1989 because she didn’t just want to advise oilfield service companies, but to make an actual difference in the industry by helping them grow as part of an investing firm.

She left in 1994, again to make a difference—this time not in the industry, but in her life. 

Melcher’s daughter was born in 1991 with significant developmental disabilities. She left SCF to ensure her daughter received the help she needed.

“This led to co-founding The Joy School in 1997,” she said. The Houston school serves about 160 students who struggle academically, socially, with executive functioning skills or other challenges. Melcher served as president and board chair and is now a trustee emeritus.

“While it was difficult to manage essentially three jobs—operating the school, consulting/making investments and taking care of children—I learned so much and [it was] also incredibly rewarding,” she said.

Melcher said her greatest challenge has been managing her personal and professional life.

“As a woman, I believe that you can have it all, just not at the same time,” she said. “Having a special needs child changed my career trajectory that I had envisioned for myself, but it has been a fuller, more rewarding career. Founding The Joy School has impacted so many more people than I could ever have imagined. A special needs child impacts the whole family, so helping the child to be successful in school improves the wellbeing of every member of the family.”

But contributing to the community at large was not new to Melcher. She has served on the boards of several nonprofits, including Children’s Museum Houston and Dacamera, a producer and presenter of chamber and jazz music. One of her early mentors was L.E. Simmons, co-founder of Simmons & Co., where she started her career, and founder of SCF Partners. 

“L.E. Simmons has had the most influence on my career,” Melcher said. “He encouraged me to get involved in the community and volunteer for non-profits while in my 20s. He taught me important lessons about investing in the energy industry while modeling humility, honesty and hard work.”

She passes on this encouragement to young professionals in the oil and gas industry.

“Seek out challenges. Get out and meet people. Build your network by helping others (getting involved in professional organizations; making introductions within your network),” Melcher said. “Volunteer in the community—giving money is important but give your time and your expertise, also.”

Melcher met energy investor Tony Annunziato in 2002 and began helping him with some of the private energy companies he had funded, including acting as interim CEO. Annunziato would later provide the capital to found EIV Capital in 2009, asking Melcher to lead the new private equity firm. 

EIV Capital focuses on providing growth capital to entrepreneurs and companies in the energy industry and currently has over $2 billion of assets under management.

“The industry is incredibly resilient and made up of extraordinary people who face daily challenges that include volatile commodity prices, difficult working conditions and solving technical problems,” she said. “In addition, the industry reinvented itself from a U.S. industry in decline in the 1990s to one of rapid growth in the 2010s with the evolution of shale technology.”

Melcher said she loves the dynamic nature of the energy industry.

“In addition to ever-changing global supply and demand fundamentals and volatile commodity prices, the industry constantly faces and solves technical, logistical and workforce challenges,” she said. “It is an industry that celebrates entrepreneurs and risk taking. It is OK to fail, as long as you get back up and keep going. It is a ‘can do’ industry that continually improves how it finds and produces affordable energy that makes our standard of living possible.”

Check out the rest of Hart Energy's 2025 Women in Energy here.