The Shale Gas Roundtable was created in the fall of 2011 to explore natural gas development in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The Roundtable operated by building and sustaining relationships among relevant regional stakeholders; identifying critical focus areas through dialogue, research, and collaboration; assessing those focus areas; and developing recommendations that promote responsible regional shale gas development. Twenty-four civic leaders from the private, nonprofit, and public sectors served with us on the Roundtable. From the beginning, our process relied on broad stakeholder consultation, in-depth research, education on important issues, and respectful consensus building among our diverse members.