What I Do I lead a team of environmental professionals helping our clients to navigate and comply with permitting and regulatory requirements, clean up industrial contamination, and develop new projects.
Why Engineering? I loved chemistry lab in high school and then realized I also love large manufacturing and chemical processing plants. The process of things is fascinating!
School Days I attended the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado and studied Chemical Engineering and Petroleum Refining. I had the opportunity during school to intern twice - once each in west Texas and Illinois at cotton seed and corn oil processing facilities.
My Day At Work My days typically include working with clients and project teams to help them figure out how we solve problems - typically no client or site is exactly the same, so I am typically helping teams work within our collective experience to figure out how to leverage our knowledge along with the schedule and budget. It is exciting to help project teams get the tools and resources they need to do quality work.
Best Part I feel like the training and education I had in looking at the entire process really helps with all sorts of engineering and every-day life challenges. If you can understand the overall goals and objectives, it helps in creating and pursuing actions to get started and successfully achieve the goal. Also, going through rigorous classes and field work early in my career really instills the discipline to keep trying and looking for new ways to solve a particular challenge or problem. My clients have typically wanted someone who can figure out a solution, not who has the 100% right answer right away, but the ability to get to work to figure out how to get things done with their needs in mind.
Proud Moments After working on a former power plant in California for nearly 10 years, getting to know the neighborhood, the local activists, and seeing it evolve and support small businesses and new green community spaces, it is very rewarding to know that I helped clean up the soil and groundwater, that I had impact on that space and how it can be used in the future.
Challenges There are challenges in pursuing higher levels of management in some companies - I didn't realize until it happened multiple times, that several times that I went in for a new role or project, that there was something in my experience or background that wasn't quite right for the promotion or opportunity. Finding an employer who fully embraces your contributions is powerful. Systems and biases don't change overnight, but it can be hard to realize you need to leave to be fully appreciated for your hard work. Knowing when to have patience versus knowing your worth can be challenging.
My Family My husband and I are high school sweethearts and have one super senior cat. We are delighted to live in downtown Denver after a 3-year stint in San Francisco, renting an easy maintenance apartment near the Colorado Capitol building. My husband is a wedding photographer and has owned his business for over a decade (!!!).
Inspiration My parents have inspired me immensely - they both grew up in poor families, my dad in Chicago and my mom in El Paso. My mom's first language was Spanish and teachers in elementary school weren't allowed to speak in anything but English in school. Both of my parents have always valued education and have been heavily involved in their community through activism and volunteer activities their entire lives.
Want to be an Engineer? Looking back, completing an engineering degree is an easy YES! Yes, the classes are hard and not all of them will be enjoyable at the time. The doors that open, the confidence engineering builds, and the ability to apply engineering education to all sorts of careers is just incredible. If you are considering engineering, just jump in and do it. You will not regret it!
Hobbies About 8 years ago, I begin my martial arts journey and fell hard in love with grappling - a combination of wrestling with submissions. It's exhausting and horrifyingly sweaty, and it is my most favorite thing to be doing. Outside of grappling, it better be ice cream or glitter.