Pronouns: She/Her 

Graduation year: Class of 2016 (December 2015) 

Hometown: Miami, Florida 

Currently living in: Boston, Massachusetts  

Current occupation: Sustainability & ESG Director 

What was your experience at CC like as an Environmental Science major? 

I LOVED the environmental science (EV) major at CC. I have countless memories of phenomenal EV classes. For example, for my Ecology class, we spent 4 days out of the week up on Pike Peak learning about ecology on the mountainside, and up past the three line (i.e., above ~11,000 feet) in many cases. For Geology, we camped with our class and professor for a week, roaming Colorado and New Mexico to see ancient rock strata in-the-flesh. I can name half a dozen more classes like those where we had the exceptional experience of hands-on learning. Within my degree, I also concentrated in Economics by taking a few Econ courses, since I knew I wanted to go into corporate sustainability after CC. I loved that I had the support from the EV department to pursue a separate topic area (Econ) to complement the systems-lens acumen I developed through my science degree. And, in tandem, I was also taking courses like EV Ethics, EV Policy, and EV Education—to name a few—which all gave me a multi-dimensional view of EV issues, topics, and opportunities. Plus, I was fortunate to study abroad twice: Spanish in Spain the Summer after my Freshman year (2 blocks abroad via CC), and Fall semester abroad sailing and studying in Polynesia via SEA Semester. Looking back CC—and my EV education—were the best decisions I’ve ever made.  

Why were you interested in focusing on Environmental Science as your major? 

I have always been passionate about the outdoors. Growing up, I spent a lot of time snorkeling, diving, fishing, and exploring my native city of Miami. I also spent summers in North Carolina for sleep-away camp and adored backpacking in the Blue Ridge Mountains. In High School, I took AP Environmental Science—which showed me that I could bring the outdoors into the classroom. I was totally hooked! I knew going into CC that I wanted to major in Environmental Science, but I also knew that I loved working with people more than working with data (as a researcher) or with regulations (as a policy-maker), so I was thrilled to connect with EV and Econ professors who supported my vision of going into corporate sustainability. I was able to really lean into the science aspects of my degree to strengthen my data analysis, critical thinking, writing, and problem-solving skills to complement the business and finance skills I gained through my Econ courses. I can say now that my coursework really helped me excel in my post-grad career.  

How are you using your major in your post-CC life? 

I think that the focus CC has on writing has been tremendously impactful in my career—between EV science papers I had to write, as well as writing for nearly all other courses at CC, I was able to hit the ground running in my career when I started out as a sustainability consultant in my first job. I have written over a dozen sustainability reports in the nearly 8 years I have been working since CC, and I wouldn’t have been able to flex that strength without CC’s writing requirements in our courses. I also used the science foundation I received to think critically and creatively about challenges and opportunities in my work. And, I felt that the data exposure I experienced in the EV degree helped prepare me for the data analysis aspects of my jobs. Since graduating from CC, I spent 3 years at a boutique sustainability consultancy based in Boston and Zurich, then I spent 2 years at Ernst & Young (EY) as a Senior Consultant in EY’s Climate Change & Sustainability Services practice, and have spent the last 2+ years as the head of sustainability for a large manufacturing company founded in 1888. In my current role, I lead my company’s sustainability strategy, reporting, performance, and team, and it has been a very exciting experience thus far. I am grateful for the EV major at CC, because it helped me get to where I am today!