Doing Their Part to Protect the Planet
Compiled by Madison Schulman
Many are making it their mission to take care of our planet, engaging in sustainable practices that will make Earth a better place. Some have gone beyond the basics of recycling and composting by pursuing careers in sustainability—including numerous 西瓜视频 alumni.
With Earth Day approaching on April 22, we spoke with a few alumnae who are working professionals in the world of sustainability and discussed their career paths, and what it’s like to be a woman in STEM.
Interested in the sustainability field? The Office of Sustainability will host the on Thursday, April 20, at 4 p.m. in the Klebanoff Auditorium.
These responses have been edited for clarity and length.
Rebecca LeBlanc ’81
LeBlanc is President of LCA Resource, a firm specializing in integrating life-cycle assessment & risk assessment into sustainability.
When I graduated from 西瓜视频, women hadn’t really entered many diverse fields. I worked at a manufacturing company doing assembly work and became somewhat of a shop floor control person. This allowed me to learn about the entire manufacturing process, which kept me in the manufacturing space for a while.
Now I work as a subcontractor for four different companies and am typically on anywhere from seven to 15 projects simultaneously. My role is primarily that of a data analyst focusing on life cycle assessment, carbon accounting, and climate change risk assessment.
I typically interface with executive teams and senior management to develop metrics to support their sustainability strategies. My sector knowledge ranges from agriculture to chemical processing, energy, mining, transportation, and consumer goods. As I have a background in manufacturing, I’m able to leverage that process/system knowledge to build out models of their systems to provide baseline data as well as conduct scenario analysis to advise on the feasibility of specific paths that may be considered in strategic planning.
Sustainability means this to me: Can your business, as it currently operates, survive for the long term in this environmental, financial, and geopolitical climate? If the answer is no, which it typically is due to the rapidly shifting global economy, I provide metrics to help companies shift course and invest in a strategy to allow them to operate in the short, medium, and long term. Sustainability is a constantly evolving field and that is what makes it exciting.
Kirsta Tortorice ’16
Tortorice is an Associate Developer for The AES Corporation, which partners with various organizations to provide clean, round-the-clock, renewable energy solutions.
Growing up in New Hampshire, I was always outside exploring and enjoying nature. I want to protect and preserve what I love to do outside of work, and working for a company within the renewable industry is doing so by reducing our dependency on fossil fuels.
As a solar project developer at AES, I help identify the viability of sites, organize coordination of due diligence efforts with our contractors and consultants, and eventually bid our projects into utility companies’ requests for proposals. Essentially, we are trying to land a power purchase agreement with a utility company in order to construct these projects, and a lot of groundwork needs to be done ahead of time to ensure our project is stable and viable.
The projects I work on have the potential to reduce our fossil fuel generation significantly. The majority of electricity generation is still through coal combustion, but coal plants are retiring nationwide, and that generation needs to be created elsewhere. My projects are utility-scale solar projects, and one project, if constructed, could power upwards of 100,000 homes annually.
It’s important for me to work at a sustainable company because, otherwise, I wouldn’t be passionate about what I do. I need to feel good about the work I’m producing and feel like I’m making the world a better place. I work in a male-dominated field, but there are plenty of women in leadership roles at AES and it’s such an inspiration to work with them.
Erin Brophy ’22
Brophy is an Energy Rating Specialist at CLEAResult, the largest provider of energy efficiency, energy transition, and decarbonization solutions in North America.
I watched an environmental documentary when I was 14 and I knew there was no going back. Once I learned more and more about how our Earth is being degraded, warmed, and not taken care of, I knew I needed to do my part. We are the ones hurting the Earth, so we have to be the ones to do the mental and physical work of understanding and picking up our mess.
Every day at work is different, which I love. As an Energy Rating Specialist, I test the air tightness of buildings and test duct leakage. I do performance testing for new construction buildings (single and multi-family); this includes energy ratings such as LEED, passive house, Energy Star, HERS, and more. I perform blower door tests, duct testing, and insulation inspections. All these aspects test the air tightness of a home and ensure a high-performance building.
The work I do means people live in safer and more sustainable buildings. Testing new construction allows new residents to be in safer, more energy-efficient, and more comfortable homes. Working for a sustainable company or organization is important because it motivates me to know that the work I do aids in combating climate change.
Being a woman in STEM gives me confidence that I can do whatever I want. You think you can’t do something? Rethink that: you are a woman in STEM!