Megan Crawford

Title:

Environmental Data Analyst

Company:

Firmenich

Education:

B.S. Earth System Science (2015)

Specialization in Hydrology and Terrestrial Ecosystems

Minors in Biological Sciences and Global Sustainability

Career Path:

Prior to graduating from UCI, I held a position at UCI's Police Department as a Community Service Officer (CSO) and interned with PowerSave Campus Program and Center for Environmental Biology (CEB). I also participated in undergraduate research through the Department of Earth System Science in Claudia Czimczik's lab and completed a senior thesis on my research. Since I majored in ESS after switching from biological sciences (which I picked up as a minor), I was fairly involved with both the ESS and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology departments, faculty & staff, and programs - I took almost every single one of Dr. Peter Bowler's courses possible!

I graduated from UCI in 2015 and began working at ADEC Innovations (formerly FirstCarbon Solutions) as an entry-level sustainability analyst (consultant).

I began my career providing support on small projects, gradually working my way up to my position as an a technical project manager with greater responsibilities across a variety of sustainability projects. I performed a variety of tasks from project management to corporate greenhouse gas inventorying and sustainability reporting.

In February 2021, I began working for Firmenich (one of my clients while at ADEC) as their Environmental Data Analyst. Firmenich is a privately-owned fragrance, flavors, and ingredients company that was founded in 1895. Today, there are over 10,000 employees with operations all over the world. I currently work with a small team that manages the company's environmental initiatives and reporting. It is a very different experience compared to consulting, but the concepts I work with are very similar to those that I worked with during my time at ADEC - I love it! I even still get to work with some of my previous colleagues now that I'm on the client side.

In the future, I hope to pursue a stimulating career (or side gig) in natural resources management (i.e. National Park Service, California State Parks or alternative state agency, National Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, local organizations, etc.). One day I hope to do research in Antarctica too!

Career Experience:

Environmental Social Governance (ESG)/sustainability consulting; Air quality and greenhouse gas management; Private sector - Environmental Health Safety (EHS)

Affiliations:

My past UCI affiliations include: ASUCI Office of Academic Affairs, VP/uTeach Program, UC Irvine Police Department CSO Program, PowerSave Campus Program, Center for Environmental Biology, Department of ESS

- Czimczik Research Group. Currently, I'm starting to get involved with volunteering at the UCI Arboretum and Herbarium again, and with UCI Nature.

Personal Interests:

I love the outdoors and traveling! I recently started rock climbing at an indoor bouldering gym which is probably my favorite hobby now. I used to study rocks and now I just climb plastic rocks and fall off them.

Type of Students:

I can best assist an undergraduate student studying ESS or similar field that is interested in a career in environmental sciences.

I've worked in the environmental/sustainability field since I graduated from UCI in 2015, starting with consulting and more recently for a private company.

Since I work for a company within the chemicals sector, I can also assist any students looking to work as a scientist (chemist, biologist, etc.) for a flavors/fragrances/ingredients manufacturer.

I also have experience with applying to graduate school which is something I can help navigate a little, but I haven't started a graduate program at this time. Essentially, I'll do my best to help any student find their own path! (:

Number of Students I can Mentor:

Joined Date:

6 years 8 months ago

Ideal Mentoring Relationship:

My ideal mentoring relationship would be with a student that is looking for guidance and is not afraid to reach out with questions or for feedback.

I'm excited to help out in any way I can based on my own experiences at UCI and as a professional, but I need the student to initiate conversation and let me know when they are looking for support.

That way, I can reach out if I know of any opportunities or information that can help them.

PSUM is a great program for facilitating these types of relationships initially, but I'm open to remaining contacts/mentors/mentees beyond the timeline of the program. Feel free to add me on LinkedIn to stay connected!

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