Work History

Boeing

Environmental Health and Safety

The Environment, Health and Safety organization contains functions focused on occupational safety and health, and safety, environmental and regulatory compliance. EHS works to establish strategies and policies to address environmental issues associated with all Boeing products and manufacturing processes. EHS also works to maintain the strictest regultions in according to environmental regulatory compliance, whose limits are made in regard to federa, state, and city legal requirements.

Environmental Engineer

February 2022 - Present

Transitioning from a chemical to environmental engineer, I had to learn quickly. Hired to support the Stormwater, Industrial Wastewater, and Hazardous Waste teams, I read all Boeing permits for each team, toured the factories and plants, and began.

Job Description

Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Emergency Response Branch

The Emergency Response Branch (ERB) develops and performs unique laboratory tests to assess chemical exposures during a public health emergency or terrorist event. In a public health emergency, the rapid detection and accurate identification of chemical agents can be crucial for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. However, this rapid response depends heavily on sample logistics which comprises a series of steps to maintain sample integrity (such as sample receiving logistics, accessioning, aliquoting, chain of custody forms, and final distribution to the testing laboratories). The Incident Response Lab (IRL) is the central operating center for biological samples and reference standards within both the ERB and Laboratory Response Network for Chemical Threats (LRN-C).

Battelle Memorial Institute

July 2019 - February 2022

Originally hired to automate liquid handling to create a high throughput emergency response protocols, things quickly changed pace into an emergency response role. After completing all mandatory trainings and learning branch protocols, a new illness started appearing among e-cigarette users. The lung injury working group, comprising of three branches, began accepting specimen from affected individuals including BAL fluid, blood, urine, plasma, and e-cigarettes. Working quickly to develop analytical methods, we had to prioritize likely culprits due to small sample volumes. After long hours of sample analysis, Vitamin E Acetate was found to be strongly linked with the EVALI outbreak. Used as a thickening agent, Vitamin E Acetate adheres to the lung surfactant and blocks oxygen the oxygen transfer from inhaled air to the body. In short, my role was coordination with state public health labs, sample preparation, coordination between branches and analysts, and creating all appropriate documentation (i.e. chain of custody paperwork). Shortly after the Lung Injury Response, we transitioned directly into the COVID-19 era. CDC Task Forces operate with the aid of internal volunteers. With both Lung Injury and COVID-19, many of our lab staff volunteer in lengthy rotations to serve as task force responders. Some work as communications and public relations aids while others work in the response environment with state and local health departments. My involvement included programming liquid handlers to aliquot samples for high throughput COVID testing services. Lab operations have slowed, but we currently maintain all response method testing and proficiency testing. Similarly, we still partake in research study activities, such as our work with the NIH and NHANES groups as well as other individual chemical toxin and threat studies.

Job Desctiption

ORISE Fellowship

May 2018 – August 2018

While an ORISE fellow, I spent the majority of my time programming Hamilton Robotics automated liquid handlers. These are used for high throughout aliquoting in large quantities. I programed them for user input including: sample quantity, desired volume, and specimen matrix as well as original and desired containers. I also programmed them to scan ID barcodes and export them to an excel sheet in order to decrease any human error during record keeping. In a response, lab staff are doing many jobs at once. These liquid handlers allows a user to load the robotics deck, input the desired information, and step away to work on the many other tasks at hand without compromising sample or testing integrity.

Job Description

Sanofi

Chattem was a leading manufacturer and marketer of branded consumer healthcare products, toiletries and dietary supplements, acquired by Sanofi in 2018. The purchase of Chattem allowed Sanofi better access to the U.S. consumer healthcare market while also providing the ability to convert prescription medicines to OTC products.

Process Engineer and Cleaning Validation Intern

August 2018 – May 2019

When applying for my internship, I actually had no idea what being a cleaning validation intern would entail. Working with personal care items (such as Icy Hot, Goldbond, Act Mouthwash, etc.) requires strict protocols due to consumer use. For the duration of my internship, I worked in the R&D branch to create and then validate all cleaning procedures for the machinery used in the manufacturing of newly developed products. Once a chemist had formulated a new product at the bench level, they would then scale up to manufacture a batch at full scale. Next, I would determine the best products, temperatures, soaks, etc. that would be necessary in order to clean all equipment based off of the product formulations. I typically then wrote this into a working SOP to be used while the product was still being formulated. After each cleaning procedure, all equipment would be dissembled and checked thoroughly for any remaining residue to validate the working SOP. This was then written into a formal SOP and validated by my superiors to be used permanently in plant processes. I loved doing this mostly due to the dissembling and reassembling I got to do with the plant equipment. I found it really enjoyable to dissemble massive batch mixers and formulators and all of their joints and metal piping and then to reassemble it again. Throughout my internship I also spent time going to the packaging plant and two manufacturing facilities to learn more about the processes and to troubleshoot equipment failure. This was typically done by watching the process, noting any differences between the batches at our facility and the one at the full-scale facilities. Many times the issues occurred with uneven heat distribution on larger equipment or incorrect equipment setup. My day to day activities included weekly DI water testing to ensure no contaminants came into contact with newly manufactured products and safety training implementation. Many of the cleaning validations I created became standard practice so I developed them into training presentations that had to be taken yearly by all plant staff.

Job Description

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

The Brock Scholars Program at UTC is a four year interdisciplinary program designed to provide students with the opportunity join multiple curriculums for a specialized area of study to present in an undergraduate thesis. The Brock Scholars Program encourages multiple years of research and involvement in other university groups.

Research Lead

January 2016 – May 2017

Tasked with interviewing a professor for an honors class, I met with my Introduction to Chemical Engineering professor, Dr. Bradley Harris. He told me about a research project he was just getting started with regarding the influence of environmental factors on the pathogenicity of Vibrio cholerae, the causative bacteria for cholera. After asking to be a part of the team, I began training with aseptic technique by a biology professor and decided to add a biology minor onto my degree. We developed hypotheses, protocols, and SOPs to test four different environmental fatty acids on both pathogenicity and persistence and soon we were writing grants for funding and purchasing equipment like a bioreactor. We recruited more students through my mentorship role in the honors college and had a fully functioning team of professors and students. My biology minor led me to take classes like genetics which gave us the opportunity to begin a research paper mapping the genes of V. cholerae under external stress. Over the course of my 3 years researching, I presented at 5 different conferences, trained around 6 students, developed numerous protocols, led weekly findings meetings, and passed a thesis.

Job Description

Tutor

January 2017 – December 2017

UTC’s peer tutoring program is free to all students, including both individual and group sessions. In order to become a UTC tutor, I took a 15 week long course to become certified by the state of Tennessee. In this program, I learned how to assess different learning styles, teaching time management skills, professional ethics, communication styles (including active listening and responding and question asking strategy), intercultural communication, and group management skills. Upon completion, I began tutoring for General Chemistry I and II and Organic Chemistry I. Throughout the year I tutored approximately 20 individuals and 3 weekly group sessions.

Job Description

Tupelo Honey

Tupelo Honey is a Carolina Mountains based restaurant specializing in southern comfort food. Known for their bustling brunches, they distribute biscuits and tupelo honey for all waiting customers.

Server

May 2017 – November 2017

Looking for a shift-based summer job to perform while researching, I began visiting local restaurants I enjoyed. Tupelo Honey is a southern restaurant with limited locations known for their weekend brunches. Located close to both campus and my house, I thought I would go in during off hours to determine if they were hiring. Due to an emergent back of house issue, I ended up waiting to talk to a manager for around an hour. This honestly didn’t bother me, as I had brought a book anyway. When I was finally able to talk to the regional manager, she said that because I seemed content to wait patiently and politely, she’d like to hire me as a server despite the fact that they weren’t actually hiring at the moment. During my time there I was promoted several times and had several repeat customers that asked for my section. Working as a waiter for gave me a unique opportunity to view the food service and hospitality industry from multiple perspectives; I recognize the necessity of detail-oriented scheduling, vendor negotiations, food safety issues and creating a unique and pleasurable dining experience for patrons.

Job Description