How did your career start and what has your work experience been?

Ask me one day how Steven Seagal inspired my career…

Because of Steven Seagal, my education was structured
around environmental studies. I chose law school to continue my education, although I did not necessarily intend to practice law. Notwithstanding, off I went to practice in a litigation firm as soon as that degree was in my hand (with no environmental matters in sight, mind you).

Although I later came to realize that litigation is a great way to build a foundation in the legal field, I was really
excited when an opportunity came along to transition to an environmental practice. I worked with clients on permitting, enforcement actions, land use restrictions, and transactions. I also took part in working groups at Connecticut DEEP. Over eight years later, I was introduced to this industry when I received a call about a potential new position. That call led to my serving as General Counsel for Tradebe for the next handful of years.

Then another call came….and here I am at Clean Earth. I’ve been with Clean Earth now for over five years.

 Will you talk about your current role at Clean Earth? 

I serve as the Division General Counsel for Clean Earth. I collaborate with pretty fantastic people in nearly every department within Clean Earth and do what I can to help brainstorm solutions.

Are there any misconceptions people may have about your position? 

There are so many lawyer jokes to reference here! To be serious, however, I do think that many people tend to see lawyers as obligatory naysayers. I do like to think of myself and this team as being far more business friendly, though. I will seek to understand the risks but with the goal of finding a way to support a solution or to brainstorm an alternative solution, if needed, that works for the business. I often find myself reiterating to people that my team and I are trying to find a “yes” for them.

Let’s talk about some of the highlights of your career. What has been the most rewarding or meaningful part of your work experience thus far?

When I started my legal career in litigation, I gave myself more than my fair share of headaches pondering how I had gone from being intent on an environmental, science-based career to standing in a courtroom. It was that transition to working in the area that I had set out to work in that was among the most rewarding experiences. Mr. Seagal (or at least the Forrest Taft version of him) would be proud.