jen ace,
the corporate environmentalist
Environmental and Social Strategy in the Corporate World
I find Corporate Environmental and Social Strategy exciting. I love to explore out-of-the-box ideas, and then fit together the puzzle pieces into a cohesive, inspiring strategy. I’m looking forward to applying my experience to new challenges after graduation in May.
From Park Ranger to Corporate Environmentalist
Five years ago, my career goal was to get a Ph. D and work in national parks, so I could live in – and help save – the places I love. If things went well, I might have been able to eke a living out of photography, too. I studied Forestry & Natural Resources at Berkeley as a first step toward this goal, and conducted research on the interactions between Native Americans and the National Park Service.
My final six months at Berkeley was an exchange semester in New Zealand, where I studied and spent a lot of time backpacking. For a class project, I researched one of the major environmental issues in Sequoia National Park in California (poor air quality) and designed an interpretive program that used psychological theory to bring about behavior change in visitors (driving less often) that would benefit the park. This was the beginning of an epiphany that many of the problems faced by parks actually originate outside their boundaries, and prompted a career shift to Corporate Environmental Strategy. I realized I could do more to protect the places I loved by working outside, rather than inside, their borders.
When I’m Not Saving the World, I:
•Hike long distances, carrying a heavy backpack. The Rocky Mountains are my favorite because I love tundra, but any mountain sunrise will do.
•Kayak to places that can’t be reached by hiking. On a week-long trip in British Columbia’s Gwaii Haanas National Park, it rained six days out of seven. One consolation was the great food: you don’t notice an extra frying pan when you’re not carrying it, which means French Toast for breakfast…
•Photograph beautiful landscapes. I’ve been known to do almost anything for a photograph, including camping in Yellowstone in February, standing very close to the side of very busy roads, and sleeping only in the day so I could photograph the closest thing to a sunset that Iceland gets in July.
about me
