ESS alumna Kelly Ferron '10, Waste Zero Specialist
S. Boyer
Before graduating from SCU in 2010, Kelly already had parts of her career trajectory figured out. She'd been awarded a Clare Boothe Luce grant to fund her research, had spent two years as a research intern with ESS faculty, and had presented research on endangered plant restoration at the International Congress on Conservation Biology.
After graduation, Kelly went on to be a Zero Waste Intern for the City of San Jose, spending seven months working on policy implementation, especially preparing businesses for an upcoming plastic bag ban. After her internship, she went on to become a Sustainability Coordinator with Americorps, working for a year with the City of Issaquah Resource Conservation Office, where she performed habitat restoration on local parks and coordinated sustainability education programs.
Kelly's first "real" job was as Recycling and Waste Reduction Programs Coordinator for the City of Kirkland, Washington. In that role she developed, coordinated and implemented both the city's internal and external waste reduction and recycling programs, as well as providing environmental education and outreach.
Beginning last August, Kelly took a position as the Waste Zero Specialist for the Greater Seattle Area. She is now recognized as one of the top waste zero experts in the Pacific Northwest, and is developing state-of-the-art programming with Recology. Regardless of her current success, Kelly hopes to continue her education soon as a postgraduate researcher.