Meghan is a managing planner at ESA. She has more than 15 years of experience providing environmental documentation, environmental planning, and policy services to public and private clients. She manages projects of all sizes and complexities, assisting clients with California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documents. She also has extensive experience preparing mitigation monitoring summary reports and compiling information from both survey and monitoring data. Get to know Meghan in her responses below.
What is your favorite ESA moment/memory so far?
So far, my favorite memory has been having a dinner with ESA staff at the latest AEP conference. I was able to chat with staff from other regions and learn more about what makes ESA great.
What does it mean to you to be part of an employee-owned company?
Being part of an employee-owned company means that we are all invested in helping meet the business goals, and we all have a stake in the company doing well. No one is just a cog in the machine; we are all owners. That means we all have a responsibility to support each other as well as hold each other accountable.
What keeps you coming to work here at ESA every day?
A combination of the team I work with – love working with our SoCal CD staff – as well as making sure that we’re helping our clients to achieve their goals.
What is your hidden or special talent(s)?
I can waterski.
What’s your favorite thing to do when you are out of the office?
Outside of work I love spending time with my family (including my two amazing daughters), whether it be going on walks in our community or going away for a long weekend.
If you had one free hour each day, how would you use it?
Reading a book.
What are three skills that you bring to the ESA team? In other words, what should colleagues know to reach out to you about?
1.CEQA knowledge
2.Experience on school projects
3.Association of Environmental Professionals involvement
In a nutshell, what kind of work does your team do?
Our team provides CEQA support for a variety of projects including residential and mixed-use development, schools, and infrastructure, among many other project types.
Describe your role at ESA and the type of work you do.
I am a Senior Project Manager and help walk clients through the CEQA process, help prepare environmental documentation, and coordinate with the project team regarding client needs and deliverables.
What’s been your favorite project to work on here at ESA and what impact did it have on the community and/or environment?
Having only been at ESA a little over a year, I don’t have a favorite project yet. However, I will say that the Santa Susana Field Lab project is one of the most challenging projects I have ever worked on in my career. The cleanup projects that are being undertaken will be a benefit to the surrounding communities as well as an overall benefit to the unique environment of the project site. This is unlike any other CEQA project I have worked on, and I enjoy the team we work with.
Have you had the opportunity to work on any career-defining projects?
I would say my career-defining project came at a previous firm, where I was able to assist a renewable energy developer in permitting a complex wind energy project in western Washington state. Being able to work with the technical and legal teams on the analysis as well as sit in on the USFWS meetings was such a great learning opportunity and began my passion for working on renewable energy projects.
