Environmental Scientist Colleen Brothers Grows Her Career at Tighe & Bond
By Regina Sibilia
Environmental Scientist Colleen Brothers was looking for a career that would encapsulate her aptitude for math and science with her love of nature. During her time at the University of New Hampshire, she found her path to the field of Environmental Science and Hydrology.
“Math and science have always been my favorite classes and growing up you could always find me outside. This naturally led me to study environmental science in college and ultimately led me to my current career as an environmental scientist at Tighe & Bond.”
In 2017, Brothers began her professional career by joining Tighe & Bond’s site assessment and remediation team. Since that time, she has worked on several projects under the Massachusetts Contingency Plan (MCP) which regulates risk assessments and remediation of oil and hazardous materials contamination.
“At Tighe & Bond I’m exposed to great people and culture along with challenging projects that give me the opportunity to be hands-on in the field and in the office when preparing project deliverables,” said Brothers.
Within the site assessment group, Brothers works on a variety of projects including construction and remediation projects for greater Boston redevelopment and utility installation projects. She has experience with soil and groundwater management, including pre-characterization, preparing documentation in accordance with Massachusetts solid waste regulations, MCP reporting, and preparing Remediation General Permits for construction site dewatering.
“Being a recent college grad, I really had no experience when I started here. It was comforting to know that I had [colleagues as mentors] who I could call when I needed it. There’s a great support system for new grads at Tighe & Bond,” Brothers recalled about her career path.
She is also continuing her education as she pursues her Master of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
“Right now, I’m in grad school while I’m working full time and want to stay on at Tighe & Bond after graduation. When starting my career, I knew I wanted to get a master’s degree so I was extremely interested in finding a company that would be supportive of that,” said Brothers.
Tighe & Bond actively assists with employees’ pursuits of advanced technical degrees and course work through the Tuition Reimbursement Program. This program allows the firm to help employees pursue their education and encourages them to participate in educational courses and programs that will move their career paths forward.
“Outside of work, I love hiking, camping and traveling. I feel that working as an environmental scientist gives us a platform to help plan for and protect an ever-changing environment, that hopefully will allow future generations to enjoy the activities we enjoy today.”