Her Story
About Elena
I started my career working at a law firm in Washington, D.C., focusing on environmental law because I thought I wanted to be an attorney. Through that experience, I got a lot of exposure to different problems with the care for the environment and decided I wanted to focus on ocean issues. I realized that as an attorney, I would be working on very specific tasks, but I was more of a big picture, managerial-type person. So I decided to get a PhD instead. I was very interested in Coastal Zone Management, which is essentially managing the heavy weight of the people that live along the coast with the health of the ocean. I went to the Virgin Islands for my Master's, and right when I got there, Deepwater Horizon happened in the Gulf. I was sort of fixated on why that happened and the problem of aging infrastructure in the Gulf. After I finished my master's, I went to Texas to finish my PhD, and I focused on aging infrastructure and how to manage that so we could eliminate having another incident like Deepwater Horizon. I graduated in 2017 and have been working in my own capacity at my own firm for 8 years now. I started it in 2018, and I have a big project I've been working on with the University of Houston for about 3 years now. We're really close to being able to convert some of that infrastructure to renewable energy, which is really exciting.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Elena
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would say to never give up. Consulting can be really difficult, and you just have to keep going and keep putting one foot in front of the other, moving forward, and doing what you envision as success for you and success for your company. You have to never lose sight of that, because it can be a really bumpy road at times. When you focus on a vision, you don't really see the obstacles. Throughout the course of the last 8 years, there have been moments where I thought I'm just gonna quit, but for some reason, there's always some external reason that I don't quit. You just have to roll with it and keep pushing on, moving forward. It's all about being resilient.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Without the ocean being healthy, the human race just doesn't exist anymore, so it's a pretty big deal. We want to make sure that we're taking care of the ocean, that we're taking care of the border of the people that love to live along the coast, and the health of the resources that the ocean provides. In terms of consulting, I would just say to never give up. Consulting can be really difficult, and you just have to keep going and keep putting one foot in front of the other, and moving forward, and doing what you envision as success for you and success for your company. Just never lose sight of that, because it can be a really bumpy road. You have to go forth with the understanding that the people that you're working with know that you're in a good place and that you're trying to do good things. You just make it clear that you're still moving forward and progressing. When you focus on a vision, you don't really see the obstacles. You have to know what is priority and be able to prioritize a to-do list effectively, because it can get really lengthy, especially when you have your own business, because you're also your own secretary, your own bookkeeper, your own IT person. You have a million hats that you wear. It's not just you come into work and punch a clock - it's different, it's 24-7, it never goes away.
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