Her Story
About Marissa
Marissa Bruno is an Environmental Scientist and currently serves as a Staff Scientist I at Onterris, where she supports environmental solutions within the energy sector. With a foundation in environmental science and field-based assessment, she specializes in groundwater and surface water sampling, environmental monitoring, and industrial hygiene. Her work focuses on collecting and interpreting environmental data, supporting compliance efforts, and contributing to sustainable strategies for managing environmental challenges.
Marissa earned her Bachelor of Science in Integrated Science and Technology with a concentration in Environmental Science from Metropolitan State University of Denver in 2025. Throughout her academic and professional journey, she developed hands-on experience through her internship with Landmark Environmental, where she conducted environmental sampling, monitored occupational hazards, and supported OSHA, EPA, and regulatory compliance efforts. She also contributed to sustainability initiatives through the Auraria Sustainable Campus Program, participating in Cherry Creek stream cleanups, composting efforts, water testing, and sample collection with Denver Water.
Beyond her professional work, Marissa is passionate about environmental stewardship, ecological restoration, and protecting natural ecosystems. She volunteers with native seed restoration and trail restoration projects through Boulder County and community sustainability programs. Outside of her career, she enjoys exploring the outdoors through hiking Colorado’s 14ers, backpacking, camping, skiing, and documenting local biodiversity through iNaturalist. Her dedication to science, conservation, and lifelong learning reflects her commitment to creating a healthier and more resilient environment.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Marissa
01What do you attribute your success to?
I have to attribute my success to my connections and to my strong relationships. They really like helped me harness what direction I wanted to go through whether it was professors or friends and things like that that helped me push me in the right direction especially after graduating and throughout like getting my degree my connections definitely like helped propel me in the right direction.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Make sure just to make as many connections and be open to as many relationships as you can foster. I know its a lot of hard its really hard in college to find that free time to go to conferences and things like that but It's so important just to try to meet as many people in your industry.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Being in the energy sector it's so educational. Being able to work on active and inactive facilities gives me a perspective of the energy industry that I focus more on wind and solar. So it's given me a bigger perspective of how integrated our oil and gas facilities are to our modern-day culture that the education piece has been like so important that I think that it's a lot of fun jumping into this industry and just knowing that you have a lot more to learn than what you thought.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
My values are to prioritize my life outside of work and my work-life balance to make sure that I'm pushing really hard in my work life and pushing as equally in my private life to still keep up on my hobbies while also focusing on my career and my future.
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