Meet the Team – Issue 3

Welcome back to the latest update of our \’Meet the Team\’ feature.

Every few weeks we have been shining the spotlight on one of our amazing team members here at Albion. Our team is the most important asset and we would like our customers to know just how great they are too! So this week we are introducing you to…

Jennifer Kowalski

KTP Associate – Environmental Scientist

Favourite Quote: “Never be so polite, you forget your power; never wield such power, you forget to be polite” – Taylor Swift

Job Role at Albion: I joined Albion as part of a KTP (Knowledge Transfer Partnership) with the Open University, and my role at the company is to help expand Albion’s capabilities in the field of bioaerosol monitoring. This involves various tasks, including: training Albion staff and assisting the company in developing their bioaerosol monitoring capacity; measuring bioaerosol levels on different types of sites, analysing the data, and interpreting the results; and conducting research into bioaerosols and the issues surrounding them, and producing information to help write research papers.

What\’s your experience that lead you to this role: After graduating from the University of Aberdeen with a First-Class Honours degree in Biology, I gained a graduate internship at Zero Waste Scotland. This role helped me gain an understanding of the problems and challenges within the waste industry, whilst also improving my skills in environmental analysis and project management. I have been working with Albion/The OU for about 2 years, and in this time I have been able to further develop my field work, client management, and marketing skills.

I am also a professional member of IEMA.

What\’s your favourite project you\’ve worked on at Albion?

My bioaerosol monitoring project is long-lasting and multifaceted, leaving me little time to work on other projects. However, my favourite aspect of my bioaerosols project is training others. I find it very satisfying to take information that may seem irrelevant or complex, and make it simple and interesting, so that anyone can learn something new from it. Not only is training co-workers a task that is fairly new to me, and therefore presents a good challenge, but it also allows me to utilize my communication skills, leadership, and creativity.

What\’s something interesting about you that people may not know?

In 2015, I was one of 15 people chosen, out of about 14,000 to meet the legend that is Taylor Swift backstage after her show in Glasgow. A pretty good achievement if you ask me!

When I’m not working, you’ll find me…on the frontlines fighting for environmental and social justice, or learning how to live a more natural, holistic lifestyle. I truly believe that trying to ensure that the world is more sustainable, healthy, and equitable is the most worthwhile and necessary pastime, and I’ve learned that activism is the best way of getting there. And if collective activism is unsuccessful, then developing skills such as chopping wood, eating local produce, and starting a fire will at least help me protect myself and my loved ones when civilisation collapses.

You can contact Jennifer via email at Jennifer@albion-environmental.co.uk or connect on LinkedIn here.