Today, Jennifer Privé is a Senior Biologist and Manager of the Environmental Sciences team in Vancouver. However, her career in the environmental sciences almost never began; when she was a first-year university student, Jennifer wavered between pursuing a degree in the arts or science. She eventually settled on a major in biology, as it interested her the most, specifically vertebrate biology.

During her studies and early in her career, Jennifer was fortunate to meet and work with some influential people who gave her solid advice. One of these individuals was her supervisor at the time, who was teaching a course at the British Columbia Institute of Technology and suggested environmental science might interest her.

Later, when an opportunity became available, Jennifer took a position at an environmental consulting firm. She shares, “My background in vertebrates and biochemistry turned out to be useful after all dealing with all those fish!”

Early in her career, at the age of 24, Jennifer received a promotion to a management role. She recalls feeling unprepared for the role, so she took courses, learned from others already in the role, and became a keen student of human behaviour.

Three decades later, after working for small firms, large multi-nationals, and as a sole proprietor, Jennifer reflects on the challenges and successes that have shaped who she is now, and admits it is a bit mind boggling. Her constant has been learning something new in every role, and connecting with the people she works with.

Jennifer was actively looking for a change, when she learned about a group manager opportunity with Associated. While she didn’t know much about the company before she joined, except for having previously worked on a successful project with an Associated staff member, the role aligned well with her experience. Jennifer reached out to a friend to learn more and soon after was hired to lead the environmental team in Vancouver.

Jennifer tells us, “I have been involved on many projects and worked with great people, but Associated is like no other firm I’ve ever been at. I’ve worked for three different consulting firms and one large multi-national and none of them had the same cultural philosophy as Associated. When I’m interviewing people I try to describe it and I never quite do it justice; the few times I’ve been close, people have said that sounds too good to be true… but it is true!” Jennifer believes Associated is a very unique firm, as one of a very few medium-sized, employee-owned firms remaining in Canada.

“Our philosophy of focusing on employee development as the core to driving excellent service delivery is unique.”

The common denominator of our project success is the strength of our people. Jennifer believes that managing a project is managing the people delivering it, so being a great communicator and tailoring how you communicate is key to being an excellent consultant.

Reflecting on her own career experiences, Jennifer shares that one’s career goes through three stages. The first ten years is intensive learning. The next ten years is focussed on applying knowledge. And lastly, the following ten years is focussed on teaching others and encouraging continual learning.

Jennifer believes that mentoring is a great opportunity for everyone involved and the best advice comes from people in roles you aspire to be in. She encourages young professionals to seek out role models as mentors.

“Mentors can help build your self awareness, identify your strengths and your opportunities for improvement, provide guidance, and facilitate company support. Young staff need to learn that they control their career, and they need to take initiative.”

Jennifer encourages young professionals to also develop communication skills, including listening, speaking, and writing, in addition to their technical abilities.

In her free time, Jennifer enjoys photography, especially in nature, developing her photography knowledge and skills. She even plans her vacations around her hobby. Jennifer is also currently serving as the Chair of the Discipline Committee for the College of Applied Biology.

The post Continuous learning and a people-centric approach are Jennifer Privé’s philosophy for a successful career first appeared on Associated Engineering.

Water Resources Engineer, Eric Finney, will be presenting a case study titled “Colquitz Park: Applying Green Shores Principles in an Estuarine Environment in Southern Vancouver Island” during the third day of the conference (October 10th) in Session 7 beginning at 1:00pm.

Colquitz Park lies on the left bank of the Colquitz River which discharges into a shallow basin (Portage Inlet) in Saanich, BC.  The shoreline has experienced significant erosion and loss of riparian habitat due to encroachment of residential areas and regular mowing. The District of Saanich desired that the park be restored using nature-based solutions, whilst aiming for Green Shores for Shoreline Development (GSSD) accreditation. Objectives included to stabilize the shoreline, improve the riparian habitat, identify climate-related risks and solutions, and provide guidance to recreational activities.

Recognizing that riverine flows in the urbanized Colquitz River would play a significant role in erosion processes, our project team, led by Associated Engineering with support from DHI, focussed on modelling this channel. We conducted a frequency analysis on available flow data and adjusted these values for an assumed return period based on an analysis of projected climate change effects. We then developed a HEC-RAS 2D model of the channel and the basin considering various tidally-influenced boundary conditions that reflected different sea level rise scenarios.

The modelled results were used to develop several restoration concepts for review by the client. These concepts incorporated specific nature-based solutions intended to embody green shores principles, with the goal of gold level certification. Techniques implemented include strategic vegetation selection and placement, redesigning existing storm outfalls to include more natural features, main channel regrading, restraining public access to designated areas, and inclusion of limited erosion protection through adding channel roughness. The hydraulic model also represents a value-added feature of the project which can serve as a backbone for future flood mapping for the client.

Implementation of the design is planned for the summer of 2025, with final assessment of Green Shore certification occurring shortly thereafter.

The post Case study presentation at the 2024 Pacific Workshop on Nature-based Coastal Solutions first appeared on Associated Engineering.