Aegis Environmental, recently sat down with one our Project Engineers, Courtney Rockafellow to find out more about her.
What three words would you use to describe your role? Environmental Compliance Coordinator
If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor? Maybe Elon Musk because of his seemingly unwavering commitment every day to improve upon the day before, with very drastic and/or outside-the-box ideas.
What do you like most about your job? The people I work with, and the variety of the work. The family culture at Aegis is unlike any I have experienced before. And the variety of work coupled with the level of responsibility, knowledgeable support, and trust has allowed me and encouraged me to grow immensely as a professional.
What advice would you give to recent new environmental professionals? Listen intently, take notes and try, whenever possible, to hold your questions until the end. Try to get your head around the big picture then go from there, particularly when you’re new to a complex project. Having people around you who know more than you is a great thing. And no matter who you get your facts from, find the regulation or literature to support it. Partly because no one is perfect, but also to get the whole story from start to finish. And on that note, it can be extremely misleading to start reading a regulation in the middle or to just read excerpts.
What did you last laugh really hard over? Probably a game of Pictionary last weekend. Apparently, I’m not alone in my serious lack of drawing skills.
What is your motto or personal mantra? #EveryDamnDay is a fitness mantra, but I extend it to all aspects of my life and try to give it all I’ve got every day, including my career. I find it really rewarding to finish out a day completely exhausted, both mentally and physically.
What’s one of your most recent favorite blog or podcast or book? Shoe Dog, by Phil Knight the founder of Nike.
What is something you do for fun or a hobby? Sailing, fishing, house projects, wakeboarding, floating the river, and gardening.
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Courtney Rockafellow received her B.S. in Environmental Science from Virginia Tech in 2011, and her M.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of California in 2017. She is a certified Stormwater Management Inspector, a certified Erosion and Sediment Control Inspector, and a certified Responsible Land Disturber. Courtney joined Aegis in June 2018 bringing more than 5 years of water resources, air quality, safety and construction experience as an environmental engineer and consultant.
Since becoming part of the Aegis team, she has provided environmental compliance support to solar sites during both construction and regular operations. This work has included the creation of Environmental Compliance Plans (ECPs), implementation of a Waste Management Plan, Environmental Site Assessments, and stormwater inspections.
Courtney has also provided environmental compliance support to a local steel mill. . Support activities have included air permit recordkeeping and reporting for their Title V and PSD air permits and VPDES permit, as well as Method 9 Visible Emissions monitoring.
Prior to joining Aegis, Courtney conducted soil & geotechnical studies and construction inspections, managed groundwater & surface monitoring services for compliance with VPDES permits, performed Erosion & Sediment Control inspections, ran laboratory testing on soil samples and performed a wide array of environmental compliance, safety, spill response and safety tasks. She has worked at a wide range of sites including chemical plants, refineries, ports, manufacturing facilities and coal mines; and has provided air monitoring during emergency response operations during incidents including train derailments, plant explosions, oil spills, and releases of hazardous materials.