Take Five

with Kristen Hughes

I learned so many valuable things in the biological resources engineering program at University of Maryland – like the mechanics of how nutrients are transported from land to water, and how to measure and prevent these losses. I learned how to design treatment systems that depend on biological as well as chemical and physical processes. I learned how to measure biological processes in natural systems and develop equations to explain these processes that can be used in the design of ecologically engineered systems.

I also learned how to work with a team of intelligent people to come up with the solution to a complicated problem in a short period of time, and I had a lot of fun doing it.

What was your biggest challenge when you started out in your career? The biggest challenge I faced when first starting my career was convincing farmers that a young woman from an environmental organization, who had no experience farming, had anything valuable to offer in terms of technical expertise. It’s a good thing I knew what I was talking about, because it would have been tough to rebound from a bad first impression! Now that I have more experience under my belt and a lot more confidence, it’s much easier going, but looking back, it was rather intimidating at first.

Reflecting on your career, are you doing the kind of job you envisioned when you first started out? How did you get to where you are now? I was thinking while I was in school that I would be directly involved in the design and construction of manure and wastewater treatment systems. Instead, I’m involved in identifying innovative technologies and helping to get the demonstration projects funded, so that other people can design and build them. My job involves a lot more economic analysis than I ever imagined because money is always a constraint.

I transitioned from academic research to working for nonprofit environmental organizations that partner with farmers in 2003. I first worked for a California-based environmental organization called Sustainable Conservation and then with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation – both organizations are committed to finding environmental solutions that work for farmers and are supportive of innovation and collaborative approaches to problem solving.

I love working for a company that has the same mission and goals that I do, and that welcomes good ideas and partnerships. With these organizations, I have had the opportunity to bring all of my skills and training to the table, and have been encouraged to foster powerful partnerships between environmental and agricultural organizations. I can say that Monday’s are not a problem for me – I love my work!

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In her words

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I’ve been a professional ASABE member since 2005, and a student member before that. Discounts at conferences more than make up for the membership fee, and access to the transactions of agricultural and biological engineering journal save me hours I would have to spend at the library otherwise. Plus, I always remember Professor Art Johnson with the University of Maryland’s Biological Resource Engineering program telling the graduating class of 1999 how important it was to support ASABE, our professional organization. Like a lot of things he taught us, as a professional, I can see how much he was right.