Heather has a degree in liberal arts, and followed an exciting career path that has journeyed through many different industries and roles. From multiple roles in Human Resources including training and recruitment, to becoming a retail art gallery owner, a remote fashion stylist, and a role at Amazon in the fashion division, she has followed a number of career paths and interests over the years. While at first glance these jobs don’t immediately signal a growing career in sustainability, she was continuously gaining skills in HR, business, creativity, sales, and project management. 

Our team at the Climate Career Portal is fond of saying “there’s no such thing as wasted experience”. Every job, role, and position is an opportunity to build skills that are needed in the green economy. This also extends to unpaid caretaking roles, volunteering, and hobbies. Think about it, most parents are amazing project managers that are skilled in conflict resolution.

As an experienced mid-career worker, Heather already had a wealth of experience and skills to showcase. All she needed was a slight nudge on her resume to demonstrate her interest and experience in sustainability specific roles, so she volunteered to become a sustainability ambassador in her role at Amazon. Next, she completed the Climatebase fellowship - a 12 week climate career accelerator program designed to help ambitious mission-driven professionals supercharge their careers in climate, land their next job, or start their own projects and ventures.. And lastly, she registered for the Climate Career Portal Mentorship Program to gain additional support and guidance while finishing her fellowship and applying for her next position. This combination landed Heather her current role as a Sustainability Programs Manager with My Green Doctor - the world’s leading practice management resource for health professionals and managers to bring environmental sustainability and climate change awareness to their healthcare clinic, office, or outpatient center. 

When asked about her about her main motivators, she had two powerful reasons to transition to sustainability. The first was thinking of her daughter and what she wants the planet to be like for the next generation. The second was just how energizing and fascinating she finds the sustainability sector, and that it gives her energy to learn more, do more, and be more of a positive force in the world

Next we discussed the challenges of her career transition, and she described the hardest part as how discouraging it can feel to send out multiple applications and not hear back. This is a common barrier and experience we hear from our Mentees, and it can feel difficult to keep pushing through and applying. Heather’s advice was to focus on meeting and listening to people who are currently working in sustainability, and to figure out useful takeaways from their experience that are relevant to your own journey. Having smaller and intermediary goals to focus on helped her from getting discouraged in the overall process. In addition, our team recommends leaning on your community for emotional support, strengthening your network, and attending relevant events. You never know what you might learn or who you might meet at the next sustainability event you attend, and they can be great moments to reference in an interview to showcase effort and interest. 

When asked what message she has for those who are just starting their career transition, she said “Don’t give up. Keep going, because there really is a role for everyone who is interested”, and that organizations are learning to broaden their search for prospective employees instead of only looking for years of sustainability specific experience. Therefore, there are only going to be more and more opportunities for people to work in the green economy.

Personally, we can’t think of a better fit for the creative and compassionate skills that Heather has than the sustainability world. A big congratulations and thank you to Heather for being one of our successful Mentees of 2024.