Employee Spotlight: Carolyn Carter

Meet ORAU Employee Carolyn Carter. Carolyn is an ORAU contractor working at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a communications specialist. She has been working in the National Risk Management Research Laboratory-Water Systems Division, a part of the Office of Research and Development.

Carolyn is making a difference by helping scientists get their work out to the public, as well as people in other EPA offices. Her hope is that the information sharing makes everyone’s jobs a little easier. “It is so important for people to know about all of the crucial work the researchers in my division are doing.” Her division does a wide variety of water-related research including lead corrosion control, PFAS, microbial source tracking, nutrient trading and harmful algal bloom research, among other things.

A major professional accomplishment she is excited to have accomplished, is being a coauthor on a couple EPA factsheets. “It’s really cool to see your name associated with an agency that is doing such incredible work.” Last November she also attended the Water Quality Technology Conference in Portland, OR. “Attending an event of such caliber just solidified that I want to continue a career in the science field.” Her future professional goal is to become a permanent federal employee at the EPA.

Carolyn’s #lifeoutsidethelab is just as exciting as her work! Last summer she scuba dove in the Great Barrier Reef. “It was the most incredible experience of my life.” In October, she finished a full Ironman (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run). This summer, she will be traveling to Belize and hopes to scuba in the Great Blue Hole. She’s only getting started though. She has several big future personal goals including qualifying for the Boston Marathon, qualifying for the Ironman World Championships in Kona, and completing an ultramarathon! 

Background

Carolyn graduated from Miami University in 2015 with a major in Environmental Earth Science and a minor in Writing. After job searching for a few months, she says she found the perfect position as a contractor with ORAU at the EPA. She celebrated her three year work anniversary this February.