I started my chemical career with Celanese Acetate (currently Celanese Chemicals) in 1991 and left when the plant closed in 2005. After spending years perfecting my skills and abilities as a chemical operator in the Acid Recovery/Anhydride Manufacturing Dept (continuous chemical process) to manufacture to Cellulose Acetate manufacturing. After 5 years as an operator, I became a Development Coordinator. In that position, I trained all new operators in the process operations of the department. They were taught applicable SHEs (PSM), process safety, safe and efficient process operations, critical process procedures, field and control room process operations, and more. When needed, I worked as a supervisor and had my hand in a few department projects When operations ceased, I continued on to ensure safe decommissioning of process equipment and hazardous chemical removal from the facility. This facility is where I operated 80% of the equipment students are learning in Remington’s Process Technology program.

After Celanse, I worked in Research and Development at Solvay Advance Polymers. Where I had input in there KetaSpire polymer process. From there, I returned to Celanese to work with a High Pressure, High Temperature Polyvinyl Ethylene Acetate Operator. This batch process taught me the importance of knowing how chemicals react to each other and why understanding the chemistry of the process I work in is important. I directly worked with well over 200 different types of chemicals and I had to know how each react.

After Celanese Emulsions, I worked for Wacker Polysilicon in 2011. There, I worked on my second project. Wacker Polysilicon (worlds largest producer of Polysilicon) built a multibillion dollar green facility in Charleston, TN and I was the one of the first 53 employees hired and the only female in operations (productions) for 3 years. After spending 6 months on the job training in Burghausen, Germany, I spent 18 months working with project engineers building the facility. This is where I learned the ins and outs of planning, designing, constructing, and commissioning a chemical plant. Once I transitioned from project to plant commissioning to full operations of one of five departments on the site. I was the only female operations supervisor on the site and continued to be the only female operations supervisor when transferred to Wacker Chemical Division in 2018 to commission and supervise the HDK plant in Charleston, TN. Again, I trained overseas in Nunchitz Germany and Burghausen, Germany for several months. In 2019, before leaving Wacker for Wanhua Chemicals, I lead the commissioning of utilities for HDK plant as well as trained operators.

As for teaching, I joined Remington College in the midst of COVID-19. I teach students what they need to know as an operator and the importance of understanding they must respect and adhere to procedure, process, and company policies. I teach them from three perspectives, operator, supervisor, and manager. I am letting them know I care about their future because if this 5’2’ can do it, they can do it.