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Geoscientist

Scientists from all walks of life can make life better on Earth

Michael McGaw’s southern Louisiana hometown is sinking due to subsidence and local sea level rise, which is why he trained to become an engineering technician at APTIM. Techs like McGaw gather field data that is essential to figuring out how to get more sediment to the coastal wetlands to improve flood protections and ecosystem health.

Geoscientists study the physical aspects of the Earth. Most split their time between working in offices and laboratories, and working outdoors. Doing research and investigations outdoors is commonly called fieldwork and can require irregular working hours and extensive travel to remote locations.

Geoscientists typically need a bachelor’s degree for entry-level jobs. For some positions, employers may prefer to hire candidates who have a master’s degree.

Native Louisianan Michael McGaw works as an engineering technician for APTIM in the Coastal Ports and Marines Division. APTIM is a global industry leader committed to accelerating the transition towards a clean and efficient energy economy in order to build a sustainable future for our communities and the natural world. “When I was given the opportunity to work in this environment, it was something I felt like I couldn’t say no to,” says McGaw, “I would do whatever I can to help preserve it.” Engineering technicians such as McGaw operate all the essential equipment required to collect field data that will ultimately help improve flood protection for coastal Louisiana.

Maricel Beltrán-Burgos works as a research associate at The Water Institute of the Gulf. The Water Institute is an independent, non-profit, applied research institutes that advances science and develops integrated methods to solve complex environmental and societal challenges. “Science is never a one-person job,” says Beltrán-Burgos. “ You have to work with a lot of people… It’s teamwork.” Research associates like Beltrán-Burgos organize, process, and analyze data that is obtained in the field, and then present their data to clients in order to inform their decision-making.

In 2020, the median pay for geoscientists was $93,580 per year, or $44.99 per hour. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of geoscientists is projected to grow 7% from 2020 to 2030, about as fast as the average for all occupations.

About 3,100 openings for geoscientists are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of these openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

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Dana Beth Ardi

Executive Committee

Dana Beth Ardi, PhD, Executive Committee, is a thought leader and expert in the fields of executive search, talent management, organizational design, assessment, leadership and coaching. As an innovator in the human capital movement, Ardi creates enhanced value in companies by matching the most sought after talent with the best opportunities. Ardi coaches boards and investors on the art and science of building high caliber management teams. She provides them with the necessary skills to seek out and attract top-level management, to design the ideal organizational architectures and to deploy people against strategy. Ardi unearths the way a business works and the most effective way for people to work in them.

Ardi is an experienced business executive and senior consultant who leverages business organizational transformation through talent strategies. She uses her knowledge and experience to develop talent strategies to enhance revenue and profit contributions. She has a deep expertise in change management and organizational effectiveness and has designed and built high performance cultures. Ardi has significant experience in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, IPO’s and turnarounds.

Ardi is an expert on the multi-generational workforce. She understands the four intersecting generations of workers coming together in contemporary companies, each with their own mindsets, leadership and communications styles, values and motivations. Ardi is sought after to assist companies manage and thrive by bringing the generations together. Her book, Fall of the Alphas: How Beta Leaders Win Through Connection, Collaboration and Influence, will be published by St. Martin’s Press. The book reflects Ardi’s deep expertise in understanding organizations and our changing society. It focuses on building a winning culture, how companies must grow and evolve, and how talent influences and shapes communities of work. This is what she has coined “Corporate Anthropology.” It is a playbook on how modern companies must meet challenges – culturally, globally, digitally, across genders and generations.

Ardi is currently the Managing Director and Founder of Corporate Anthropology Advisors, LLC, a consulting company that provides human capital advisory and innovative solutions to companies building value through people. Corporate Anthropology works with organizations, their cultures, the way they grow and develop, and the people who are responsible for forming their communities of work.

Prior to her position at Corporate Anthropology Advisors, Ardi served as a Partner/Managing Director at the private equity firms CCMP Capital and JPMorgan Partners. She was a partner at Flatiron Partners, a venture capital firm working with early state companies where she pioneered the human capital role within an investment portfolio.

Ardi holds a BS from the State University of New York at Buffalo as well as a Masters degree and PhD from Boston College. She started her career as professor at the Graduate Center at Fordham University in New York.