Alumni Spotlight: Bridger Tomlin
Bridger is a 2019 MENV graduate who specialized in Sustainability Planning and Management (now called Urban Resilience and Sustainability). He currently works as a Sustainability Associate with the City of Westminster, a local municipality of Colorado. In this alumni spotlight article, Bridger tells us about his professional background, his current role, and his advice for current and future MENV students. Read on to the end—you won’t want to miss his witty interesting fact!
What is your academic and professional background?
Before joining the third MENV cohort, I served through AmeriCorps as the Energy Efficiency Coordinator for Bowdoin College and the town of Brunswick, Maine. In this role, I delivered energy efficiency audits and resources to low-income households, organized community climate education and action events, and managed internal environmental programs for the College. This role built upon my experience studying and working at Bowdoin College, where I majored in Environmental Studies and History and worked in the Sustainability Office managing and delivering sustainability educational programs. Prior to AmeriCorps, I also worked as an Interpretive Naturalist in Aspen, Colorado at the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES) and held a fellowship with the Town of Brunswick Planning and Development office.
Where do you work and how would you describe your role?
I work as a Sustainability Associate for the City of Westminster, a neighboring municipality of Boulder. I see my position as a connector and facilitator of sustainability projects internally in the City and externally in the community. For example, in my 10 months with the City, I created and now manage the SAGE Sustainable Business Program. This program links businesses to resources, financial incentives, education, and networks to assist them with sustainability projects. Moreover, I implement projects outlined in the City Sustainability Plan which range from coordinating solar ordinance updates, partnering with other Front Range cities, writing and administering grants, and leading communication efforts.
How did you find your current position? Could you speak about your job search process and how it went?
I found this position through a listing on the MENV job posting newsletter. Getting this position was somewhat like getting a rocket into orbit; a lot of build up and time was needed for a successful launch. It was through applying to many jobs in the local government, consulting, and corporate sustainability fields that I learned how to navigate the application process and speak convincingly about my experiences in interviews. Moreover, creating “allies,” people who vouched on my behalf during the application process, helped me stand out. All told, it was through time, patience, and the building of confidence and momentum that I finally achieved liftoff.
Were there any hard or soft skills you felt you lacked or wished you were stronger in when you started your career after graduate school?
I wish I was stronger in crafting compelling communications—emails, newsletters, social media posts, and the like. Sustainability programming at its core is about behavior change, and having the ability to adeptly convince people from all political leanings, backgrounds, and identities to take action is essential. As such, the ability to expertly write and speak persuasively would have benefited me when I started my position at the City of Westminster.
What is something people may not know about you?
My true dream job is to own my own ice cream sandwich shop that specializes in artisanal ice cream sandwiches. Each sandwich would commemorate and “tastify” a famous or legendary person. For example, the "John Mooir” (ie. John Muir) would be spruce needle flavored ice cream sandwiched between trail mix cookies.
What advice would you give to current and/or future MENV students?
Make your experience your own. There are so many opportunities the MENV program provides from the Capstone and consultantships to happy hours and spontaneous lunch meetings. I encourage you to not only take advantage of these opportunities, but go out of your way to optimize them. Identify what you want to get out of your experience and engage the professors, peers, friends, and community partners and resources you want to realize that experience. If you don’t know what you specifically want at the start, just show up. Keep showing up at as many MENV opportunities that you can and you’ll soon learn what you specifically want to gain and start to make it your own. Oh, and most importantly...make sure to go to Lucky’s Bakehouse and Creamery—you won’t regret it!