Ten years ago, Suzan Gonder was known as the “lady with the space suit” by students who today are colleagues in the environmental services industry.
As a managing principal at Environmental Works Inc. and 30-year industry veteran, Gonder makes a point to pass it on.
“One of my favorite tasks is to speak at local school career days, particularly to the younger classes,” she says. “I usually take protective gear, including a ‘moon suit,’ to dress out in, plus some jars of contaminated soil – the slimier, the better. It makes an impact.”
Gonder got her start in the business as a field technician working in the oil and gas reserves in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas, after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in geology from University of Missouri-Columbia. “The days I spent taking soil samples or installing wells might have been tough at times, but they prepared me for the career I have now,” she says.
Gonder is EWI’s go-to scientist for environmental compliance, auditing and training. Her expertise covers the Clean Water Act, Toxic Substances Control Act, Clean Air Act and Department of Transportation regulations. In house, Gonder trains EWI staff to meet government compliance, and in the field, she serves as liaison for clients during regulatory agency negotiations, inspections or audits, and as an expert witness.
Prior to joining Environmental Works, Gonder spent nearly a decade with Arcadis in Columbus, Ohio.
“I came to EWI from a much larger, multinational consulting firm and had some reservations about making the leap to a small company,” she says, noting EWI employed 10 in one office when she joined in 1998. “However, I very much wanted to relocate to Springfield to spend more time with my family.”
The job wasn’t handed to her. Gonder remembers nine hours of interviews and numerous follow-up phone calls before Robin Melton offered her the position. Today, the company employs 60 spread across three offices. Though Melton is no longer at the helm following a deadly plane crash in fall 2012, Gonder tries to echo what Melton taught her.
“Robin allowed me the freedom to learn what I’m good at and, conversely, what I’m not so good at. She was a huge presence, but she didn’t overwhelm or smother, and I try to follow that formula, even after her passing,” Gonder says. “The hardest lesson for me to learn was that you don’t have to be perfect to be a good leader. You just have to be aware and unafraid to learn from your mistakes.”[[In-content Ad]]
