Spotlights

Laurie Beth Nederveld '09

Laurie Beth Nederveld '09

Employer
Barr Engineering/Sr. Ecologist

LinkedIn Profile
https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurie-beth-nederveld-7117b81b

1. Tell us about your journey since graduation.
After graduating from GVSU in 2009, I left my position at Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr, & Huber, Inc. in Grand Rapids, MI to pursue a position as an ecologist at Golder Associates in Lansing, now a part of WSP Global. While there, I assisted Canadian National Railway with meeting their federal environmental compliance requirements related to their positive train control (PTC) system. PTC systems are designed to prevent train-to-train collisions, over-speed derailments, and incursions into established work zones. After two years at Golder Associates, I accepted a position with Barr Engineering's Ann Arbor office in 2015. While at Barr, I have worked on various environmental compliance projects with our mining, power, and fuels clients over the past eight years, including four solar power projects in the Midwest last year.

2. Share a favorite Grand Valley memory.
During my graduate research, I studied the impact of sediment remediation on stream conditions using a benthic macroinvertebrate index of biotic integrity. I have many fond memories of wading through Ruddiman and Ryerson Creeks, both located in the city of Muskegon, collecting macroinvertebrates, like dragonfly larvae, from logs and rocks with my research team.

3. What's the best piece of advice you've ever received?
Words I live by are “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever", which are attributed to Mahatma Gandhi.

4. List three words you would use to describe your Grand Valley experience.
Engaging, hands-on, and motivating.

5. What difference would you like to make in the world?
I hope to continue to assist utilities and pipeline companies with their environmental compliance requirements related to wetlands, streams, and protected species to help them minimize their impact on the natural environment while still providing the energy services we all benefit from.

February 2023

Interest Area(s)
Biology

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Page last modified February 6, 2023