During Pride Month we are sharing the stories of LGBTQ+ employee-owners at Parametrix. Meet Chloe Nichol, an engineer with the Bremerton, WA environmental planning and compliance team. She recently moved to the Puget Sound region from Portland, OR. She joined Parametrix in January 2021.
Tell us about your career. What do you do? Tell us about a project you’re working on currently or a project you have worked on that you’re proud of.
Parametrix is the first engineering company I have worked with out of college. I started in the Oregon water group during COVID and have since moved to the Bremerton EP&C group. Both groups have consistently provided me work for most of my time at Parametrix and I am always excited to get to think through new types of projects.
One of the most interesting projects I had the opportunity to assist with required the development of a predictive thermodynamic model. Recently this model was presented on at the Western Washington Short School in Lacey, WA.
What do you like to do outside of work?
In my time outside of work I play pool on a couple of different league teams, go bouldering, and love to cook (mostly vegan).
How has being LGBTQ+ influenced your career?
When initially applying to engineering positions, one of the most important parameters for me was culture. While researching Parametrix I had stumbled across one of the pride month postings and that helped me feel more secure in choosing to pursue working here.
When actually joining Parametrix I was surprised to find that the group I had joined was mostly people of the LGBT+ community. While I had expected more acceptance amongst employee-owners due to Parametrix’s values, I had not expected most of the group to be part of the community. It was a pleasant surprise and led to some fun team building events outside of work. Parametrix does seem to exemplify community bonding and inclusion and as an employee-owned company, encourages self-expression.
Anything else you would like to add?
Happy pride everyone! Stay safe and be yourself!
