Meet Jenna Hetherington, a Senior Project Manager at Antea Group, located out of our Detroit, Michigan office.
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Office:
Practice Area:
Area(s) of expertise:
Global Health & Safety Regulations, Ergonomics & Remote Workers, EHS Gap Assessments, RiskRight, Industrial Hygiene
About Me in 140 Characters:
I was born and raised in southeast Michigan and love spending summers out on the water. I currently live in an old 1920’s home on the east side of Detroit with my partner Patrick.
Favorite Thing About Being a Health & Safety Practitioner:
The variety of projects I get to work on keeps every day interesting. No two projects, clients, or countries are exactly the same!
What is a key ingredient for success as a H&S practitioner?
Realizing that you may not always have the answers to every single question but knowing where to go and who to ask for insight is crucial for success. I definitely rely on our teams and network of experts to provide input into various regulations and projects around the world. It really is a team effort to problem solve at times. I realize that I can’t be an expert in everything but having a strong team behind me helps to make me successful. Some of our tools and resources, like the Global RegSupport HelpDesk and Inogen Alliance, allow us to collaborate effectively with our partners around the world.
If someone at a party asks what you do, how to you respond?
I help companies identify and stay in compliance with Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) regulations around the world. I also help clients implement Health & Safety programs that keep their employees safe. Sometimes this involves me or another practitioner visiting a client site in the US, and sometimes it’s the Inogen Alliance on behalf of us outside of the US.
What surprises people about your job?
The different countries in which we are able to complete work always surprises people who don’t know a lot about what we do. When I explain that I’ve overseen projects in places like Japan, Hungary, Egypt, Lithuania, and Pakistan, people are always surprised that we have such a wide array of consultants on our team! I think people are also surprised at the types of facilities I have visited myself – including glass bottle manufactures, glue and adhesive production facilities, retail technology stores, and just recently an industrial x-ray company.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a veterinarian due to my love for animals, especially dogs. When I realized you had to go to school for almost as much time as human doctors, I decided it wasn’t for me. I have always had an interest in science and the outdoors, so I opted instead to study environmental science with a specialization in environmental health, which lead me to EHS and the career I have today.
Is there something unique that people might not know about you?
Every summer we grow San Marzano and Roma tomato plants in our garden and then can our own tomato sauce. Last year we got so many tomatoes that we were able to can sauce on 3 separate occasions and ended up with about 20 jars of sauce. We already have friends and family asking for it this year!
What is on the top of your bucket list?
I love to travel and have a bucket list of places I would like to visit one day. The last one I crossed off my list was Iceland a few years ago, and next up would probably be Italy. I have been to eastern Europe but have not yet visited any countries in western Europe or the Mediterranean. I would absolutely love to visit everywhere from Sicily to Tuscany and enjoy all the delicious food and Italian wine along the way.
