Life and Work with Kelsey Foster

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelsey Foster.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was born and raised in LA and despite LA being a very glitz and glam place, it’s where my love and appreciation for nature started. I grew up playing at the beaches in Santa Monica and hiking in the surrounding mountain ranges. When I was in high school, I volunteered at the Heal the Bay Aquarium where I became aware of the impacts humans can and are having on the natural world. My passion for the environment led me to earn a B.S. in Environmental Sciences from UC Berkeley where I worked as an undergraduate research assistant in various labs. I studied how daddy long legs’ movement changes when they lose legs, digitized maps of forests in CA, studied restoration techniques and wetland vegetation in the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta, and I even studied hippo movement patterns. Shortly after graduation, I began an internship with the NASA DEVELOP National Program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, CA. This is where I was exposed to the research world outside of a university setting. Following my internship, I was offered a full-time research position at JPL and for the past two years I’ve been working with an amazing team of people studying methane emissions in the state of California. Working at JPL was an incredible experience that led me to realize that a graduate degree is essential for advancing my career in science. Given this, I applied to Ph.D. programs and I am currently a first-year Ph.D. student in the Earth System Science department at Stanford University.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road has been a bit bumpy at times but, compared to others, I think I’ve had a relatively smooth road. I’ve been rejected from positions I wanted and encountered people who have actively tried to tear me down, but I’ve also been very fortunate to work with people who truly believe in me and continue to be advocates for my success. One of my biggest struggles has been “getting out of my own head”, so to speak. While at JPL, I was surrounded by leading experts in their respective fields. It was such a privilege to meet and learn from these people, but it was intimidating at times. I would look at all their accomplishments and wonder if I would be able to accomplish half as much as they had. I’ve been learning how to recognize when I’m being my own worst enemy and “snapping out of it”. We’re all works in progress, right? There have also been personal tragedies that have impacted every facet of my life. I think one of the hardest challenges in my journey was managing a work/life balance after the death of my best friend, my dad, during the first week of my full-time position at JPL. My dad played an integral part in helping me become the researcher that I am today. He always pushed me to see problems from different perspectives and back up even the smallest claims with reason. For anyone who’s lost someone very special to them, they know that it’s hard to focus and perform optimally when you’re dealing with such an insurmountable loss. However, everyone encounters stumbling blocks along their journey whether it be professional and/or personal. At the end of the day, it’s about how you handle those challenges that really defines you.

Please tell us about your business.
For the past two years, I’ve been working with a team at JPL studying methane emissions from the state of California. Using data from an aircraft sensor, AVIRIS-NG, we were able to image and quantify methane emissions coming from point sources (a piece of infrastructure or feature less than 10 meters across). It’s exciting to work with sensors like AVIRIS-NG that allow us to pinpoint locations where emissions are coming from because this will ultimately lead to a more in-depth understanding of how best to mitigate emissions. We have been working on a paper about this work that is going to be published soon and it’s been an amazing experience to see everyone’s hard work pay off! What I loved most about my position was that I had so much freedom to be creative in my problem-solving. My boss would present me with challenging issues that needed to be resolved and the rest was up to me to figure out. I’m currently in a transition point in my life since I recently left my job to start graduate school. I know I’m going to continue studying climate change and greenhouse gases, but I’m very much at the beginning of my career and I’m excited to see where my journey takes me!

What advice would you give to someone at the start of her career?
My advice to young women just starting out is to not be afraid to fail, try again, and say yes when an opportunity presents itself. After being rejected from all research positions I applied to one semester in college, I was crushed. The following semester, I applied to more research positions and I was offered a position working with a Ph.D. student studying daddy long legs. It wasn’t exactly what I had envisioned myself doing, but it was an opportunity to gain research experience, so I took it. It ended up being a jumping-off point that led to subsequent opportunities and helped me get to where I am today. As a bonus, I met one of my closest friends in college while working in that lab! Along your journey, there are going to be times where you feel defeated or even like you’ve failed in some way, but don’t let that stop you from moving forward. It’s ultimately a learning experience that helps you become a more resilient person. 😊

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelsfoster/
• Email: kels.t.foster@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelssbells/

Image Credit:
Annie Peacock, Kyle Foster, Quiana Pajaro, Sergio Saucedo

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