Mateja Vidovic Klanac talks about her job as an environmental engineering consultant in the Waste Today podcast series called New Voices. Mateja Vidovic Klanac is a Senior Project Professional with experience in the environmental engineering field, currently focusing on solid waste management. Her experience in solid waste includes involvement in a diverse range of landfill design projects, including lateral expansions, vertical expansions, permitting, stormwater management systems, geotechnical evaluations, modeling, and field experience in observing and documenting construction projects and verifying adherence to plans, specifications, and construction quality assurance plans. Mateja has Master’s Degrees in Environmental Engineering and Civil Engineering.
During her interview, Mateja takes us through her educational and professional journey—a fascinating and inspiring one! She discusses the different elements of environmental solutions and how they must integrate economic and social factors into the design to be sustainable and worthy of investment.
Her field experience has greatly influenced Mateja’s innovation of modern solutions. She discusses how she fell into solid waste management, which was not on her radar as a student, but she’s hooked now. “I had never considered working in the solid waste arena before, but that’s when I discovered how interesting and interdisciplinary it is—where my work could positively impact the environment and my community the most,” says Mateja.
While still a young professional, she advises those just starting their careers or still in school. As a woman, she describes how the environmental industry offers many opportunities for women and the remarkable number of choices available to all.
She speaks of the value of networking and her involvement in industry associations and multidisciplinary groups, including the Florida Water Environment Association (FWEA), American Water Works Association (AWWA), Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), and Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA), to learn more about solid waste, continue learning, and grow her professional career.
“Mateja and her work at SCS are truly inspiring. We’re proud to say she’s an SCS colleague and professional helping to make significant, positive impacts on our communities, our planet, and for each other,” says Doug Doerr, CEO of SCS Engineers.
