‘That kind of mentorship is what everyone deserves’: Valerie Chu credits support for finding ideal career
By Jan Peterson, for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Pacific Region
Today, Valerie Chu is living her dream of being a contaminants biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Washington State Ecological Services office. But, she says, none of it would have been possible without a few lucky breaks, a lot of support and sheer determination to make it work. Chu shares her struggles and victories on the path to her present career and offers a bit of advice for others who would like to follow her lead.
How did you become interested in wildlife biology?
Basically, I grew up in the greater Seattle area. I can tell you that in Pacific Northwest, there is a heavy emphasis on salmon recovery, because all of the salmon are endangered or have some sort of Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing. It’s a very environmentally friendly place, and it’s also been passed down to the children. In elementary school it’s very common to have a program focusing on salmon recovery.
I raised salmon right outside of Seattle, in Kent, Washington, as a child. That interest followed me through high school. Then I went to college and thought I was going to do cancer research because I felt it was going to make a difference in my world — I had an aunt who passed away from it. But it turned out I didn’t want to take the upper-level pre-med classes like organic chemistry. In fact, I barely passed and I actually didn’t finish the series.
That should be noted because I’m a contaminant biologist working with dispersants and things, but I am not an academic. I got here because of passion, hard work and people who invested so much of their time and who believed in me. Right after college, I got a very lucky opportunity, the privilege to work alongside the guys who responded to Exxon Valdez in 1989, which took place right before I was born.
Ever since then, even though I didn’t finish organic chemistry, a chemist somehow saw some sort of potential in me and took the time to hire me. Although I had no idea what I wanted, I happened to run in to a guy completing his Ph.D. in chemistry. He sent me over to his old boss at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and he hired me.
When I went to NOAA, they asked me to extract oil and dispersant toxicity data. From 2012 to 2016 (and every summer from 2018–2020), I extracted data from more than 600 pieces of peer-reviewed literature, applying criteria and learned all about toxicology. I went back to school for that because those people at NOAA really believed in me and I wanted to continue that forward. I wouldn’t be anywhere near where I am today had it not been for those people.
They always had my back, even when times were rough, when I didn’t feel like I was a good scientist. After my first quarter of graduate school, I almost flunked out and they told me to keep going and encouraged me. When I left graduate school, I had trouble finding work because I wasn’t confident in myself, but they always believed in me.
I was the first post-Exxon baby to arrive at NOAA, and it defined my life. That kind of mentorship is what everyone deserves.
Why is what you do so important?
I find this work incredibly important because you need to know what you’re doing at a spill. A response is so much more than paperwork. We are environmental superheroes. We have to mitigate negative impacts and make up for the damage. Ever since I arrived at NOAA, I knew that’s what I wanted to do and it worked out even though I had some serious challenges along the way. I fell in love.
How did you find your way to the career you have now?
I actually went through two years of unemployment, during which time I just really, really got myself out there. I volunteered a lot. I tried to start my own business with consulting, and even got two publications in with nonprofit, toxicology organizations. Even though I got many rejections in the interviews I did during that time, I learned so much and gained resilience. It was necessary for my growth. I really needed it.
How old were you when you knew you’d found your life’s calling?
When I was 22 and I arrived at NOAA. I saw the work was so important. I saw people in a war room, talking this stuff out. I was intimidated and never thought I could be them. But then I went over to Costa Rica for a volunteer trip on sea turtles and I saw all of this marine debris and pollution in the ocean. I knew I had to go back to school and study toxicology because I had to do more.
What is on your career highlight reel?
The Chemical Aquatic Fate and Effects (CAFE) database (which Chu presented to more than 100 attendees of the July 27, 2022, U.S. Department of Interior’s Inland Oil Spill for DOI Response webinar), getting to work for the Fish and Wildlife Service and to do NRDA work.
Tell me about your job. What do you do day to day?
There are many, many different parts. You’re working with lawyers and trustees. The Service sometimes takes the federal lead, but you also work with the state and Tribes and come together as a trustee council against the potentially responsible party to achieve compensation for the damage they may have caused to the natural resources.
How much money in restoration are we talking about here?
Tens of millions of dollars. It could be hundreds of millions, especially with spills like Deepwater Horizon (2010) or Exxon Valdez (1989).
What keeps you engaged?
It’s seeing the recovery, the impact. It’s all worth it. It’s seeing how I can clean up my backyard. That’s another thing about working with the federal government. A lot of people do not live in the area they’re restoring. I feel so privileged that I get to see my impact in my own backyard, having been raised here with salmon.
What would you like to tell students who hope to find a career in this field?
I would say just get out there. Even if you can’t find work or if you’re stuck at a job pushing paper, you need to get out there. Volunteer with your local beach cleanups, at a wildlife rehab center, do some trail maintenance. That is your connection to the Earth, and we only have this one Earth. We need to preserve what we have on this Earth for many generations to come.
The Service strives to build a workforce that reflects the public that we serve, creating a workplace where all backgrounds, abilities, beliefs, genders and orientations are welcome and valued for the array of ideas that they bring toward fulfilling the Service’s mission.
