Karen Jensen is president and chief operating officer of Environmental Science & Engineering, Inc. (ESE).
ESE, headquartered in Peoria, is a nationwide professional environmental and engineering consulting firm with 500 employees company-wide. As president and COO, Jensen is responsible for the daily business operations of the company while overseeing the financial, accounting, risk management, marketing communications and administration functions.
Jensen began her career with ESE as an environmental engineer in 1984. In 1990, she was named associate vice president, Corporate Administration and Planning, where she was a key player in the integration of six regional firms and three subsidiaries into a single nationwide consulting, engineering, and analytical laboratory company.
Jensen was named vice president, Marketing and Administration in 1991, and was responsible for developing the company’s annual five-year strategic plan and national marketing and sales directives.
In 1994, Jensen was named vice president, Finance and Administration before being named senior vice president in 1997.
In June of 1999, she was named president and chief operating officer.
Jensen earned an MBA from Illinois State University. She earned a bachelor’s degree in civic engineering from the University of Nebraska. She is a registered professional engineer in several states.
An active participant in community programs, Jensen served as the secretary/treasurer of the YWCA board of directors, on the board of directors of the Center for Prevention of Abuse (Sexual Assault Advisory Committee) and is a member of Women in Management.
She is a 1988 Peoria Community Leadership School (CLS) graduate and served on the CLS Steering Committee from 1988 to 1990. She was the recipient of the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce Athena Award in 1992, the Peoria Area Young Engineer of the Year Award in 1989, was named to 40 Leaders Under Forty in 1997, and received the Charlotte Danstrom Award (Women in Management National Association) in 1999.
She has also been active with the United Way, National Society for Professional Engineers, Illinois Society for Professional Engineers, the Water Environment Federation, and various other organizations.
Jensen lives in Dunlap with husband Brian and three children – 6 year old Taylor, 4 year old Andrew, and 6-month old Lara.
Tell us about your background—schools attended, family, etc.
My father was in the Air Force, so our family moved around quite a bit. I was born in Missouri and moved several times, attending six or seven different schools before I started high school in North Platte, Neb.
The transition between schools was made easier because the children of military families attended most of the same primary and secondary schools, so almost everyone was new to each other at the start of the school year. I am the third of four children with an older brother and sister and a younger brother. We are each about two years apart and always had each other as playmates and friends while growing up.
These days, it is hard to imagine the emotional and physical effort required by parents to move a family every year or so, but as children we didn’t think much of it.
My parent’s final move to Nebraska was after my father retired from the Air Force to join the Federal Aviation Administration as an electronics specialist. After graduating with a high school class of about 400 students, I attended the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. I studied civil engineering with water and wastewater engineering being my area of primary interest. I enjoyed the academic program, sorority life, and many great Cornhusker football games.
It was in my sophomore year of college when I met my husband, who was studying to be a mechanical engineer. Who would have thought true love could be found in a differential equations class? We were married with one semester left, and celebrated our 19th year of marriage in January.
After graduating together in 1981, we were both heavily recruited and individually accepted positions at Caterpillar here in Peoria. My position was in a management training program at the Morton parts facility. With the severe economic downturn in 1982, Caterpillar made the decision to cancel several of its training programs, including the Morton program, putting me in a position to explore other opportunities.
The recruiting process and my tenure at Caterpillar gave me a very clear indication that I wanted, and needed, to understand the business aspects of company operations, not just the technical facets for which I had been well trained. Based on this interest, I decided to return to school to take some undergraduate business-related courses.
I found the course work interesting and intriguing and decided to continue, resulting in a good background in a variety of business areas—accounting, marketing, management, operations, human resources, business law, etc.
I then investigated what would be required to attain an MBA, and decided to continue the course work to meet this goal. Since my undergraduate engineering degree included no business courses, I needed 24 hours of prerequisites before beginning the program. I completed the course work over a period of four and a half years and was awarded an MBA form Illinois State University in December 1986.
As a civil engineer, were you/are you a minority in your field? What/who influenced your decision to go into engineering?
There are definitely fewer women in the engineering profession than men; however, the number of women pursuing the engineering field has increased over the years. I believe that this mirrors the trends seen in other technical/professional areas of study, but the number of women in engineering today still remains small when compared to the number of men.
At ESE, we are fortunate to have a number of technical professionals at all levels who are women. For example, ESE’s vice president of eastern operations is a female civil engineer, and a top notch professional and manager.
I was actually influenced to go into engineering by my high school counselor. I had quite a bit of advanced math and science in high school, and enjoyed these subject areas and did well. Also, the senior year aptitude tests indicated that this area of study would be a good fit for me. Once I got into the course work, I found my interest were in the civil engineering areas, especially water and wastewater treatment systems.
You have been involved in a company that has gone through reorganization several times—Randolph, ESE, QST Environmental, and back to ESE (a MACTEC Company). What insights do you have for someone going through that kind of change?
Our company, like many others, has undergone a significant amount of change over the years. When I began at Randolph & Associates, there were about 30 people and nearly every issue was handled around the coffee machine. The company grew to approximately 140 employees, and in 1987 the ownership changed from being predominately privately held to a subsidiary of CILCORP.
In the late ‘80s, CILCORP also acquired a number of other environmental firms. Then in 1990, Peoria became the corporate headquarters for Environmental Science & Engineering (ESE), a nationwide company of more than 1,000 employees. Peoria was (and still is) the location of the company’s second largest consulting operation.
It was in 1990 that I began to work at the corporate office of ESE. The early ‘90s was an exciting time as the newly-formed company, which had previously been a number of regional firms, was integrated together to form a truly nationwide company. I was provided a number of opportunities to utilize my skills, was thrilled by the challenges, and grew significantly in my career.
During the early to mid ‘90s, there were a number of changes in the company’s direction and its senior management.
In late 1996, ESE’s name was changed to QST Environmental following the decision to integrate the company with CILCORP’s unregulated utility venture, QST Enterprises. Then, in 1998, when AES announced the planned acquisition of CILCORP, they chose to discontinue QST Enterprises and simultaneously look for a new owner for the consulting and engineering operations.
In June 1999, QST Environmental was acquired by MACTEC, a Colorado-based environmental firm, and the name was changed back to Environmental Science & Engineering. The transition back to the QST name had not yet been fully established in our industry and with our clients.
The future for ESE with MACTEC looks terrific. MACTEC is an environmental firm, and ESE is a major part of the MACTEC company. I believe with MACTEC as the parent, ESE will continue to perform well and grow.
Looking back, there were definitely both positives and negatives associated with many of the changes with the company. I strongly believe those who recognize and appreciate change is inevitable are in the best position to impart a positive outcome—instead of feeling victims of change.
This recognition can also provide an understanding of the importance of taking stock in what we have to enjoy in the current circumstances in which we find ourselves. This is a simple example, but this recognition hit me a number of years ago when our elderly dog was sick. We were discussing with the veterinarian what do to for her and during the course of the discussion the doctor said, “Well, you didn’t expect that she’d outlive you, did you?” Of course, I hadn’t expected she would, but I hadn’t wanted anything to change either, and hadn’t even recognized that this change was inevitable and could be anticipated.
It can be easy to go through life without wanting to accept that changes will come. It’s tempting to hold onto the status quo—whether it be good or bad—and dwell on why things must change. While the nostalgia of our college days might make us long to be 20 again, how many of us really want to forgo all of the changes which have put us where are now? The same with children, how we long for the days of our newborns, but who would give up all the changes that have occurred to give us our children where they are in life today? So, I believe change is an inevitable part of life, which includes our work life, and we must expect it, accept it, and deal with it.
Change is a part of a company’s continual evolution—markets change, employees grow in their careers, management changes. How many of us wish we were exactly at the same company (with the same clients, revenues, systems, etc.), with the same people doing the same job we were 15 years ago?
I also believe there is something to be learned from almost every event, and that the glass is truly better viewed as half full rather than half empty. I must admit, from my perspective, not all of the changes in my life have been for the best. However, each circumstance has allowed me the opportunity to experience something new and different, be it good or bad—that adds to my perspective and understanding of various issues. I have both experienced and learned a great deal through all the change. This, I believe, makes me a much more “seasoned” professional in many ways, and has prepared me for many of the challenges that lie ahead.
I would also encourage people who are experiencing change in their work environment to focus on what they can control, and make the best of what they cannot control.
Of primary importance is that you, as an individual, feel you are contributing, growing in your knowledge, and enjoying the people with whom you work. Much of the whirl of change in companies these days does not always directly impact what an individual does on a day-to-day basis.
I also have to reflect on where ESE is today and where my career is form a personal standpoint. I believe ESE’s current owner, MACTEC, presents us with some very exciting possibilities for the future. I am also appreciative of the opportunity to serve as president, and am proud to be a part of the ESE organization.
What are your current responsibilities as president and chief operating officer of this national firm? Have you found your administrative tasks more time consuming than engineer responsibilities?
I am responsible for setting the goals and objectives of the firm, developing strategies to achieve them, and for their implementation.
I try to keep my focus on meeting our clients’ expectations, developing and maintaining a top-notch staff, and meeting or exceeding the financial goals we established. Perhaps my greatest responsibility is to make sure ESE is enabling all the talent and skill the employees have so we can collectively meet our goals.
Right now, this company really has some of the best talent in the industry, not only technically, but individuals with a great business sense. The key is to tap these resources and let the individuals fully contribute to impacting the company and moving it ahead to where we want to go.
At various times throughout my career with ESE, I have been the senior officer responsible for administrative areas (human resources, information technology, legal, contracts, insurance, health and safety), marketing and business development activities, finance and accounting, and operations.
I have also had the opportunity to manage many challenging engineering and construction projects. In all the positions I have held, my engineering background served as the backbone of what I do, although in my current position, I don’t do much hands-on engineering project work. Because of my background, I have the highest respect for the engineers and other technical professionals at ESE; they do what makes our business what it is. I think having the technical background and project experience allows me to appreciate and revere the technical staff. I feel this understanding and appreciation is a critical component to being effective in my position.
Both the administrative and engineering tasks can be time consuming. In a professional services business, there are still a number of administrative tasks technical professionals must perform, so there is a clear need to streamline as much administrative activity as possible. Our philosophy is to keep the focus on our clients, projects, and staff, and make the necessary administrative tasks non-encumbering for the technical staff.
Being client-focused and nationwide, there is a lot of extra effort required by employees in this professional services consulting business. Frequent travel is a necessity for many of our senior level staff.
In addition, there are evening meetings, major efforts to meet project and proposal deadlines, as well as being available at almost any time of day or night to help address client questions or concerns. Also keeping current on changing regulations, technical approaches and client requirements is a necessity. What ESE sells is its technical expertise, and a commitment to addressing clients’ needs, so we have to continually be at the top of our game.
Tell us about the focus and vision of ESE today. Has environmental engineering changed over the years?
There are a lot of exciting things happening at ESE and we are looking forward to 2000. The company is healthy and stable—ESE exceeded expectations in 1999—and is poised to accomplish many things in the months ahead.
ESE’s focus is on excelling in serving our clients, managing the projects, and taking care of our staff. Also, we’re sticking to the fundamentals of our businesses and relying on individuals with proven track records to continue to move the company ahead. Utilizing ESE’s tremendous talent, we are aggressively approaching the marketplace and implementing new hiring and staffing activities to strategically grow the business.
In November, the start of our fiscal year 2000, I had a meeting with all the ESE officers and office managers to talk strategically about our plans for the future. We carefully laid out the plans for fiscal year 2000, which were driven from the bottom up. It was ESE leadership deciding where ESE and its operations would be going. The forward-thinking attitude, confidence about the future, and overall teamwork was impressive.
For the company as a whole, there are four prioritized consulting service areas for which we established a “practice group” structure—transportation, water/wastewater, environmental management services, and remediation/hazardous waste.
The practice group strategy combines a national focus with specific technical expertise and extensive project management experience. In addition, we have specific initiatives underway in the service areas of industrial compliance and air resources. It is worthy to note that each of these technical capabilities is already well established in the ESE Peoria office. The Peoria consulting operation is really somewhat of a microcosm of the organization as a whole.
Another key component of our future outlook is the growth initiative ESE’s parent company, MACTEC, has undertaken. MACTEC’s vision is to profitably grow the company from the current $144 million in revenue (of which ESE contributes $56 million) to $300 to $500 million in revenues in three to five years. ESE is the cornerstone of MACTEC’s consulting and engineering businesses. Therefore, for the first time, ESE is in a position to further its strategic initiatives through acquisitions.
We have begun the process of searching out and approaching various entities, which will mean expanded opportunities for new clients and projects, and will afford our staff new challenges and responsibilities. In addition, the relationship with MACTEC has allowed the companies to work together collectively on a number of activities.
While many of the fundamentals of approaching a problem and developing a solution have not changed, there have, of course, been advances in the technology used to provide solutions. Beyond that, I believe there has been a change in what clients expect and what role the consultant has with the client.
Clients these days are much more sophisticated buyers of services; many have entire departments established to develop procurement processes. They are also more knowledgeable in understanding what they want, and many of them want one consultant to handle an entire project. ESE is well positioned in that we have a nationwide network of offices, and are capable of performing a wide range of services.
One thing that hasn’t changed is that most clients want someone who will honestly have their best interest in mind, and who is competent in solving their problems. In the professional consulting business that boils down to the individuals doing the work.
If ESE has the best people doing their best work, and we do a good job at continuing to let them develop their skills, we are sure to be the top company in our field. As in most issues, it always comes down to the people.
Are there misperceptions in the community as to what ESE does today?
With the name changes, the potential certainly exists. ESE is a nationwide consulting firm specializing in environmental management and engineering consulting. Headquartered in Peoria, ESE was founded in 1965 and offers clients an experienced staff of 500 environmental and engineering professionals located throughout a nationwide network of offices. We serve a variety of types of clients including oil and gas, pulp and paper, utilities, manufacturing, chemical, mining, insurance, financial, and legal. Our clients range in size from small industrial and commercial firms to major international corporations, as well as state and federal government agencies.
ESE’s roots in the Peoria area date back to 1974. Many of our clients remain from those early days, and we appreciate those continuing relationships. There are approximately 85 employees in Peoria, including the consulting operations and the corporate staff. With the purchase by MACTEC, ESE will maintain its corporate headquarters in Peoria.
Personally, your family has grown to include three young children. How have you balanced your career and family needs? Have your family and colleagues been supportive of family concerns? Do you believe taking time off during a pregnancy and birth affects a professional’s career today?
I really enjoy our family of five and I really enjoy my work—there begets the dilemma most of us face, male or female, constantly or at some point in our careers. I’m sure my situation is no more stressful than any dual-career couple with children, or with others facing personal or work challenges. It really is a balancing act.
I’ve learned I have to be disciplined about setting priorities, not just to get things done, but to combat the feeling I’m not doing something I should. One thing that is absolutely fair in life is that we have all been given the same amount of minutes and hours in the days and weeks—how we choose to spend them is up to us. I realize there is no physical way possible to do everything I want to do or feel I should be doing, so I set the priorities and focus on those.
As far as work, I have to set priorities for my time, realizing I need to delegate certain activities to others, even though I could complete those tasks.
Without consciously prioritizing, there are many interesting challenges that can fill my day, but someone else might need to do many of them so I can focus on those activities which are unique to my role. This is why it is key to have a terrific staff that is highly skilled, know how you think, and that you can absolutely count on.
As far as my family, I have been so fortunate to always have excellent childcare. I also have someone help with cleaning. We have a wonderful individual who comes to our home early each morning to take care of the children and do light housekeeping. She helps keep the children’s activities in order, helps them with homework, runs errands, and generally helps me make sure I make the most of my time with them. That’s where the haunting choices and priorities come in. I have to prioritize what time will allow, and then be satisfied with those accomplishments.
Of course, all the activities that don’t make the priority list are subject to scrutiny. I seem to be my worst critic, as my family and colleagues are very supportive. At ESE, I believe we try to be flexible and understanding with family-related issues. We have a lot of employees who have young families. As I mentioned earlier, there is a lot of extra effort given by our staff—I believe we have to be flexible with family considerations, because the family in turn supports the employee’s commitment to work. Brian is a great husband and father and sees to it that family life around our house is a lot of fun—although with the two boys it seems quite rambunctious at times. We both recognize the challenge of balancing careers and family, and we mutually support each other.
It is hard to say whether taking time off during a pregnancy and childbirth affects a career in general, but I can say from many experiences it has not had a negative impact on my career. I was always healthy during my pregnancies so missing work was not an issue. I do travel frequently, so the month before my due date I didn’t travel, but that was relatively easy to plan around.
I formally took six weeks off after each of the children were born, although as my responsibilities increased over time, I had to do some work at home during each of the leaves. I was pretty well in contact for the time I was out of the office after the birth of my daughter, which was driven by the necessity of what was happening in the company at the time.
What are you most proud of professionally? Personally?
Professionally, I’d have to say that foremost, I am proud to have been able to assist certain individuals to grow in their careers.
To see people enjoying what they are doing, enhancing their skills, and growing in their careers is really exciting for me. I was fortunate to have some key people in my career that provided me with opportunities and help me learn and succeed. I will always be grateful for their support and guidance.
Personally, I am proud of the relationship I have with my husband and children. As with all relationships, it requires some work, and perhaps a lot of luck, but I can’t imagine it gets any better than I have it.
You are involved in several community and professional organizations. How valuable is volunteerism to a young professional? What satisfaction do you receive from your volunteer efforts?
I feel that being involved in community and professional organizations is very important. There is no better way to learn about the community and the issues it faces than by interacting in these types of organizations.
Over the years, I have found that the knowledge, and perhaps more importantly, the perspective I have gained from these associations is valuable to me personally as well as professional.
There are a number of critical needs in our community, and collectively I feel the business community and individual efforts are necessary to address those needs.
I feel we all have a responsibility to each other, and to the community as a whole, to share some of the good things we have.
Involvement in professional organizations helps support the profession as a whole, and provides a forum for addressing issues important to the professionals. By interacting with other professionals, ideas are exchanged which is always healthy in one’s search to improve.
I have enjoyed meeting and working with a number of people within the community many of which I would not have come in contact with had it not been for these volunteer activities.
I would like to continue participating in community based volunteerism efforts, and hopefully increase my involvement in the near future. TPW