OL Reign Legend: Dr. Lyda Harris – Sustainability and Conservation Scientist at Boeing
The Legends Campaign, a partnership between OL Reign and Starbucks, honors women for their extraordinary contributions to our community in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Prior to OL Reign’s match against the Chicago Red Stars on April 22nd, OL Reign recognized Dr. Lyda Harris, Sustainability and Conservation Scientist at Boeing.
Dr. Harris is a life-long advocate for sustainability and a leader in the field. Day to day, she leads and grows Boeing’s sustainability engagement program moving the needle forward in the corporate sustainability world.
With an extensive background in marine pollution, data science, zero waste and public policy, Dr. Harris earned her PhD from the University of Washington and has worked locally in the great Western Washington area, including the Friday Harbor Laboratory on San Juan Island and the Olympic Peninsula. Prior to her work at Boeing, Dr. Harris was the Clean Seas Research Program lead at the Seattle Aquarium.
For Dr. Harris, the environmental and sustainability sector was always in the front of her mind, even from a young age. In high school, she did a science fair on microplastics in the Gulf of Mexico, at a time where there was limited research on microplastics. From there, Dr. Harris went to college and wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to major in but knew that she wanted to go into the environmental sector.
“I probably switched my major four times,” laughed Dr. Harris. “I knew that I didn't want to necessarily go into law, but I wanted to impact how we did things.”
Fast forward a few years and Dr. Harris went to grad school at the University of Washington and became one of the first microplastic researchers in Washington. Her time at UW was essential in determining her career path, thanks to the freedom and autonomy she was given. Going back to her roots, she did her PhD research on microplastics in marine environments, focusing more on physiology and biomechanics.
Following grad school, Dr. Harris began to work for the Seattle Aquarium, leading their marine debris program. During this period, which was the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Harris spent a lot of time dealing with and communicating the often depressing aspects of plastic pollution, which ultimately led to her start in the sustainability sector.
“One of the things that got to me was, I just spent so much time in the negative space of the environment. I researched how much debris was in our waters, how bad the situation was and reached out to people to communicate what the present situation was and what the future would be if we didn't change. As an individual researcher, it doesn't allow for large scale change that we needed. So that began my journey into the sustainability side of pollution.”
Dr. Harris found her place in sustainability at Boeing, where instead of focusing on individual research, her job is in engagement and implementation of the company’s sustainability goals.
“I use all of the information and knowledge and skills from my PhD and from the aquarium in talking about marine microplastics, and the passion that I have to fix the issue. I love the marine environment and like I would like to see it thrive rather than be harmed.”
Throughout her career, Dr. Harris has earned many awards and honors, notably taking the lead as a PI on the NOAA Marine Debris Prevention Grant. This project will take significant steps toward preventing debris from entering the Gulf of California, while empowering local youth to become debris prevention leaders in their community.
“This whole project just started in October and it’s something I’m really proud of. It’s focused on youth and community engagement in a small community in Baja, Mexico. The goal is to really empower the youth to be stewards and activists for their communities and for their homes,” explained Dr. Harris.
She continued, “In the science world, it’s common for people to come into low socioeconomic communities, do their research and then leave. It’s never really helpful for that community that they're working in. So, we're trying to disrupt that, and create scientists, and empower the kids to do all of it to be those leaders. So, when researchers come in, instead of them coming in and teaching the kids different things, we're having the kids teach them about their environment and about their plastic and like educating them why it's important.”
Dr. Harris’ commitment to sustainability and our planet is making a difference in our community and beyond. Through her experiences in her education and career, Dr. Harris has some advice to offer to young women pursing goals of their own.
“I would say that it is important to find a support network that can help you strategize how to get into the field, because the hardest part is getting your foot in the door,” shared Dr Harris. “Sending some cold emails and asking for suggestions from people is a really good thing to do. One of the things that I learned that I wish I knew earlier, was people can be really encouraging and offer really good advice, you just have to ask for it.”
Saturday’s match was also OL Reign’s Earth Day match, which made honoring Dr. Harris even more special. When asked what it means to her to be honored as an OL Reign Legend, she said, “It gives me a sense of hope. Sustainability and environmental scientists aren't typically recognized for the work that they do, because it’s not flashy and often behind closed doors.”
“It's really great and inspiring that a professional team is honoring me, but really honoring the whole field, and recognizing that it’s so important in our society moving forward.”