Rid Hollands

I originally come from Wales in the United Kingdom and grew up on a strict diet of David Attenborough’s Life on Earth TV shows and reading the books of Gerald Durrell—My Family and Other Animals is still a favorite! This really helped forge my love of nature and for the amazing planet we live on.

So how did I end up as a CEQA/NEPA project manager? I took the somewhat unconventional route of undertaking an English literature degree. Swiftly realizing that I didn’t want to become a teacher, I thought back to all the wondrous Attenborough shows and thought, why not do something that makes a difference to the world we live in? So, via working for a company specializing in contaminated land assessments, then working for a waste management lobbyist, plus completing a master’s in environmental management, I found my way into environmental consulting. After honing my skills in environmental impact assessment (the UK’s laws are based on NEPA), I made the jump “across the pond” to San Diego and have relished the challenge of leading CEQA and NEPA projects.

Through my 14 years of experience in the environmental sector, I have developed a thorough understanding of environmental issues likely to crop up on my projects, and a pragmatic project management style. I have considerable experience in working on and managing programmatic and project-specific environmental documents, but I love to work on the more tangible projects that are (hopefully!) going to be built. Regardless of project type, I enjoy problem-solving with stakeholders and with luck we can have some laughs along the way, as let’s face it, CEQA can be a little dry!

When not engrossed in CEQA/NEPA documents, you’ll likely find me out on the trails, running the boardwalk, or traveling to some far-flung destination (I have been to 70 countries), probably with a beverage in hand!