Immersion Alumni

Foresight Immersion 2006 Fellow

Carey's Foresight Immersion experience exposed her to how innovative solutions, such as goats trained to eat invasive species at a Chicago landfill, are being used to restore local ecology in urban areas. She's now designing research experiences for clients across industries, working collaboratively with designers, strategists and project teams at a Chicago-based innovation consultancy.

Currently: Research associate at Gravitytank, a Chicago-based innovation consultancy

Career Path: I began college at Syracuse University thinking I was going to be a professional potter. Some greater exploration let me to the industrial design studios, which became my home for the next 4 years. I left Syracuse with a strong point of view on user-centered design and a curiosity for sustainability. During and after school, I completed several internships, including the Immersion program at Foresight. Foresight helped me think more critically about the type of career I wanted to have, and gave me my first real experiences working with business clients. I'm now a researcher at Gravitytank, where I collaborate with designers and strategists to develop meaningful products and services for the people that use them.

Next Step: I want to play a more active role in Chicago's innovation community. After concentrating on internally developing my skills as a researcher and consultant, I'm now starting to look for more ways to connect and collaborate with local professionals outside my Gravitytank network.

Personal Sustainability: Whenever possible I buy local and persuade my peers to do the same. I also give ongoing support to a couple non-profit organizations with expertise in wildlife protection and environmental preservation.

Currently Reading: I'm reading a novel called Unbroken—it's a WW2 survival story. I also listen to a lot of Radiolab podcasts—Jad Abumrad, the host, is a fantastic storyteller.

Recommends: I'd venture to guess most sustainability-interested people have already heard read his work, but I'd recommend anything by Michael Pollan.

Foresight Memories: My absolute favorite Immersion experience was visiting Mary [Stowe] and her goats at the landfill in Calumet. Here we are, walking on top of a south Chicago landfill, surrounded by goats - it was kind of surreal. The goats would roam the top of the landfill and were trained to eat the invasive plant species and ignore the native prairie grasses. Several Great Pyrenees dogs were responsible for herding and protecting the goats. I thought it was such a great solution to rebuilding the ecology in that area.

Visiting the rooftop garden at City Hall was another highlight, where honeybees live, and thrive, 10 stories up in the heart of the Chicago loop.

Next Gen Advice: I would advise future generations of participants to take advantage of all the connections that Immersion and Foresight can offer. Really make an effort to connect and be open to meeting as many people as you can. And, have fun!

Dream Project/Job: I would love for Gravitytank to collaborate with micro-lending/micro-financing organizations to help them strategically grow their capabilities and expand the reach of their work.