Hello! I’m an Solopreneurial Engineer and Entrepinay, aka Filipino Woman Solopreneur

Past the half-century mark, I embrace my curiosity, resourcefulness, and fairness. I practice what I enjoy, learn what I don’t know, and connect the people around me.

I am more than my engineering background. I am an Air Quality and Energy Consultant, a Coach of various domains (Behavior Designer and Tiny Habits®, Ikigai Tribe, in-training for mental fitness with PQ/Positive Intelligence), an Improviser, and a Sensemaker. My evolving interests and expertise include air quality, applied improv, behavioral science & habit formation, energy projects, environmental justice, fluevogs, ikigai, improv, mentoring, race & culture & identity, servant leadership, storytelling, and writing.

60-second bio

Living in California. 5-years of Chemical Engineering at UC Berkeley (1986) that primed me to create and understand processes and systems, to connect seemingly disparate dependencies and relationships. Uncommon in the ‘80s, four employers over eight years. My fifth employer, me - founder/business owner of Resource Catalysts (R|CAT) in 1994, after an epiphany during California’s electric industry sector restructuring.

Enjoying solopreneurship. Established my business to consult on air quality, energy projects (supply and demand side), and environmental communications. Expanded naturally beyond the energy sector with my abilities to interpret environmental regulations and policies, develop strategies for business compliance management, and communicate with affected communities about potential impacts and benefits. Technical writer/editor. Bring my coach domains - habit formation, behavior design, ikigai, applied improv, mental fitness - in support of workspace cultural shifts. Merge my technical and creative expertise by pursuing the interplay of my endeavors.

Volunteering locally. Saving food, feeding people, reducing air pollution with Daily Bowl. Community Catalyst for Untold Improv. Recently completed volunteering for The Weekly Review on Mutiny Radio, whose last episode was on 31 December 2021.

Expressing creativity. Improviser in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Writing personal essays for public storytelling. Sketch comedy writing inspired by lived colorized experiences.

Owned a car for a long time - 356,869 miles. Original owner of a 2001 aqua ice opalescent (aka light blue) Toyota Prius (nicknamed Aqua Ice-T). Sold after 18 years, many oil changes, tire changes, and two conventional and two hybrid batteries.

More than 60-seconds about me

Straight out of college. I worked as a government regulator with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), then as a consultant, and then as part of a public utility, investor-owned corporation. For more than 30 years, work in a mix of public and private sectors.

Starting my own business. More than eight years after college, I started R|CAT, during the emerging electric industry restructuring and deregulation throughout the United States. I established a robust internship program, providing interns with direct client and governmental agency interactions, as well as direct project experience. One of my favorite projects? The Transamerica Pyramid cogeneration system, where an intern led the air permit application process.

During California’s peak power plant construction in the early 2000s, I was involved in various phases of permitting more than 3,000 MW from small distributed generation projects to larger merchant power plants. I have worked on air quality issues for all power generation project phases (e.g., alternatives assessment, feasibility analyses, siting, permitting, construction, commissioning, operations, shutdown).

Returning to the traditional workforce. In 2007, prior to knowing whether Barack Obama or John McCain would be the next President of the United States, I chose to return to the traditional workforce and a former employer - the federal government with the U.S. EPA, Region 9. At EPA, as an intrapreneur, I continued to work on air quality issues - permitting, compliance, modeling support, policies, and regulatory strategy. While at EPA, my work at R|CAT focused on professional and business development coaching.

Returning solopreneur. In 2014, I returned full-time to R|CAT to serve the environmental and energy sector as an air quality consultant, energy projects consultant, and technical writer and editor. I re-established my research and authorship of the EPRI handbook for state-of-the-art emission control technologies and air quality regulations for simple- and combined-cycle power plants.

My evolving interests and expertise. I am activating my interests and expertise in air quality, applied improv, behavioral science & habit formation, energy projects, environmental impacts, mentoring, race & culture & identity, servant leadership, and writing. I not only pursue each of my endeavors individually but also bring them together creatively, especially through the lens of behavior shifts and habit formation.

As a Behavior Designer and Certified Tiny Habits® Coach. I serve individuals' aspirations to create human-to-human shared experiences - think interactions, environment, choices, and habit formation and practices - for personal and workspace cultural shifts and for equity and belonging, inspired by improvisation and servant leadership philosophies. Learn more.

As an Ikigai Tribe Coach. Core values are a foundation of one’s ikigai. I provide support through various mediums - coaching (one-on-one, group), consulting, courses, webinars, workshops, and writings. I understand how our behaviors are tied to our habits and most importantly our beliefs and values.

The common thread among my evolving endeavors?
I strive to serve.
HUMAN-CENTERED INTERPLAY
EXPLAINER OF THOUGHTS IN MY HEAD

Air Quality & Energy Consultant

Resource Catalysts (R|CAT)

As a Consultant and founder of R|CAT, I serve the environmental and energy sector on air quality, energy projects, and environmental communications endeavors - think power plants, distributed energy resources, air quality permitting, EH&S, compliance practices, environmental regulatory market research, community engagement - for better air quality and healthier workspaces.

Community Catalyst

Untold improv

I serve as the Community Catalyst for Untold Improv, a San Francisco nonprofit organization (founded in late 2017) whose mission is to serve communities of color who have historically been underrepresented or excluded from performing arts.