Published in Science of the Total Environment

Dear Funders,

 I am so thrilled to let you know that three years (almost to the day) after I left California for Maine, I have a publication to share with you! It took some grit, lots of perseverance, and a great deal of others coaching me through the process. Seeing this through has been a challenge, but also a priority, and giving up was never an option. Since this was my first publication, there was a steep learning curve; perhaps even more so because I was working outside of my field during the process. On that note, I am excited to also share that I am now working for a non-profit organization in Blue Hill, ME that studies marine environmental biology and the impact on human health, including microplastics. Both of these lovely life events occurred–as they tend to do– just when I thought they never would. 

Feel free to read the paper if you wish. As I mentioned, the learning curve was steep, and even now wish I could still edit parts of it. But at worst, it is a little reminder of how we always continue to learn and grow. And I could not have done it without you.

The paper (Richard et al., 2019) is published in the peer reviewed journal Science of the Total Environment and can be viewed until July by clicking this link. Otherwise, please feel free to contact me and I will be happy to send you a copy.

Thanks for being on this journey with me.

Sincerely,

Heather Richard

P.S. I thought long and hard about sharing this in a video thread with the cast of characters you've come to know, but I decided to go on vacation to Canada instead. #sorrynotsorry