(Hi, Reader: This is the first installment of the series Builders of
Bulwark, crafted to showcase the personalities and backgrounds of U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers Norfolk District personnel. Through the eyes of a first-year
public affairs office district employee, let's call her A.A., the series will use interviews to give
a behind-the-scenes look at the people who form the Corps. Enjoy! )
During our interview, I realized this
environmental scientist – like many U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employees here
– didn’t fit into my preconceived ideas about government employees. I mean, not that I viewed federal workers as
bad, it’s just that I was surprised. And although the basic functions of USACE are
vital, after a month here, I realized that there’s more to the Norfolk District team than digging, dredging and
directives. Shannon Reinheimer is one whose story I wanted to tell.
After a little nudging, she agreed to meet with me.
“So, is it cool if I call you a ‘tree hugger?’” I asked. 😃
She responded by wrinkling her nose as if suddenly smelling
something foul; I realized it was decidedly not cool for me to call her that.😞
Observing my apologetic look, she followed with, “When I was
7 years old, I did cut ribbons off trees that were flagged to be cut down.”
Then she shrugged her shoulders and, under the condition I understood she liked
turtles more than trees, conceded to the moniker.
I peppered my semi-willing interviewee with questions as she
continued readjusting her posture on the perennially uncomfortable chairs of
the Waterfield Building café here. As we spoke, her waxing intensity about things
like microplastics and blue crabs were followed by waning apologies, typifying
the self-described introvert. Her fervor for ecology was evident, and I wanted
to know more.
I asked about her childhood.
“I’m originally from
Wyoming,” she seemed to begrudgingly admit. “But I came to Virginia when I was
really, really young; so, I’m almost a native Virginian.”
She noted her youth was shaped by an exposure to nature. Being
transplanted into the commonwealth offered her a concentrated acquaintance with
both terrestrial and marine habitats. And she invested much of herself within it.
Through a serpentine of sea turtle necropsies, whale
detangling and exposure to a rare bacterium, her passion for conservation eventually
led her to the Corps. All of Reinheimer’s worldly adventures occurred close to
home.
She studied the pre-veterinary field while attending Old
Dominion University in Norfolk. Her reserved character and aversion to the public
aspect of a veterinary practice eventually steered her to change majors to
biology. There, she could concentrate fully on her fervors: reptiles, herpetology
and conservation.
Although dying from a venomous snakebite in the U.S. almost
never happens, I find the possibility terrifying. For our scientist here, regularly
handling deadly snakes wasn’t a white-knuckle event. Northern Copperhead,
Timber Rattlesnake and Eastern Cottonmouth are the three venomous snakes of Virginia
and just their names make me cringe. Reinheimer
wasn’t even phased by these pit vipers; so, she found her rush by volunteering
with the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center Stranding Response
Project.
As part of the team, she rescued and rehabilitated marine
life. This wasn’t a plush gig of petting porpoises and photographing fish; it
was physically and mentally challenging. Necropsies – autopsies of deceased
animals – were a big part of her volunteer work and sharpened her anatomy
skills.
“I kind of became the go-to person for sea turtle
(gastrointestinal) contents,” she stated proudly. (We spent 20 minutes delving
into the detection of environmental changes based upon a turtle’s belly
contents. It’s completely fascinating.)
In 2006, she graduated but found difficulty landing a job in
her field. While a full-time position evaded her, she secured part-time slots
with both the Virginia Zoo and her alma mater’s herpetology lab.
As a zoo employee and animal ambassador, she educated
children about wildlife. While at the lab, she was immersed in studying and
research. Then in 2008, she returned to the Virginia Aquarium as a full-time
employee.
“It was a summer position in fishing boats conducting
bycatch studies to see if adjusting the style of the net would increase their
catch and reduce the entrapment of turtles,” she said.
But the job evolved into more than for what she was initially
hired.
Upon loss of the team’s veterinary technician, the duties
needed to be reassigned. Reinheimer’s veterinary-based education and experience
poised her as the perfect candidate.
“At that time, I was certified by the veterinarian to do
euthanasia, minor procedures, take radiographs and debriding,” she added.
That’s also when she gained and employed the coolest
certification I never knew existed: a whale disentagler. Yes, 🐳that’s a thing. What
I gathered from Reinheimer, certification not only requires a bravery, but also
Batman-like skills in grappling hooks and tying knots.
The North Atlantic Right Whale is a species of the Atlantic
coastal waters and can weigh up to 70 tons and grow to 52 feet. Entanglement in
fishing lines attached to gillnets and traps on the ocean floor is its greatest
threat, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“It’s very dangerous,” she said. “You basically connect
yourself and the vessel you’re in to the animal and try to detach it.” (Read that part again: she attached herself to a whale. I know, we are all collectively realizing our lack of coolness at this point)
Although thrilling, those extra tasks led to a
nearly-unsustainable work-life balance. According to Reinheimer, there actually
wasn’t a balance at all and the 90-hour workweek took a social and emotional
toll.
Additionally, her health began to suffer.
During a freak accident in 2013, Reinheimer and a cohort
were exposed to the Brucella bacteria that caused a mortality epidemic among
regional dolphins. Historically, less than 200 cases in are reported in humans annually.
Treatment is extensive, expensive and includes six months of post-exposure
blood monitoring by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Physical demands and ailments became debilitating.
“I was in my 20s and my body had degraded rapidly,” she
said.
When she admitted chronic back problems, I felt a twinge of
guilt for selfishly brushing off the look of discomfort I saw on her face when she first
sat down.
As her medical bills piled up, her body was breaking down. Eventually,
she released the hook and scalpel to work as the Back Bay Restoration
Foundation executive director and contractual researcher for the aquarium.
In 2016, a series of fortunate events for Reinheimer began
with knowing someone, who knew someone else, who knew USACE Norfolk District
was looking for an environmental scientist.
She said the job seemed too good to be true and had little
hope of even scoring an interview.
Applying for a military-agency job without
military experience was a stretch; not being a recent college graduate decreased
her chances more and having no previous federal employment rounded out her trifecta
of cynicism.
“I thought, ‘Oh, there’s no way I’m gonna get this job,” she
recalled.
A few months later, she was hired into her position. Her
first real challenge wasn’t the job, but an internal trial: She needed to learn
to calm down.
“I’d go from one thing, to the next, to the next and kept
feeling like I had to continue that 90-hour workweek,” she said. “It took me a
while but then I realized, ‘Wow, the Corps actually values time with family.’”
She stated that her husband appreciated the change as well.
Now, Reinheimer is a staple on the district team as a
scientist and volunteer in outreach programs, as well as those in science, technology,
engineering and math – known a STEM. She uses her collective capabilities as a
student, educator and scientist to instruct the next wave of conservationists.
She believes making positive change in the world begins within
her own life. An end goal is having others follow her lead in conversation through
self-motivation. Her philosophy: One person leading by example is more
effective than a hundred people telling others what they should do.
With that in mind, Reinheimer has proven an essential
building block of the Norfolk District team.
“Coexisting,” she said. “That’s what I work for now. There
is that balance between growth and not harming the habitats around us. And
that’s part of what the Corps is. We lead by example and instead of telling
someone to make conservation a priority, we show them.”
