Meet Meg Foley

Tell us about yourself and your background.

Meg Foley: My name is Megan Foley but everyone calls me Meg. I have an acronym of my name around my work mentality and the way that I operate — Motivated, Enthusiastic and Growth-oriented. I think it symbolizes all the previous work that I’ve done and my academic experiences. I see myself as someone who will make a big impact. 

I majored in International Business with concentrations in marketing and management, and I minored in leadership and human capital. I strongly believe that the most important asset in any business is its people, and I see myself contributing to that mindset shift. 

While I was studying, I did a bunch of different paid work experiences called co-ops (co-operative education). I worked in a variety of industries and companies of different sizes, doing different things from marketing execution to demand generation marketing. I even went overseas, working at a firm in England doing sales and renewals. My last co-op was at Boston Consulting Group doing talent branding. I was able to mix recruiting with marketing and spent a lot of my work experiences doing creative-minded things. It was a cool way to see a lot of different things, but ultimately I realized that I really wanted to be in HR.

After graduating,  I went to a solar investment firm where I worked as a human resources associate — and then senior human resources associate — working to deliver solar to underserved communities. I really connected with the position. I’m incredibly mission-oriented and appreciate any opportunity to contribute to a bigger cause and use my skills for good.

Outside of Quantis, I spend a lot of time outside with my rescue dog and my partner. We love hiking and long walks. I also have an affinity for water and love to be by the ocean in the summer. I was a competitive swimmer for 18 years, so being near water brings me a lot of peace.

Growing up, what was your dream job and why? Are there any links to what you do today?

MF: My dream job often was to be an Olympian and a doctor — very low-stress fields there (laughs). I was fairly good at swimming; at eight years old I was the YMCA New England champion. I started strong, and I was excited by the idea of representing the country. 

As for wanting to be a doctor, I’ve always felt this calling to give back and support others and contribute to something bigger than myself. However, I quickly learned that I wasn’t super keen on being surrounded by wounds or blood. That really narrowed it down, and the swimming thing didn’t necessarily work out. 

But I feel really good about how and where I ended up because it drives my passion and brings together all the things that make me Meg. Through my job, I’m able to combine the things that I’m good at while helping others. Doing human resources at a sustainability consulting firm, I can contribute to our planet’s future while making sure the people around me feel supported and that they have everything they need to succeed.

What made you decide to work in sustainability?

MF: I think the path that led me here came from a very pressing need to focus on our planet and the way we live. I need to feel like I’m making a difference. There are many ways to enter sustainability and tackle climate change. I think the best solution is for people to utilize their skills to be a part of it somehow.

What does your average day look like?

MF: I aspire to be habitual and have routines. My day always starts with coffee and a walk with Scout, my rescue dog. 

Getting back to work, I really do see my job as calendar-based, and there are certain things you can expect to pop up. You think about the employee experience; it always begins with recruiting and, even before that, branding. There are experiences all throughout that time window that line up for me. For example, when we’re doing a hiring push, that’s going to take up 70 to 80 percent of my time, whether I’m coordinating with candidates or working with our team leads on the latest status of roles and things like that. Recruiting is a big thing, and when we’re making hiring pushes you can expect a few different things related to that. 

We also have this really great culture of simulating the office environment; our team is geographically spread out. Most days, I’ll have a CWAB (Coffee With A Buddy) where I’ll have at least one informal conversation with a colleague to connect. CWABs have been a really good opportunity for me, as a pretty new employee, to get to know the team that I’m supporting. 

A huge part of my work is the DEI task force. Being able to join those efforts on the recruiting and retention front is really a great way for me to tie my interest in supporting all people to feel comfortable at work at Quantis. It’s a piece of my work that brings me a lot of pride.

What qualities would you say make up a Quantisian?

MF: The biggest thing is that we live our values — optimism, innovation, maintaining our integrity, and being collaborative and science-driven. We’re thinking about what’s next. We see challenges as opportunities, and we’re able to tackle them because we have each other’s backs constantly. I love that the people here see each other as a person first and a colleague second. And everyone’s voice matters.

I don’t take that for granted. I really think that is the Quantis Spirit.

What would you tell future candidates about applying to Quantis?

MF: This is my advice to anyone: be yourself and the rest will follow. From an employer perspective, we want to bring someone onto the team who will feel comfortable in this very open, collaborative and optimistic, yet pragmatic group. If you put up a façade, you set unrealistic expectations for yourself. Folks are selected here for a good reason. Your skills brought you to the interview, the only thing you have to do now is to be yourself.