--- title: RICE CHBE - Why this Rice alumna chose a food-related career over oil and gas description: "Footprint Featured in: RICE CHBE - Rice alumna chose to make an impact by helping food industries achieve sustainability goals as a platform manager for Footprint" image: https://press.footprintus.com/hubfs/Venmathy%20Featured%20Image%20Update.jpg --- [Skip to content](https://press.footprintus.com/en/rice-chbe-why-this-rice-alumna-chose-a-food-related-career-over-oil-and-gas#main-content) [Close ](https://press.footprintus.com/en/rice-chbe-why-this-rice-alumna-chose-a-food-related-career-over-oil-and-gas#) - Main - [Science](https://www.footprintus.com/science) - [Solutions](https://www.footprintus.com/solutions) - Company - [About Us](https://www.footprintus.com/about) - [Leadership](https://www.footprintus.com/leadership) - [Board of Directors](https://www.footprintus.com/board-of-directors) - [History](https://www.footprintus.com/history) - [Locations](https://www.footprintus.com/locations) - [Newsroom](https://news.footprintus.com/en) - [Careers](https://www.footprintus.com/careers) [ SEARCH ](https://press.footprintus.com/en/rice-chbe-why-this-rice-alumna-chose-a-food-related-career-over-oil-and-gas#) [Contact Us](https://www.footprintus.com/contact) [![logo](https://press.footprintus.com/hubfs/Imported%20images/Horizontal%20-%20G.svg "logo")](https://footprintus.com) - Main - [Science](https://www.footprintus.com/science) - [Solutions](https://www.footprintus.com/solutions) - Company - [About Us](https://www.footprintus.com/about) - [Leadership](https://www.footprintus.com/leadership) - [Board of Directors](https://www.footprintus.com/board-of-directors) - [History](https://www.footprintus.com/history) - [Locations](https://www.footprintus.com/locations) - [Newsroom](https://news.footprintus.com/en) - [Careers](https://www.footprintus.com/careers) [Contact Us](https://www.footprintus.com/contact) Quick results for "{search_term}" ![](https://press.footprintus.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Venmathy%20Featured%20Image%20Update.jpg?width=300&name=Venmathy%20Featured%20Image%20Update.jpg) [Footprint](https://press.footprintus.com/en/author/footprint)Jun 16 2022< 1 min read # RICE CHBE - Why this Rice alumna chose a food-related career over oil and gas [Previous ](https://press.footprintus.com/en/food-engineering-alternative-protein-packaging-success-through-sustainability) [Next ](https://press.footprintus.com/en/forbes-footprint-says-to-ditch-your-plastic-packaging) Originally published on RICE CBHE **(June 2022)** Unlike many students who decide to major in chemical engineering, Venmathy McMahan knew she wasn’t interested in pursuing a career in oil and gas. She minored in environmental engineering. “I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted my impact on the world to be, but I knew I wanted to make a positive contribution,” said McMahan, who today has two full-time, cross-continental jobs in food-related industries. In her other role, McMahan helps food industries achieve sustainability goals as a platform manager for Footprint, a company based in Gilbert, Ariz. “Supermarkets and quick service restaurants are where consumers often encounter the most single-use plastics. We help companies transition to fiber solutions that reduce plastic waste,” she said. Footprint was recognized in 2021 as a CNBC Disruptor 50 and is expected to become a publicly listed company this year. “I love working at Footprint,” McMahan said, “because I get to make products that have a positive impact on the planet and provide competitive alternatives to single-use plastics.” ***Read the full article on [CHBE.RICE.edu](https://chbe.rice.edu/news/why-rice-alumna-chose-food-related-career-over-oil-and-gas)*** #### COMMENTS ## RELATED ARTICLES [![Horizontal - GW@3x-1](https://20263992.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/20263992/Horizontal%20-%20GW@3x-1.png)](https://footprintus.com) **Follow us on Social Media** - Main - [Science](https://www.footprintus.com/science) - [Solutions](https://www.footprintus.com/solutions) - Company - [About Us](https://www.footprintus.com/about) - [Leadership](https://www.footprintus.com/leadership) - [Board of Directors](https://www.footprintus.com/board-of-directors) - [History](https://www.footprintus.com/history) - [Locations](https://www.footprintus.com/locations) - [Newsroom](https://news.footprintus.com/en) - [Careers](https://www.footprintus.com/careers) Copyright © 2024 Footprint | [Privacy Policy](https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/47343240) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "Organization", "address" : { "@type" : "PostalAddress", "addressCountry" : "", "addressLocality" : "Gilbert", "addressRegion" : "Arizona", "postalCode" : "85297", "streetAddress" : "250 E Germann Rd" }, "knowsLanguage" : "en", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://f.hubspotusercontent40.net/hubfs/20263992/Imported%20images/Horizontal%20-%20G.svg" }, "name" : "Footprint", "url" : "https://press.footprintus.com/en/rice-chbe-why-this-rice-alumna-chose-a-food-related-career-over-oil-and-gas" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "abstract" : "Footprint Featured in: RICE CHBE - Rice alumna chose to make an impact by helping food industries achieve sustainability goals as a platform manager for Footprint", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Footprint" }, "dateModified" : "August 31, 2023 2 PM", "datePublished" : "June 16, 2022 4 PM", "headline" : "RICE CHBE - Why this Rice alumna chose a food-related career over oil and gas", "image" : "https://20263992.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/20263992/Venmathy%20Featured%20Image%20Update.jpg", "inLanguage" : "en", "keywords" : "[]", "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@type" : "WebPage" }, "name" : "RICE CHBE - Why this Rice alumna chose a food-related career over oil and gas", "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://f.hubspotusercontent40.net/hubfs/20263992/Imported%20images/Horizontal%20-%20G.svg" }, "name" : "Footprint" }, "text" : "Originally published on RICE CBHE (June 2022) Unlike many students who decide to major in chemical engineering, Venmathy McMahan knew she wasn’t interested in pursuing a career in oil and gas. She minored in environmental engineering. “I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted my impact on the world to be, but I knew I wanted to make a positive contribution,” said McMahan, who today has two full-time, cross-continental jobs in food-related industries. In her other role, McMahan helps food industries achieve sustainability goals as a platform manager for Footprint, a company based in Gilbert, Ariz. “Supermarkets and quick service restaurants are where consumers often encounter the most single-use plastics. We help companies transition to fiber solutions that reduce plastic waste,” she said. Footprint was recognized in 2021 as a CNBC Disruptor 50 and is expected to become a publicly listed company this year. “I love working at Footprint,” McMahan said, “because I get to make products that have a positive impact on the planet and provide competitive alternatives to single-use plastics.” Read the full article on CHBE.RICE.edu", "url" : "https://press.footprintus.com/en/rice-chbe-why-this-rice-alumna-chose-a-food-related-career-over-oil-and-gas", "wordCount" : "276" } ```