Published September 01, 2023
Patricia “Pat” McLean joined the School of Energy Resources (SER) in August as an Office Associate, Senior to support the research team. In her new capacity, she will work with the directors of SER’s Centers of Excellence to provide administrative assistance, organization and schedule management, and facilitate internal communication.
Calling Laramie home, McLean has traveled all over the world and brings a wealth of knowledge and professional office expertise to the position. Her varied background in education has made her adaptable with an innate ability to work with diverse individuals, management styles and meet the needs of wide-ranging project topics.
McLean received her undergraduate degree in Spanish from the University of Colorado in Boulder before earning her master’s degree from the University of Wyoming (UW). She then taught Spanish in UW’s Modern and Classical Languages Department for fourteen years before living abroad in Argentina and Ecuador where she continued to serve as an educator. After returning to Laramie, she began working for Albany County School District #1, providing administrative support to the assistant superintendent for nearly a decade before moving back into higher education at UW.
Over the course of fifteen years, she has also volunteered as a translator of the Head Start Program in Northeast Wyoming, gaining valuable experience with grant-funded programs and effective communication techniques.
“We are really grateful to have Pat on board,” says SER Director of Research Scott Quillinan. “SER has experienced a massive period of growth in projects and in staff. Pat’s organizational capabilities will be invaluable in relieving some of the administrative burden of the directors which will, in turn, enable them to be more efficient. “Moreover, Pat will dramatically enhance our community engagement efforts through her language capabilities, and her experience in education and with grant funding opportunities will really allow her to anticipate and manage needs for our research team.”
The recently created position is designed to keep pace with the burgeoning ventures in energy technologies for Wyoming, and as such will continue to evolve as Pat settles into her new role.
“I am looking forward to developing the position and being able to help the research directors with whatever they need,” says McLean. “I am also very excited to be part of such an incredible team and apply my skills in a different discipline. I have always been involved in the humanities so now working with people in science is new, exciting, and so full of innovation.”
