Meet Catherine Fox: Principal and Senior Scientist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Catherine Fox and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Catherine, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
The most important factor for the success of my company has been to show industries and municipal governments that it is easier than they think and costs less both financially and stress to be in compliance with environmental laws than to fight the regulations.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
FOX Environmental, LLC is a small, woman-owned firm located in Decatur, GA. Our clients are primarily local governments as well as industry located throughout Georgia. I feel our success is due in a large part to our ability to quickly understand the environmental challenge(s) at hand and clearly communicate how they may be resolved in a timely and cost-effective manner. We have faced few challenges in securing clients and resolving permit compliance problems. One item that has been challenging, especially of late, is to encourage clients to implement programs that go beyond the minimum, ones that truly make a difference to their communities and the environment as opposed to just ensuring that proper paperwork is provided to the state. I am still trying to overcome this challenge and may have better luck post-covid, a world health crisis which we all hope will be over soon. In the meantime, we are continuing to train new college graduates about how to perform stream assessments, build rain gardens and finding/eliminating sources of pollution so they may become professional scientists ready to take on the latest environmental challenges now facing us all,

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
During covid-times, it is important to protect ourselves and others. With this in mind, I would invite my best friend to visit me after we both have received our vaccines. We would then spend the majority of our time visiting beautiful places throughout Atlanta and the rest of the great state of Georgia. In Atlanta, we could climb Stone Mountain, visit the Botanical Garden, and kayak the Chattahoochee River starting at Buford Dam. We would next travel to north Georgia to hike in the mountains and stay in a cabin complete with a fire place playing our ukuleles and listening to John Prine. A trip to Cumberland Island would be wonderful as well. We would rent a cabin at Crooked River State Park in St. Mary’s and take the ferry over to Cumberland Island for an outstanding day of swimming and collecting shells. On our way back, we would stop by Jekyll Island and visit the Jekyll Island Club Resort, and watch the sunset over the marsh. The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would not be as successful as I am without the guidance and support of both my father, Richard T. Fox, Ph.D., an Economics Professor, and my French Horn Teacher, Mr. Carl R. Schiebler, Personnel Manager of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Both men lifted me up with lifelong encouragement, advice and love that raised my confidence that there were no limits to what I could do.

Website: www.foxenvironmental.net

Facebook: FOX Environmental, LLC