Lead scientist Lynda C. lost her hearing while she was employed at Kimberly-Clark, but that has not impeded her career or her enthusiasm.
Passionate, Lynda C. lights up when talking about what she does. She gets a kick out of designing the highly technical fabrics that are used to produce Kimberly-Clark products, including diapers, wipes and tissues, and making them more eco-friendly.
“If I can dream something up, I can step up to the loom and make it real,” says Lynda, who files a patent application at least once every six months. “I find that incredibly fun and engaging.”
Being deaf in a workplace isn’t without challenges. When Lynda first brought her service dog to the office, there was some hesitation. Her fellow employees stepped up to help.
“My colleagues heard about my challenges in educating people about how to behave around service dogs, and they spontaneously arranged an educational event for the company,” she recalls. “They invited representatives from organizations that train service dogs to come and showcase how the dogs help people and how to interact with service dogs and their human partners. I was touched by their kindness.”
Lynda, who gave up an aerospace engineering career and went back to school when she recognized her passion for textiles, is excited that her job is all about innovation and improvement.
The latest transfer fabric that she designed, for example, has multiple benefits: it’s easier for vendors to produce, runs more efficiently in our facilities and improves the end products. Importantly, it uses fewer resources and is better for the environment.
“By delivering innovations, I can — and have — improved the efficiency of our manufacturing facilities on a global scale,” she says. “This has a greater impact on limiting carbon dioxide emissions and climate change than anything I could do as an individual.”
Accordingly, Lynda is encouraged by our commitment to cut water and forest footprints in half by 2030, noting the support for green initiatives that she and her colleagues have presented.
She’s also seen meaningful advances in diversity, equity, and inclusion over her 14 years at Kimberly-Clark and is eager to see that progress continue.
“In the last 10 years, we have created an employee resource group specifically to support employees who live with disabilities,” she notes. “We are better at meeting requests for accommodation, and our college recruiters are actively reaching out to students with disabilities.”
As Lynda sees it, one of the great advantages of working at Kimberly-Clark is the myriad opportunities it offers.
“You are the captain of your own ship,” Lynda affirms. “Kimberly-Clark is a large company with an incredibly wide range of career paths and opportunities. Staying focused on your dreams will empower you to live your best life and best assist Kimberly-Clark in delivering winning products for our consumers and our planet.”
Lynda is a leader, and she is intent on nurturing emerging innovators.
“I recognize that we have learned so much about how to deliver better products and processes,” she says. “I want the next generations to be able to take advantage of all we have learned.”