By Dr. Joanne Reilly, from Kinvara Skincare
Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science. Today is a very important and special day for many women across the globe, and I wanted to share with you My Journey to and Through Science.
I’ve been in business for over 10 years but I always identify myself as a scientist. Not sure why, maybe because of the years in college carrying out fieldwork, writing papers and theses, maybe it’s because my better half is a scientist too and we talk science at home or maybe it’s really because I’m just a curious person who questions everything!
As a child I was the ‘but why’ kid and I’m certain I was exasperating to be around. I loved animals and nearly every photo of me from that time has me holding a cat or dog, sometimes both with mixed results.
I liked school but didn’t know what to do in college partly because I was interested in everything, so my Mum took me to a career guidance person who eventually after numerous tests and talking to me suggested I study Natural Sciences in Trinity, so I did. That nice man has no idea what a profound effect his suggestion had on me. I spent 2 years doing general sciences and not surprisingly found myself drawn toward zoology and ecology, so I went on to specialize in zoology and actually carried out my final year thesis in Dublin Zoo on water quality in the lakes there. It was while at Trinity that myself and some other students decided to organize an expedition to Mauritius to look at fruit bats and birds. It was wonderful seeing practical zoology in action and a meeting there led me to another expedition after college that brought me to Sumatra in Indonesia, which eventually led to my Doctorate on the Asian elephant in Sumatra and work on human-elephant conflict and the park’s population of the critically endangered Sumatran rhino. My time in Sumatra was such a gift and shaped me in a fundamental way such that everything I’ve done since then has been built on my experiences and observations from that time into principles that guide me and how I run Kinvara Skincare now. For example, when you see firsthand what unsustainable logging looks like and what it does to local communities, plants and animals then you don’t want to ever be part of that – sustainability was a value of mine long before climate change and environmental issues focused businesses to look at it more seriously.
While conducting fieldwork in Sumatra science was very practical with long periods of data collection on hot, challenging trips hacking through dense jungle with a machete while looking for signs of elephants and rhinos which usually meant dung but could also mean footprints, scratchings, or occasionally sightings of actual animals. I saw so many fantastic and sometimes endangered animals like tapirs, tigers, rhino, pythons, gharials, rhinoceros hornbills, and siamang gibbons. Data analysis was also a bit arduous as our fancy laptop had to be plugged into a dodgy generator which meant we had to wear rubber wellies when we were using it to absorb the not infrequent shocks! The work I did then helped develop a method for aging elephants from their dung which is so simple and still in use today. Other work with my colleagues was vital in establishing a rhino sanctuary, for what many people would consider to be the world’s most endangered species – the Sumatran rhino. I was so proud seeing on LinkedIn recently, the success they’re having there in breeding baby rhinos after years of disappointment trying to do that in zoos in the USA and UK. I’m immensely grateful to have had that experience and call friends made there, friends still.
Returning to Ireland with a PhD in elephants was interesting and challenging. Employers couldn’t relate to my work experiences and I didn’t know how to explain what I did in a way that showed the skills I learned and the value I could bring them. I felt redundant and was redundant, not working and struggling. I’ve followed my own path in science but when you pursue it in the way I did, your career can hit a wall when it comes to employment, so the moral here is maybe think a bit more strategically about how to follow your dreams but align your plans with activity that’s in demand.
Lessons learnt I decided to go into business for myself, taking heart from the success others in my family had in business and after a false start, I stumbled into skincare for which I’m eternally grateful. I had found my place in science where I could be creative researching the vast array of raw materials, cosmetic innovations, and formulation development while using the business to help support causes close to my heart.
Skincare saved me but only after I decided to stop waiting and save myself first. I’m sure I could have come to where I am now by an easier, less arduous route but would I change it – no way.
I’m a businesswoman who creates formulations that are worn by people every day and every night. Kinvara is part of people’s everyday lives, a privilege for which I’m very grateful.