From salmon to forests: Elizabeth’s STEMM story

If you’re curious about how the world works and want a career that shapes the future, Elizabeth Heeg’s path shows how far STEMM can take you.

Elizabeth Heeg

Elizabeth’s the Chief Executive of the Forest Owners Association, working with scientists, engineers and policy experts on climate, land use and forestry. Her career journey didn’t start with a perfect plan, and it has taken interesting trajectories. But it did start with curiosity and an interest in science.

Elizabeth grew up in a science family in which ‘science’ wasn’t only for other people; experiments and problem-solving in Elizabeth’s home were part of everyday life and science was something she could picture herself doing from an early age.

Outside school, she loved the outdoors. Gifted student programmes involved her in chemistry labs, and Girl Scouts fed her love of nature. That mix led her to study Zoology at university, with a minor in Chemistry.

At uni she thought she’d become a field ecologist, but she learned a STEMM truth: careers aren’t straight lines. An internship in salmon genetics at the USA’s National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA – similar to our NIWA) pulled her into conservation genetics, where DNA research helps protect species and ecosystems.

A Master’s scholarship then took her into feral pig research in California - different from salmon, but driven by the same mindset. Elizabeth jokes that scientists shouldn’t be loyal to a species; they should be loyal to ‘the question’. She later worked on Pacific herring, and a PhD opportunity brought her to New Zealand to study trout. Different animals, same purpose: asking smart questions, gathering evidence, and using science to solve problems.

That’s one of STEMM’s superpowers, she says. “It teaches you critical thinking, how to test ideas, how to handle experiments that fail, and how to keep learning. Those skills are wanted everywhere - labs, tech companies, hospitals, environmental agencies, startups, manufacturing, and government.

“You might start in one area and end up leading something completely different, like I did, without ever leaving STEMM.”

Elizabeth says New Zealand needs more young people stepping into these fields

“Our future economy depends on research and development (R&D): the work that creates new technology, better health treatments, smarter infrastructure, cleaner energy, and climate-friendly industries. R&D is how NZ grows high-value jobs and exports, builds businesses that compete globally, and finds local solutions to local challenges.”

She says the best part of her job today is meeting young scientists and engineers who are buzzing about what’s possible. She’s seen interns describe forestry engineering as “combining physics and trees,” and she met a teenager who won an award for inventing biodegradable plant pots for native seedlings.

“The next breakthroughs will come from young people still at school choosing to study, experiment, and lead.”