Staff Highlight: Jennifer McMullin RS/REHS, Environmental Project Assistant/Beach Program Coordinator
Each summer, Barnstable County Department of Health and Environment (BCDHE) hires a team of seasonal staff to support two incredibly vital programs that keep residents and visitors safe during the summer season here on Cape Cod: The Bathing Beach Monitoring Program and the Public Health Inspectional Program. The former is a herculean effort that conducts weekly sample collection and bacteriological analysis of over 350 beaches in all of Cape Cod’s 15 towns. The program runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and Jenny McMullin is the mastermind behind it.
Jenny is a local Cape Codder who grew up in Osterville and attended Barnstable High School. She then attended Boston University where she received a degree in Environmental Policy and Analysis. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, Jenny applied for a position as a seasonal beach sampler/analyst, and came to work with us in 2019; the summer of her junior year. She returned in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic for her second season. Following her graduation in the winter of 2021, Jenny returned to Barnstable County in a full-time capacity as a water quality laboratory employee and eventually was promoted to manage the Beach Monitoring Program that she had once supported as a seasonal staff member.
The Beach Monitoring Program, behind the scenes, requires a great deal of knowledge, coordination, and a very specialized skill set. As the program coordinator, Jenny hires seasonal staff, orchestrates enrollment of semi-public beaches, reports to the state to ensure compliance with the Massachusetts Bathing Beach Regulations in all 15 towns, maintains data, performs laboratory analyses, and much more. In the fall and winter months she supports various projects and initiatives in water quality laboratory in addition to providing back up to the staff microbiologist and other analysts. Jenny is professionally certified as a Registered Sanitarian/Registered Environmental Health Specialist (RS/REHS), with the capability to provide expert public health inspectional support to the towns when necessary.
Jenny is an essential and valued team member here at BCDHE and we are extremely grateful for her exceptional service!
Fun fact: Seasonal staff that support Barnstable County’s Department of Health and Environment in the summer have become the foundation of full-time staff here at the County. A large percentage of our staff started as seasonal workers who kept returning year after year and eventually found long-term employment, contributing their dedication, talent, and skills to our diverse programs and services. Jenny is among them.
