Philanthropy a priority for Mon Valley Young Professional
Karen Johnson, human resources assistant at Aquatech, sits in her office at the headquarters in Canonsburg.
Karen Johnson, Human Resources Assistant at Aquatech, sits in her office at the headquarters in Canonsburg.
Editor’s note: This is part of a continuing series on the members of the Young Professionals of the Mon Valley, a committee of the Mon Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Karen Johnson of Speers said the most rewarding volunteer work she has done is making wishes come true for children through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
In the last five years, she has been able to fulfill about six or seven wishes, she said. Most of them were for trips to Disney World.
“I really like knowing I’ve helped in some way,” she said Monday.
By day, Johnson, 31, who graduated from California University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing, works in human resources for Aquatech in Canonsburg.
“We handle human resources for all of North America,” she said.
The company provides desalination, water purification systems and industrial wastewater treatment technology for customers worldwide.
In addition to Canonsburg, Aquatech also has offices in Wisconsin, India, China and the United Arab Emirates.
She said the company provides the staff for three wastewater treatment plants, has contracts with many others and does a multitude of water treatment projects around the world.
Johnson’s job is to collect references and do background checks and initial interviews to get information for her boss, who makes the hiring decisions.
She interviews engineers, project managers, water treatment plant operators, administrative assistants, janitorial staff, and assemblers, welders and shipping/receiving clerks for the company’s manufacturing department, but does not recruit high-level executives or salesmen, Johnson said.
Those recruitments are handled by her boss.
She joined the Mon Valley Young Professionals association last fall..
“I think it’s a really great organization to be a part of,” she said. “There’s a lot of philanthropic events tied to it.”
“It’s good to have people of a professional mindset come together to try to make the Mon Valley great again,” Johnson said.
In addition to being a member of the Mon Valley Young Professionals, she is also a member of the Lions Club of Rostraver Township and the Speers Civic Club, and formerly worked as a volunteer for the American Red Cross and the Angel Ridge animal shelter.
While in college, she was named to “Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities.”
In her free time, Johnson pursues her passion for music.
During her lifetime, she has attended between 40 and 50 concerts. Her taste runs the gamut from classical music to pop, country and classic rock.
She described concerts she attended by The Rolling Stones and Pearl Jam as “lifetime events,” and also enjoyed seeing Fleetwood Mac last summer.