Biography

Michele Vachon worked out of a vacant T-shirt factory when she started working for BR1 in February 2016. “It was still a complete greenfield,” she recalls. “But by December of that year we were melting steel.”

That speed and ambition is characteristic of U. S. Steel’s Big River Steel Works “‘No, we can’t do that,’ really isn’t in our vocabulary,” she says. “Every person here has the power to impact our operations.” It’s an attitude that applies to our dedication to pushing the boundaries of sustainability in steelmaking. BR1 launched its operations with an exceptionally low carbon footprint, relying mostly on non-fossil-fuel-based energy.

Michele, who serves as Sustainability Manager at BR1, continues to oversee efforts to lower the company’s environmental impact, as well as to increase community outreach. Employee volunteers fan out to schools and local libraries on Earth Day to talk about the environment and steelmaking, for example. And BR1 used construction scrap to build a series of raised garden beds around their plant — beds now used to grow much of the vegetables and herbs served in the employee cafeteria. Those and many other contributions have hardly gone unnoticed at U. S. Steel, earning her the company’s CEO STEEL Champion award.

One of Michele’s biggest interests is bringing more women into the steel industry, and mentoring many of them to help prepare them for leadership roles. “I love to find and mentor new talent,” she explains. “Some of the interns I’ve hosted have gone on to important jobs in the environmental field.” The very first intern she hosted, she notes, is now the Senior Environmental Coordinator at Big River Steel Works. Michele hopes to amplify those efforts by her involvement in several industry groups, including the Association for Iron & Steel Technology’s Women in Steel group, and the International Association of Women. In addition, she is now active in U. S. Steel’s Women Inclusion Network and STEELSustainability ERGs. “U. S. Steel’s strength in ERGs provides a fantastic opportunity to grow and learn from peers who are out there really making a difference,” she says.