Full Name:  Bridget Michelle Rosa McCann

Current Placement(s) in the JLLB? Nominating Committee and D&I Task Force

What year did you join the JLLB? How many years is that? I think in 2014?  I got my five year pin last year.  This is my sixth year.  (I was in the middle of an awful divorce, why I don’t remember specifically lol.)

Where did you go to school and what degrees do you hold? University of Detroit Mercy (B.A. Communications Studies), Occidental College (B.A. Biology, Marine Emphasis)  I am currently earning my M.S. in Environmental Science and Policy from Johns Hopkins University, I will finish this spring.

What do you do outside the League as a job? Tell us all your jobs both professional and other places you volunteer.   I work at Chevron El Segundo as their Regulatory, Technical & Policy Specialist.  I essentially serve as an environmental scientist, regulatory analyst, and policy expert for our facility.  I support a lot of different non-profit organizations, but right now I do my best to participate in the local racial justice movement.  One of the things in my neighborhood and nearby Seal Beach that I have helped with is the distribution of equality/BLM lawn signs…some of our JLLB members have even gotten them through me without realizing it   I am also active in Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action since my family has been impacted by gun violence.  (My nephew was shot and injured in the Route 91 mass shooting in Las Vegas three years ago).  I suppose I can be a bit of an activist for the causes I believe in!   I am also training right now to be part of Long Beach CERT for Naples Island.

What city did you grow up and how’d you end up in Long Beach? I grew up in Redford, which is on the west side of Detroit.  I moved out to California originally to go to law school along with my ex-boyfriend who wanted to pursue his acting career (neither his acting or our relationship panned out). I eventually ended up going back to school for marine biology instead.  I had always wanted to move to Southern California from Michigan since I spent a lot of time in this area visiting my older brother, who was born and raised in Orange County and lived there until fairly recently when he moved to Oregon.  When I first moved to California, I lived in the Burbank area, and when I was married for a brief time, I lived in North Hills.  When I separated from my ex-husband, I made the decision to move to Long Beach, and found my apartment on Naples Island, where I have been ever since.  I always wanted to live on an island!

Why did you join the JLLB? I joined JLLB because I had recently moved to Long Beach, and was looking for an opportunity to meet women who loved Long Beach and were interested in serving their community, as well as having fun.  Service has been important to me my entire life, so it helped me find new friends and a new purpose during a hard period of my life in my new home.

What do you enjoy about membership in the JLLB? I love the service to our community and fun social opportunities it has provided, as well as the  amazing friends I have made- but one thing that I truly value (and didn’t expect) from Junior League was how much training and development I would receive to empower me and help make me an even better member of my community and organizations.  Many of the skills and trainings I have participated in through JLLB, such as ODI and facilitator training, I have used in every facet of my life.

What are your hobbies / what do you like to do for fun? I love yoga, meditation, paddle boarding, beach volleyball, anything to do with the ocean, traveling, reading, music and concerts, hiking, camping and spending time with my friends and family.

Unique fun fact about you?  While in school at Occidental College, I was in Vantuna Research Group.  I would routinely be on research vessels most weekends doing some kind of survey or collection of data, and sometimes would go out for days at a time offshore San Diego, in the Channel Islands, or off Point Conception.  One of my favorite trips was going to San Miguel Island, where I got to see a few great white sharks pass by.  I also enjoyed when we got to do deep water sampling and saw interesting species like lanternfish.

I was also a Girl Scout all the way through high school and got my Gold Award, and was a Girl Scout Cookie Press Girl, meaning I was interviewed on the radio and tv about cookies.  I would often attend events with Jennifer Granholm, who was a big supporter of the Michigan Metro Girl Scouts, and later became Michigan’s governor.

What’s the first place you want to travel to when it’s safe to do so? I want to go see one of my best friends who lives in Fort Lauderdale and drive to the Florida Keys to snorkel and go sailing.  (As long as I have seen my parents before that.  If not, going to see them or my brothers.)