A Day in the Life

Every day is Demanding, Challenging, and Rewarding.

Dean Powell

One of my most vivid early childhood memories was standing in the back yard with my family watching the satellite Sputnik pass over our house. This event served as a rude awakening for the entire United States, giving rise to a new emphasis on science and engineering in an effort to regain scientific superiority over the Soviet Union. Even as a small child, I was swept up in the national resolve to conquer new horizons. I developed elaborate fantasies about what I might do as a scientist. As early as the age of 8, I collaborated with my friends to conduct "research" and to implement all sorts of scientific endeavors. A few of those early efforts came close to burning down the house! I swore that I would become a scientist, and I have.

Today, I feel extremely lucky to be living many of those childhood dreams as Director of the Watershed Management Department at the South Florida Water Management District. I oversee a staff of over 100 scientists and technicians working in the Everglades, Lake Okeechobee, the Kissimmee River and the estuaries of South Florida. Each day brings new challenges and new discoveries.

Having been at "the District" since 1988, I have had the opportunity to engage in an extremely wide range of activities - everything from riding in air boats to better study the tree islands of the Everglades to helicopter reconnaissance of hurricane damage in the Florida Keys. I have worked with scientists and engineers to manage the ecological impacts from droughts, floods and hurricanes. And I have participated in the development of very large scale ecosystem restoration projects. I work with other scientists to make weekly recommendations on the operation of the massive, regional Central and South Florida Flood Control System, which stretches from the Chain of Lakes to Florida Bay.

The District operates a vast system of canals, structures and pump stations within this region. This flood control system overlays one of the most magnificent and diverse ecosystems on the planet, which includes the winding oxbows of the restored Kissimmee River as well as the estuaries all along the east and west coast of the lower third of Florida. The complexity of the system and the implications of managing it to protect these diverse ecosystems as well as the more than 7 million people who live and work here inspires me. I learn something new every day. Having the opportunity to work in, and help manage this system is truly beyond my wildest childhood dreams.