In this episode of Water for Fighting, Brett Cyphers sits down with Mary Ellen Winkler, an attorney, engineer, and Assistant Executive Director of the St. Johns River Water Management District. Mary Ellen reflects on growing up on Florida’s Space Coast, her family’s engineering background, and her father’s 40-year career with NASA. She also discusses her early connection to the Indian River Lagoon and St. Johns River and how those experiences influenced her eventual career in Florida water management.
Mary Ellen traces her path from engineering to law and nearly 27 years with the St. Johns River Water Management District. She discusses environmental resource and consumptive use permitting, litigation, policy, and her progression into agency leadership. The conversation also explores her problem-solving approach to regulation and several major District efforts, including the recovery of Lake Apopka, restoration in the Upper St. Johns River Basin, and projects reducing freshwater and nutrient impacts to the Indian River Lagoon.
Looking ahead, Mary Ellen discusses challenges facing Florida’s water resources, including legacy nutrients, sustainable water supply, and the need for alternative water supplies in Central and North Florida. She highlights continued momentum as major projects identified through long-term water supply planning move into construction. She encourages young professionals to treat their careers as a craft rather than simply a job and to pursue work that provides purpose, pride, and an opportunity to make a lasting impact.
This episode is brought to you by my friends at Sea and Shoreline.
Sea and Shoreline is the Southeast’s leading innovator in protecting coastal communities from devastating storms and restoring ecosystems that once faced ecological collapse. Visit their website at www.Seaandshoreline.com.
This episode is also brought to by my friends at Resource Environmental Solutions (RES)
RES is the nation’s leader in ecological restoration, helping to restore Florida’s natural resources with water quality and stormwater solutions that offer communities guaranteed performance and outcomes. Check them out at www.res.us
Please be sure to check out the Florida Specifier Podcast hosted by Brett Cyphers and Ryan Matthews, as part of a new venture where we’re striving to become Florida’s first source for environmental news, educational tools, and unique perspectives on our state’s natural environment and the events that shape it. To learn more about its flagship print publication and more, visit The Florida Specifier.
You can follow the show on LinkedIn and Instagram @flwaterpod, and you can reach me directly at FLwaterpod@gmail.com with your comments and suggestions for who and/or what you’d like to know more about.
Production of this podcast is by Lonely Fox Studios. Thanks to Karl Sorne for making the best of what he had to work with. And to David Barfield for the amazing graphics and technical assistance.
And finally, a very special thank you goes out to Bo Spring from the Bo Spring Band for giving permission to use his music for this podcast. The song is called Doing Work for Free, and you should check out the band live, or wherever great music is sold.
