Pinellas County Florida's Megan Ross on Her Unique Water Challenges

Megan Ross is the Utilities Director of Pinellas County Florida, which includes Clearwater and St. Petersburg (near Tampa).  A chemical process engineer by trade, her background is different than other water professionals we've spoken to.   She entered this industry because she saw a need, and she wanted to stay close to home and serve her community.

Megan describes the unique governance structure her organization has, working with 14 municipalities as well as Tampa Bay Water.  

She calls her top 3 challenges "Workforce, workforce, and workforce," and has implemented plans to hire everyone from veterans to former prison inmates.   This enables her to find workers and be involved with various community organizations.  And some positions will need to be outsourced.

Megan talks about becoming more empathetic as a leader during COVID, and keeping her cool when others around her aren't.  And she has a healthy appreciation for the essential workers that work in water.

You may think that Florida has no shortage of water, but it is a challenge to find affordable fresh water for residents.  Ross explains why that is.   Also, climate change remains a major threat to all aspects of life, including the area's lifeblood, tourism.  Megan talks about what measures are being undertaken at the state level and with individual residents.

Ross talks about the differences between being a supervisor and a manager.  As a supervisor, you are managing people.  But as a manager, you need to manage the processes that help the managers manage.

Finally, we talk about women in STEM, and the pride our guest takes in hiring and mentoring other women.

Links:

Pinellas County Website: http://www.pinellascounty.org/

Aquasight Website: https://aquasight.io/

Aquasight Website: https://aquasight.io/