Susan N. Hughes is the vice president of environmental services for JEA and the most recent appointee by Gov. Jeb Bush to the governing board of the St. Johns River Water Management District.
HOW LONG HAS SHE BEEN
A VP AT JEA?
“Since June or July 2000. We had a realignment where basically a level was lopped off the organization. We flattened the organization but I keep the same responsibilities.”
WHAT’S MOST CHALLENGING?
“The need to balance out protection of our resources with sustainable growth. I think of competing interests working collectively to come up with an optimal solution. Regularly I meet with the environmental stakeholders, regulators and then the public. There are a lot of different requests for what JEA should be doing or needs to be doing. It’s communicating what truly are the factors involved. If you have a fairly complex issue and you have to explain that to people that aren’t as technically equipped, you have to boil it down to what everyone can understand yet keep the integrity of what it is you’re talking about.”
WHAT REWARDS COME
WITH THE JOB?
“When we come to consensus. There’s very little worth having that’s not worth working for.”
COMMENT ON JEA’S LEADERSHIP
“Walt Bussells has vision in guiding this organization. Seven or eight years ago you heard a lot about deregulating the industry. We had to make the decision to stay in the generation business or just move power through the grid and maintain the grid. We decided to stay and invest in our power plants. It was an enormous capital investment — I’ll say risky, knowing at the time how many uncertainties there were.”
WHAT ISSUES DOES THE ORGANIZATION FACE?
“Legislation is brewing in [Washington] D.C. Carbon dioxide is something that could be a regulated emission and could play into some of JEA’s decisions. Of course, the water issues in the state are something that will impact JEA. We have total maximum daily loads, which is essentially a requirement to look at all of the water bodies and determine which ones are impaired. They will be going through an analysis to determine impairment. With the St. Johns, it’s nutrients or nitrogen. So that means that JEA can only discharge this much and the paper mill can only discharge that much. That will determine what kind of technology we use.”
HOW LONG WITH THE COMPANY?
“Eighteen years. I moved here in 1985 from Pennsylvania for the job [at JEA]. My brother was in the Navy so I wanted to be close to at least one of my family members.”
WHAT OTHER WORK HAS SHE
DONE FOR JEA?
“I was the manager of permitting and compliance. Prior to that, I had been the licensing manager for the Northside re-powering project. Before that, I was a professional engineer. Essentially, I’ve been in the same area but it’s mutated over the years, especially when we took over water and sewage [in 1997].”
WHAT IS HER JOB ABOUT?
“Environmental services at JEA includes activities that cover all the regulatory interfaces to get permits for all our operations — construction and ongoing operation of our water, wastewater and power facilities. We ensure we have all of the mechanisms in place to comply with the permits, for instance all the required regulatory reports and sampling requirements. We have an analytical laboratory department as well. I direct traffic.”
SO SHE OVERSEEs ALL THREE DEPARTMENTS?
“Yes, it’s about 60 people.”
HOMETOWN
Norfolk, Va.
EDUCATION
The University of Pittsburgh is where Hughes earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. She also holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of North Florida.
WHERE DID SHE WORK BEFORE JEA?
“At the University of Pittsburgh I had a co-op position with the Department of Environmental Resources for the state. After graduating, I went full-time with the Bureau of Water Quality Management issuing permits, reviewing facilities inspections reports, things like that. I worked there four years then went to work for a coal mining corporation. I enjoyed the field work.”
WHY PURSUE THIS FIELD?
“I feel like I’ve had an environmental fabric woven through me since I was a child. I had to be very resourceful growing up because I didn’t have a lot of money or things.”
WHAT ARE HER THOUGHTS ON
HER APPOINTMENT?
“There’s a whole lot happening on the waterfront. The fact is that water issues are becoming high profile. It’s exciting to be part of making water policy at a time when water issues are becoming so critical.”
HOW LONG WILL SHE SERVE?
“They are staggered four-year terms, but since I am stepping into a vacant position, mine will be approximately three years. I’m an at-large member, filling Catherine Walker’s vacancy.”
TO WHAT OTHER GROUPS DOES
SHE BELONG?
The Winston YMCA board, Leadership Jacksonville’s Class of 2004, Florida Environmental Association Utility Council and she volunteers at the PACE Center for Girls and United Way.
HOME FIRES?
Palm Valley is home to Hughes and her husband Ted, a budget analyst at JEA. They have two school-aged children, Natalie and Teddy.
HOBBIES
Reading while she’s working out consumes a decent amount of Hughes’ spare time. A nature lover, Hughes also enjoys hiking and bicycling. When she’s surfing the tube, she prefers “The West Wing” or “Forest Gump.” Her favorite foods include seafood and pasta.
WHAT REALLY BUGS HER?
“Most people I know are blessed, relative to the rest of the world. My pet peeve is negativity, those that throw their own pity parties. That just drives me crazy. They’re people that are not moving forward and not making things better.”
— by Monica Tsai