Looking out the window of her office on the 24th floor of the Wells Fargo Center Downtown, Lisa Strange Weatherby likes to “feel the energy” from the commerce in Jacksonville.
“Downtown is where all the action is,” said Weatherby.
She has never been one to stray too far from the action with a career of about 30 years in the financial industry and actively volunteering her time in the community.
“Things go crazy on a regular basis. It’s pretty much drinking from the fire hose all the time, but I like it that way because I’ve done it for so long. After 30 years you pretty much develop your own rhythm and it seems to work for me,” said Weatherby.
The past five years of her career in finance has been with Wells Fargo Advisors, where she serves as a first vice president of investments.
She serves two types of clients in that capacity. The first are foundations, endowments and retirement plans. Weatherby and her team help clients meet their fiduciary responsibilities for how their assets are managed.
The other type is individual clients.
“For individual clients, we are optimizing the portfolio for risk versus return. Helping select the most appropriate investment managers for their risk and return profiles. Keep them up-to-date on how the portfolios are doing,” said Weatherby.
It was those financial skills that made her a candidate for an opening on the JEA board of directors, she said.
“Looking at the talent they had on the board, they were looking for someone with more of a financial background with experience in fund management,” said Weatherby.
“It’s a pivotal time and it’s something that impacts virtually every citizen, every taxpayer. We have to be mindful of our responsibilities to the taxpayers,” she said.
The board soon will make decisions on a new CEO for JEA as well as its energy future when nuclear energy options the utility is invested in become available.
“A lot of long-term decisions are going to be made and it seemed like a really good time to get on board. I’m absorbing a lot right now,” said Weatherby.
This wasn’t the first time that the mayor called on Weatherby to serve the City. Mayor Alvin Brown appointed her as co-chair of his Transition Policy Committee on Transportation with Bishop McKinley Young.
“It was an exciting experience. I learned how complex the transportation system was when you start considering everything from the port to the airport to rail to the possibility of the transportation hub Downtown. You have to think about everything from those with physical disabilities to the elderly to pedestrians and bikes. It’s very, very complex,” said Weatherby.
When not working or volunteering, Weatherby swims, travels, reads and practices yoga.
Her favorite travel destination to date has been Southern Italy and her favorite author is Nelson DeMille.
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