Water For Fighting

The Season 4 kickoff features Brett sitting down with his friend and former boss, David Rathke.  David is currently the Executive Director of Resiliency Florida and Executive Director of Florida Association of Mitigation Bankers, but he has decades of experience working in many facets of state government.  That experience includes working for former Congressman, Dan Miller; working as an aide for former Senate President, John McKa...

In this episode, Brett closes out Season 3 with former Deputy Secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and current Executive Director of the South Florida Water Management District – Drew Bartlett.

While Drew was born and raised in Georgia, he has made a real name for himself in the water management and environmental restoration world here in the far superior state of Florida.  He was pivotal in the cre...

This week, Brett goes on a deep dive with a friend who exemplifies what this podcast is all about – Ansley Tilley.  Ansley is one of the most talented engineers in Florida who has a wide array of experience from her time with the United States Air Force, the City of Palm Beach Gardens, and the South Florida Water Management District.  But her real talent and passion is for service and problem-solving, so they discuss how ...

This week, Brett sits down with his friend and Executive Director of the Florida Land Council, Ernie Barnett.  Ernie has a wealth of experience from his days in leadership positions at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, as well as the South Florida Water Management District.  

They discuss his long and consequential public service career; how a scientist ends up as an effective communicator and policy expert; his ev...

The long-awaited return of Water for Fighting is here!

In the first episode of Season 3, Brett travels to Tampa to record live in front of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary’s (NAALJ) National Conference.  His conversation partners were Elizabeth Fernandez and Doug Manson.  Elizabeth is the Deputy General Counsel at the Southwest Florida Water Management District.  Doug is President of the Ma...

In this episode, Brett gets to spend some time with the former top attorney for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Matt Leopold.  In addition to his time at the EPA, Matt served as General Counsel at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection; handled environmental issues for Governor Jeb Bush; and was an environmental attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice.  

They talk about growing up in West-Central ...

In this episode, Brett travels to Pensacola for a conversation with the prolific Executive Director of the relatively new Pensacola and Perdido Bays Estuary Program – Matt Posner. They talk about growing up in Pensacola; the value of the education and experiences he gained on the way to his current role; the importance of fostering partnerships as the head of a small agency; and the exciting new programs his team is spearheading th...

In this episode, Brett is joined by lobbyist, consultant, policy expert, and former Secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection – Jon Steverson. They talk about growing up the son of an accountant and an English teacher; working for three different governors; his unintentionally controversial tenure as the DEP Secretary; and his approach to working in the legislative process. And of course, no conversation with...