ECI certs: CPSWQ-AT and NGICP-AT
Job Title: Director of Strategic Planning
Company: C21RS.org
So, You Want to Be a Professional Tree Hugger?
When people ask why I chose a career in environmentalism, they’re often surprised by my answer. I didn’t grow up hiking through forests or dreaming of becoming a “tree hugger”. Nothing could be further from the truth. I grew up in south central Los Angeles during the height of the crack epidemic, gang violence, and drive-by shootings. During that time, we experienced a different kind of “Wild Life.” If I wanted to see nature, I watched Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom or visited the zoo. Becoming an environmentalist wasn’t the obvious choice for a kid growing up in the hood.
As a child, I often walked to the corner store to buy candy. By the time I got home, the candy was gone, and so were the empty wrappers. Without thinking, I casually tossed them on the ground. Over time, I noticed my route was littered with candy wrappers, all of them mine. It wasn’t until I attended a wilderness program for inner-city youth that everything clicked. For the first time, I recognized the connection between my actions and their impact on the environment. That simple realization changed the direction of my life.
That experience, combined with an inspiring biology teacher, opened my eyes to the interconnectedness of natural systems and the role people play in protecting and damaging them. I was fascinated by the order and logic of natural systems. Biology made sense to me. The relationships were consistent, the processes were connected, and every action had consequences. As my career evolved, I realized that protecting natural systems required translating science into policy, and then translating policy into something people could understand and implement.
For nearly four decades, I’ve had the privilege of working in wildlife conservation, environmental education, municipal stormwater management, and regulatory compliance. Although those roles appear different on paper, they all shared the same mission: helping people participate in protecting the environment. People sometimes imagine environmentalists spending our days hiking through forests, swimming with whales, or rescuing animals. While those experiences exist, they represent only a small part of the profession. Real environmental protection is accomplished through policy, inspections, training, collaboration, and yes, the bureaucracy. I’ve learned that hugging a tree never stopped a forest from being cut down. Sound policy, effective programs, and dedicated professionals do.
The program I’m most proud of is developing the City of Carlsbad’s ACTION System, an integrated environmental asset management program that transformed the way stormwater infrastructure, inspections, regulatory compliance, and public engagement interact. While technology made the system possible, its greatest achievement was helping inspectors, contractors, decision-makers, and residents better understand their role in protecting water quality. The ACTION System received national and international recognition, including CASQA’s Outstanding Public Engagement Project Award and Esri’s Special Achievement in GIS Award. The ACTION System demonstrated that compliance could become a catalyst for education, accountability, and continuous improvement.
As meaningful as the ACTION System is, it isn’t what I consider my greatest legacy. Throughout my career, I have mentored interns, young professionals, inspectors, engineers, and future environmental leaders, all because someone once opened a door for me. This profession is competitive, and every generation has a responsibility to help the next one succeed. After I retired in 2025, the person who succeeded was my first intern over 20 years ago, and she, in kind, is mentoring the next generation. Watching that tradition continue has been every bit as rewarding because environmental stewardship is also about investing in people.
I pursued EnviroCert certifications because they challenged me to continuously strengthen my knowledge and credibility. Becoming a CPSWQ – Approved Trainer (AT), earning NGICP-AT Certification, and serving on the EnviroCert Technical Advisory Council have been among the most meaningful honors of my career. More importantly, they connected me with a community of professionals who believe that advancing our profession begins with raising standards, sharing knowledge, and mentoring others.
One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned is that no single city, agency, or organization will solve every environmental challenge facing our world. Experience has taught me to measure success differently. Every community deserves professionals committed to leaving the world stronger, healthier, and more resilient than they found it. Public service isn’t about changing everything. It’s about faithfully improving the part of the world you’ve been entrusted to serve.
For those entering this environmental profession, my advice is simple. Don’t pursue environmental work because you expect to save the world. Pursue it because you want to serve your community and in a greater sense the world. Learn continuously, ask thoughtful questions, and never underestimate the value of helping others understand complex environmental issues because knowledge only becomes meaningful when people can apply it. Respect the science and understand the policy. Remember that the most important work often happens behind the scenes, where thoughtful administration, effective communication, and practical problem-solving produce lasting results. Most importantly, help someone else along the way. Our profession grows stronger every time we invest in the next generation.
As I reflect on nearly four decades of public service, what excites me most is the next generation of environmental professionals. They have access to technologies and collaborative tools we could only imagine when I began. But technology will never replace thoughtful people who understand science and service. We breathe the same air. We drink the same water. We depend on the same natural resources. If each of us leaves our community, our profession, and the people we mentor a little better than we found them, then we’ve done work worth being proud of.
Figure 1 Me and my former interns who are all now stormwater professionals.
