Former DEP secretary offers expertise as a presidential fellow at FGCU

From leading the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to inspiring the next generation of environmental stewards, former DEP Secretary Noah Valenstein now offers his expertise as a presidential fellow at Florida Gulf Coast University.

WINK News environmental reporter Stephanie Byrne sat in on his first class.

Valenstein said students are by far his most demanding clients, meaning he wants to make sure he’s doing his best job for their careers.

His course, “Careers to Save the Environment,” is where he helps students connect with the pros.

Just this Monday, current DEP Secretary Shawn Hamilton paid a virtual visit, where he talked about working for the department, what jobs are in demand, and benefits.

The hope is to create a pipeline from the university to the working world by bringing in guest speakers in environmental careers.

“Hearing about what they thought they were going to do when they’re in college, what they ended up doing, what were the critical steps in between,” Valenstein said. “Everyone had a fork in the road to decide they wanted to go into management, or they wanted to stay in the laboratory.”

Currently, the head of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is also on the upcoming speaker roster.