Mary Szoka
Alachua County
Water Resources Engineer
(SRWMD)

Does your local government/special district have an established stormwater utility or similar financing mechanism?
Yes.

How long have you been a member of FSA (years)?
I have been a member for one year.

Have you served FSA in the past?
No, I have not.

What abilities and attributes can you bring to the Board?
While in the early stages of my career I have made many connections in the different facets of stormwater industry including academia, private industry and local government. I like to work collaboratively and actively engage in conversations surrounding challenges facing the profession. I am committed to actively participating in FSA and hope to continue to develop my leadership skills through this opportunity.

What background and experience do you have in the stormwater industry?
I am a professional water resources engineer with experience in private industry, academia and local government. My expertise includes traditional gray stormwater infrastructure, low impact development/green stormwater infrastructure and ecological design and restoration. My work experience spans the large majority of Florida as well as other states in the Southeastern US. I have worked on and reviewed traditional grey infrastructure stormwater projects, as well as a wide variety of water quality improvement projects. I regularly engage with the development community and understand the challenges to meet local and state design regulations as well as the long-term impacts of land use change on water resources. I also have experience in living shorelines, wetland restoration and stream restoration and am a proponent of implementing these techniques for water quality improvement and enhanced watershed resiliency.

Why do you want this Board position?
Alachua County is in a unique geographic location under both SJRWMD and SRWMD with extensive water resources. I want to stay up to date on challenges and solutions within the stormwater profession to best serve in my professional role and to best serve my local community as well as to advance the profession and practice of stormwater control/water quality for the protection of water resources and the sustainability of future generations.