FORT MYERS, Fla- — Florida Gulf Coast University has a new teacher you may recognize more for their political background.
Noah Valenstein will be Florida Gulf Coast University's new Water School presidential fellow. He served as Florida’s Chief Resiliency Officer and nearly four years as Secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Valenstein will start teaching classes in the spring, but he's already met with students to learn about the projects they're doing now.
He hopes his political background will help his students bridge the gap between their work and getting support from lawmakers.
"I hope I can help them look for opportunities to really start their career off with a bang, and really get going quickly," said Valenstein. "And take the work they're doing and immediately put it to use to benefit out in Florida and out in the world."
The Executive Director of the Water School also mentioned the wealth of experience Valenstein will bring to the program.
Dr. Greg Tolley explained Valenstein understands how to work projects through the government which is something everyone in the community could benefit from in the long run.
"One of the first projects he's working on is our involvement with the Southwest Florida Resiliency Compact which will make sure Southwest Florida works together for a larger community to help our community adapt to climate change and make us more resilient," said Dr. Greg Tolley.
Valenstein will also be a keynote speaker at the American Water Resources Annual Conference in November.
