One
week into her new position as general manager of the Island Water
Association (IWA), Diana Wilson is brimming with excitement.
“I
come from a treatment plant that does lime softening, so this is a
new treatment technique for me. The staff here are very passionate
and patient and really want to teach others, so life handed me a good
situation here,” she says.
Managing
an all-male staff in the production and distribution side of IWA’s
reverse osmosis plant comes with the territory for Wilson, who became
the first female GM of a treatment plan in her native state of Iowa
back in 2013.
“The
field is pretty male dominated, so it was a pretty big deal when I
became the first woman in the state to be a GM. Since then, two other
women have become managers so we are seeing more in this professional
role,” she says.
For
IWA, conducting a national search broke new ground for the
member-owned utility that has been providing potable water to Sanibel
and Captiva since 1966.
“I’m
pleased to be on the board of the IWA as we selected our first female
director. She was hands-down the best candidate we had,” said Bruce
Neill, vice president of the board and executive director of The
Sanibel Sea School. “We did something different by bringing her on
board. For the most part, our GMs have been promoted from within.
This time, we looked for someone with more business and management
experience.”
Wilson,
who says she was encouraged to become an engineer by a high school
counselor who noticed her dual talent in math and science, received
her B.S. in civil engineering from Iowa State University in 2003.
“What
I liked about civil engineering was that there are about a dozen
different branches, with a lot of opportunity to pick and choose. The
things I really enjoyed and came easily were in the environmental
portion – water systems, hydrology and geo-technical,” she says.
“Water
is what really stirred the passion in me and was really where I
wanted to be.”
Initially
taking a position in geo-technical engineering right out of college,
she noticed an opening at the Department of Natural Resources about a
year later that was in water supply.
“That
was really the defining part of my career. I worked under some people
who were at the end of their careers and they were ready to download
all of their knowledge and expertise. It was the right timing – I
was a sponge ready to absorb it,” says Wilson.
In
her new role at IWA, she feels a similar professional kinship already
with experienced staff.
“Island
Water is in really good hands. From a technical standpoint, it is
doing a wonderful job of delivering high quality water to members and
keeping prices low,” she says. “And, as a female leader, I know
I’m not the person with all the ideas. I welcome feedback and
believe in showing deference to others and listening.”
Owned
by more than 5,000 members, Island Water has 31 employees and
recently received the best water plant in Florida over 5 million
gallons from the Southeast Desalting Association.
“My
job is to continue to polish and improve upon what IWA does and to
work with our board members, who are the representatives of our
membership, who are also our owners,” she says.
Ever
the educator, Neill is excited for Wilson to bring more community
engagement to IWA.
“The
board recognizes that Island Water needs to be more present in the
community to help educate. People just turn the handle on the faucet
and it seems water just magically appears,” he says. “Being
stewards of a sanctuary island we need to educate people on the fate
of water.”
Pulling
from 600-foot-deep wells into aquifers, briny water is desalinized
through reverse osmosis and further treated to make it potable.
“I’ve
had people ask me if the red tide will affect our drinking water –
they think we get our water from the Gulf,” says Neill. “We have
a great opportunity to help people better understand their
relationship with water, better steward and better enjoy it.”
Wilson
started visiting Gulf beaches on the panhandle near the
Florida-Alabama state line when she was a young child. She and her
husband, Marc, continued that tradition and visited Destin, Tampa and
Marco Island as well.
“I
hadn’t specifically been to Sanibel until my interview,” she
said. “But, I’ve always called the Gulf ‘my happy place.’”
Amazed
by the conservation ethic and dominance of the natural environment on
Sanibel, Wilson is excited to be both professionally and personally
engaged in environmental stewardship.
“It’s
really a jewel of an island. That more than half is pristine and
natural speaks to the success of its stewardship in this age of
development. It’s really something special,” she added.
With
her CPA-trained husband, who has been a stay-at-home dad since their
3-year-old was born, and their 6-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter
who are attending the Sanibel School, Wilson says the family is
happily adjusting to their home in Iona.
“We’re
just so excited to wake up on a Saturday and go to the beach. We want
to understand more about the aquatic environment and really immerse
in the coastal culture,” she says.