Jenna Stevens lives in St. Pete, Florida, and is the Florida Impact Organizer. She’s the organizer of campaigns for protecting Florida’s environment. The current campaign that Stevens is working on is Renewable is Doable!
Environment Florida stands for clean air, clean water and open spaces. Environment Florida’s goal in Tallahassee is the shift to 100% clean energy. Our health, climate, quality of life and natural heritage are all at risk. Burning oil, gas and coal has not only polluted our air, water and land, but now it’s changing our climate even faster than predicted.
The Renewable is Doable campaign is the fight to transition to 100% Renewable Energy. Stevens is trying to organize for FSU to be the first campus in Northern Florida and the first campus in Tallahassee to transition to a 100% renewable energy campus.
Stevens received a B.A. in International Studies and Political Science. She was involved in her sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma. She wanted to work for a group that was making a real change for our environment, while also educating and training the next generation of advocates and organizers.
Stevens enjoys late night cheese quesadillas. Her favorite hobby is swimming (she was a lifeguard previously). She’s highly motivated and dedicated to work, and she’s easily excitable! Her favorite book is Harry Potter, and she loves dogs! Her guilty pleasure is celebrity gossip. Stevens says that in five years she wants to be able to still be a part of making a positive impact.
Stevens was brought to Tallahassee in order to have a chance to work on the 100% Renewable campaign. She first became interested in Environment Florida while she was studying abroad, because for the first time she was privy to experience what it was like to not have access to clean water at any given moment. She had to use bottled water to brush her teeth while also being advised to not swallow the water while she was showering. Also, while she was studying abroad she had to wear a surgical mask just to walk around because the air quality was extremely poor. This led to Stevens looking for an internship where she could make a difference with environmental issues. She believes that every person should have access to air and water that won’t make them sick.
Stevens was heavily influenced by her childhood experiences, and they led her to this career working for the environment. Her parents often times had very different political positions, but in observing this she was taught to never shy away from having those discussions. She grew up listening to them discuss the news and hearing their two different viewpoints. Her parents, however, always agreed on environmental issues and stressed how important it is to protect our environment in any way we can. She was also influenced because she grew up on the water and spent much of her time outdoors in Florida. Growing up in a coastal area of Florida created an influential and long-lasting impression. Her parents also took many trips with her to national parks growing up, which were a big influence for her.
Stevens has also been influenced in a drastic way by Jennifer Rubiello, Environment Florida’s State Director. Rubiello was her inspiration to apply to work at Environment Florida full time. Observing all the work that Rubiello was doing and had done and knowing that she was going to have a lasting impact on the future of her state’s environment is what inspired her to apply. Rubiello has made a huge amount of progress making sure that our state is moving in the right direction environmentally. Her passion and commitment to the job and the state was very inspiring to Stevens.
College campuses are also encouraged to get involved in the environmental push. FSU has already taken its first step by deciding to become a leader in the shift towards renewable energy. FSU is home to some of the most important innovations in renewable technology.
All images courtesy of Environment Florida.