Alex Sulecki
Alexandra, or Alex, Sulecki has worked for Collier County for 25 years in various positions relating to land and the environment. For the past 15 years, she has served as Coordinator for the Conservation Collier program and for the past 5, as its Manager. Conservation Collier is one of thirty-two other similar programs around the state of Florida where voters, in local referenda, have voted to tax themselves to buy and manage conservation land.
Her curiosity into the natural world was triggered by newspaper stores about local developer conflicts, and she decided to learn more. In 1996 and 1997, she began taking college courses and served 2 terms in AmeriCorps' South Florida Ecosystem Recovery Program at Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge in Collier County, doing wildlife and vegetation surveys. Alex graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University in 1999 with a B.A. degree in Environmental Studies. By that time, she had already been working for a year as an Environmental Specialist for local government. In 2003, she was promoted as the first staff member for the just-created Conservation Collier program and went on to earn a M.S. degree in Environmental Management from International University in 2005. She has been a longtime Certified Arborist, and is currently a Certified Pesticide Applicator for Natural Areas, as well as a Certified Natural Areas Manager. Her hobbies include botany, history, and art.
Attending the Natural Areas Training Academy provided Alex additional training and exposure beyond that of a university education to the many tasks that environmental resource managers are called on to do and oversee. In her words, the courses "gave her hands-on training in working with fire ecology, vegetation management, habitat restoration, managing for biodiversity, site assessment, visitor relations, and more, and featured experienced, engaged, and knowledgeable instructors." In addition, she says that "meeting other professional land managers from around the state also provided a web of connections, resources, and friendships I have developed and can call upon when addressing local challenges." Through this Certificate in Natural Areas Management, Alex has helped her county government achieve the highest level of accreditation and recognition with the Commission for Accreditation of Parks and Recreation Agencies for its facilities and level of staff professionalism.
Alex earned her Certificate in Natural Areas Management in October 2015.