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NRLI Skills Prepare Local Leaders to Facilitate Effective
"Clammunication" Among Stakeholders

Photo/NRLI Practicum Presentation

By Wendy-Lin Bartels

Change is coming to every corner of Florida. Cedar Key is no exception. But unlike other towns in the state that have been unprepared for the growth boom, Cedar Key is fortunate to have a clear vision of the kind of community it wants to be. They are proactively addressing resource management issues to prepare for a future that saves the best of their local culture, economy and natural environment. Many citizens deserve credit for driving this process. However, two dynamic women who benefited from the Natural Resources Leadership Institute (NRLI) are highlighted here.

Striving to progress in their professions, Suzanne Colson and Leslie Strumer joined NRLI in 2005. NRLI is an IFAS Extension program in partnership with the School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE). The Institute trains rising leaders in Florida to manage conflict and assist stakeholders in reaching consensus around disputes about natural resources. It was during the NRLI course that the two women re-assessed their individual strengths, learned how they could better complement one another, and began to significantly capitalize on the synergy of their expertise.

Sue and Leslie have worked for the past 15 years on projects that relate to water quality, community planning and marine resource management in Cedar Key. Sue, a City Commissioner, is also a member of the Cedar Key Aquaculture Association, while Leslie works for UF IFAS Shellfish Aquaculture Extension.

With the expansion of Cedar Key's population and the related increase in demands from natural resource user groups, Sue and Leslie have shared these challenges and struggled together to search for fair solutions.

"Leslie and I have been fighting together in the trenches for years. And when you're in a fox hole with someone during a battle, you become bonded," says Sue. "We are comfortable with each other, we trust each other, and we are both open to learning new stuff that can make us more effective on the battlefield."

When charged to pick a NRLI practicum that would be pertinent to their job, it made sense for Sue and Leslie to team up and work on issues relating to the clam industry. A practicum is a core NRLI component that provides an opportunity for fellows to apply the concepts, skills and tools gained at the Institute in their professional lives. Each practicum is expected to have a real world impact.

"The best way to learn something is to do it," says Jon Dain, NRLI Project Team member and a proponent of the experiential learning methodology. "As Confucius said: I hear, and I forget. I see, and I remember. I do, and I know."

"Leslie and I have a volatile relationship. We are both driven and good at multitasking. But while Leslie is a nuts-and-bolts communicator with great organizational skills, I am much more of a big picture person. I am also far more aggressive; not exactly a peacemaker. I needed to be more effective at getting people together," says Sue.

Over the NRLI training, Sue and Leslie carpooled from Cedar Key to the monthly sessions held around the state of Florida. On these journeys they imagined how they could address the issues they were facing. "The long road trips gave Sue and I time to talk through what we were learning during NRLI and flesh out ideas for the practicum. We would problem solve all the way to and from the sessions and get excited planning how we could apply NRLI methods to our jobs," says Leslie.

During their work, Sue and Leslie had noticed a great deal of finger pointing and limited discussion among clam-user groups and the government institutions that regulate the industry. "We had all these little fires that needed to be put out and they seemed to be the result of one issue: A lack of communication among clam user groups and agencies," says Sue. It became clear to the women that these actors could benefit from coming to the table to share information about perceived problems, seek clarification on unresolved issues, and identify solutions.

NRLI training focuses on understanding how to use techniques that allow for more effective interaction among people in a group. Fellows learn how to incorporate these techniques at appropriate moments to create a safe atmosphere where contested issues can be discussed productively.

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