#EE50in22The Environment+Energy Leader Honoree program is an annual list that recognizes the environment and energy “doers” who break the trail in creating new solutions, programs, platforms, best practices and products to help their companies – or other companies – achieve greater success in commercial and industrial environment and energy management. Meet the Honorees… is an ongoing series that will feature one E+E Honoree from 2022 each week. See the complete list of 2022 Honorees here.
Meet Paula Panizno, Chief Scientist Officer, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ). As CSO, she has the privilege of working with ADEQ staff to solve the hardest environmental problems in Arizona - Known, Ongoing, and Unauthorized Impact sites. Paula and her team have helped mitigate over 300 KOUI sites through the implementation of rigorous problem-solving and the provision of cross-functional technical and project management assistance.
Take us through a typical workday. What are a few of your ongoing responsibilities?
My typical work week starts with a review of my schedule, outstanding tasks, and prioritization of those tasks. I review my team's ongoing work priorities and tasks on a daily basis, starting with a gemba of each team member's task board. During the gemba the team member has an opportunity to share any escalations they may have that I can help with. The team meeting then proceeds to a huddle where we discuss the status of our metrics, share any announcements or health and safety concerns, and celebrate our wins.
The rest of the day is spent in different types of meetings or reviewing or creating program plans. The meetings are typically for project status updates, problem-solving, presentation preparation or staff 1:1s. I meet with my co-team lead and project assistant for the Interstate Technical Regulatory Council Contaminants of Emerging Concern Working Group weekly as well as many of the contaminated site project teams from ADEQ's Water and Waste Divisions. I also participate in the upper-level hiring processes to ensure that the candidates we are considering have the required level of education and professional expertise necessary to do the work required.
What are some of the biggest challenges your company/organization will be tackling in 2023 and beyond?
The biggest challenge my organization faces in 2023 is the potential change in senior leadership that occurs when public elections result in a change in a political party. A change in political party necessitates realignment of the organization with the goals of a new Governor. An additional ongoing internal challenge will be the implementation of Data Governance practices across the organization. ADEQ is in the midst of measures that will allow us to leverage existing environmental data to the benefit of our Mission - the protection of human health and the environment in the state of Arizona. These measures at a minimum will include finalizing a data business glossary, completion of a data catalog, and documentation of our data architecture and improvements to that architecture.
What trends do you expect to see in the market in the next few years? What challenges will the industry face and what technologies or organizational changes will overcome them?
The world is realizing the economic and mental impact that Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) can have on our communities. Per- and poly fluorinated compounds (PFAS) are a group of substances that will be regulated in the next few years with enormous impacts on industry, regulators, and the public. The complexity of the application of PFAS remediation measures in consumer products, soil, groundwater, wastewater, and surface water in compliance with new regulations is going to drive the environmental industry through the next few decades. These activities will be complemented by the development of the scientific understanding of other CECs such as microplastics, 6-PPD, and others. Scientific innovations necessary to address human health impacts on CECs will affect the speed of business and will drive scientific and business innovations in the environmental sector.
On a personal (and professional) note
My ability to contribute to my organization's Mission is directly related to my physical and mental health, which I maintain by actively balancing activities that bring me joy both at home and in the office. I find it very important to identify those things that bring me joy and make sure I have an equal dose in order to maintain focus on a minute-by-minute basis. For me, this involves (at home) some type of rigorous physical exercise coupled with (at the office) seeing project teams achieve milestones within their project schedules.
Connect with Paula and the rest of her team at ADEQ
