Nobody wants to make the wrong impression at a new job. For some, that might mean holding up your end of the conversation on the ride to your first sales call. Or handing the right tool to the technician you’re shadowing. Or simply reaching for the correct fork or glass at your welcome lunch.
For Pia Ronquillo-See, her first unofficial test after joining Suncoast Waterkeeper was a bit different. She had to keep calm and carry on after spotting an alligator floating a few feet from her kayak!
Pia was out for a paddle with the rest of the Suncoast Waterkeeper team, including her new boss. And despite her impressive marine-science background, it was her first time seeing a gator more or less eye-to-eye. In the water. Together.
“I had to pretend not to be anxious—so that was fun,” she quips.
Pia and Peyton unload equipment for their water-quality work.
Testing the waters—literally
Pia passed her trial by reptile, and today she still spends most work days on, in, or around the waters of Sarasota and Manatee counties. She’s a water-quality and pollution specialist at Suncoast Waterkeeper. Its mission is to protect and improve the waters along our region’s coast through science-driven action for the benefit of all. It does that in three main ways: monitor, inform, and act.
Pia’s work is a big part of Waterkeeper’s “monitor” pillar. She tests for nutrients, bacteria, and other water-quality indicators in a variety of locations along the Suncoast. That involves collecting samples from bays, bayous, and other bodies of water. Sometimes she wades in; other times she has to crane a 10-foot dip pole off a bridge or down a steep embankment. “Some areas are easier to access than others,” she says. “It’s all different, and it’s all very fun.”
When she’s not in the field or testing samples she’s collected, Pia might be at her desk scouring other sources of water-quality data and merging it with Suncoast Waterkeeper’s own findings. That creates an ever-better map our region’s environmental health. And it’s this hands-on, localized approach that characterizes everything the organization does to help safeguard our special ecosystem.
One of the best-known fruits of Pia’s labor are Suncoast Waterkeeper’s weekly Safe to Swim reports. They provide the public with timely info on water quality at popular bayside recreational sites. While the state’s Florida Healthy Beaches program reports on Gulf-side beaches, Waterkeeper’s bayside monitoring completes the picture for swimmers, paddlers, anglers, and others.
“We always advise people to put your health first,” says Pia, “especially if you know that you’re vulnerable, so you can keep enjoying the waters here.”
Pia’s weekly route covers 10 sites from Terra Ceia Bay down through Sarasota Bay. Waterkeeper publishes the results on its website and social media channels. The team also shares its reports with governmental agencies, which integrate the findings into regional and statewide databases, as well as with local media and other nonprofits.
As for locations south of Sarasota Bay, that’s where Pia’s colleague Peyton Faulk wades in.
Peyton joined the team last June. Her title is the same as Pia’s, just with responsibility for the “South Suncoast” area. For Safe to Swim, Peyton tests spots from Siesta Key down to Indian Mound Park on Lemon Bay in Englewood. (The latter was the site of Peyton’s own early animal encounter: A dolphin practically bumped up against her once when she was collecting samples there. “Obviously, it scared me at first,” she recalls. “But then it was very fun realizing ‘there’s a dolphin just an arm’s reach away from me in the water!’”)
From retention ponds to “forever chemicals”
Pia and Peyton each take the lead on other work in Suncoast Waterkeeper’s diverse portfolio.
For example, Pia reps Waterkeeper in the Healthy Pond Collaborative. That’s a consortium of nonprofits, public agencies, environmental groups, and residential communities working together to reduce harmful nutrients in neighborhood stormwater ponds. The initiative offers HOAs education and expert help to implement best practices for pond management. Since late 2021, about 100 communities in Sarasota and Manatee counties have participated. Last year alone, the partners installed 220,000 native aquatic plants along retention ponds, creating 36 miles of enhanced shoreline that’s better able to filter out the bad stuff.
Pia also helps lead the Environmental Ambassadors club at Booker High School. Created in partnership with Sarasota’s Multicultural Health Institute, this youth-leadership program addresses environmental justice concerns and empowers students to conduct experiments and ask questions about their own immediate environment.
Peyton, meanwhile, heads up Waterkeeper’s PFAS testing and “Forever Free” program. She was tasked with launching this initiative right after she started last summer. PFAS—short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances—are a group of manmade chemicals used in everyday products (think non-stick cookware and waterproof fabrics) that don’t degrade in the environment. Commonly called “forever chemicals,” these toxic substances can build up in our waters and even our bodies, ultimately impacting our health.
Through Forever Free, Peyton works directly with residents to help them test their tap water and take steps to improve it, if needed. The project first focused on North Port, where initial research suggested high PFAS concentrations and the drinking water comes primarily from surface water sources more vulnerable to contamination. Peyton partnered with local libraries to conduct community outreach and education, then engaged residential volunteers in testing their tap water and installing certified filters. This spring, she expanded the program to the City of Bradenton, another area where PFAS have been detected.
Besides monitoring swimming spots, stormwater ponds, and municipal water, Pia and Peyton also help Waterkeeper respond to pollution incidents across the Suncoast. That means following up on fish kills, sewage spills, and other issues reported by residents report through the Eyes on the Suncoast program. Up next is building a “pollution action team” of citizen scientists who can supplement Waterkeeper’s staff by responding rapidly to reports in their area.
“We want to empower community members to know that they can come to us if they have questions but there are also ways to test themselves and be a part of this effort too,” says engagement and communications manager Samantha Wassmer. In other words, you can be like Peyton and Pia!
Following the flow
Although they’ve grown familiar with the contours of our coast, both Pia and Peyton are relatively new to the area. Peyton—an “Army kid” who lived several places growing up—did her undergrad and graduate studies at Texas A&M and most recently spent two years working in sea turtle conservation on Galveston Island. When she was ready to take her next step professionally, she cast a wide net, so to speak, throughout the Southeast. Fortunately for us, Peyton and Suncoast Waterkeeper found each other.
Pia, meanwhile, took an even longer route here. She was born, raised, and began her environmental-science career in the Philippines. During the pandemic, she earned her master’s degree in Europe, while her then-boyfriend (now-husband) was living in the U.S. After Pia graduated, the couple was at a crossroads: Go back to her native Philippines, settle somewhere in Europe, or plant roots in America? At her in-laws’ suggestion, they decided to give Florida a try, and Pia secured an internship with Minorities in Shark Sciences (MISS). Just as she was completing that great experience, Suncoast Waterkeeper was looking to add a scientist to its staff. MISS helped make the connection, and the rest is happy history!
“All of these things work together in a beautiful harmony, and you get to be here and witness that in the place that you live.”
Now familiar faces in the community, these two young professionals occupy a unique space: the confluence of environmental science and everyday life in a place that many consider paradise. “There can be a gap between the science and the public’s understanding,” says Pia, “so we want to make it accessible for everyone in a way they can appreciate. I love to remind people that everything is interconnected. So, no matter where you live in the watershed, it has an impact in downstream waters. Not to pressure you to do more—although we would love for more people to take part in these advocacies—but also to help you enjoy and appreciate what you see of our natural resources. All of these things work together in a beautiful harmony, and you get to be here and witness that in the place that you live.”
