Job: Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Atlanta
What I do: Sally Bethea is concerned about the quality of water, and she's willing to go to court to clean it up.
Bethea, 56, is the head of Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, a nonprofit organization with a mission to "secure the protection of the river" from its origins north of Helen south to the West Point dam.
She has held the post since the organization was founded more than 13 years ago.
That job involves monitoring, patrolling, cleaning, enforcing, lobbying, educating, advocating and, when necessary, suing.
As head of Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Sally Bethea works long hours to keep the river clean.
"Everything we do is focused on having enough clean water for us and future generations," Bethea said.
The organization is part of an international alliance of clean-water advocates. The local group is known for its successful federal lawsuit that forced the city of Atlanta to clean up the wastewater it was discharging into the Chattahoochee River.
"That put us on the map," Bethea said, and the $2 billion in improvements are making the river cleaner. "We have the mission, the fortitude and the resources to do it."
The organization has grown from one person and a canoe to eight full-time and four part-time employees and two boats, including a glass-bottom catamaran on Lake Lanier that's used for educational tours.
Bethea described her mission as being a voice for the river and its many uses, such as hydroelectric power, drinking water, recreation and navigation.
What got me interested in this: Bethea said she became interested in the environment when she was a child and would play in her yard in a tributary to Nancy Creek in Atlanta. "I loved that creek," she said.
Her family had an ethic of environmental stewardship, and, in college in the 1970s, she became attuned to social issues.
She attended a Sierra Club meeting, "and everything sort of clicked. . . . You see something wrong, and you're thrust into trying to do something about it."
Best part of my job: "How much better we're doing than 13 years ago," she said. She said the organization has no closed doors or roadblocks to seeking creative solutions to problems.
Out of the office, "I love getting down on that river" in one of the group's boats or her own kayak, she added.
Most challenging part: "Fund-raising," Bethea said. The organization was founded by Rutherford and Laura Turner Seydel and the Turner Foundation. It continues to be funded by private foundations, corporations, memberships, investments and events.
She also said she is challenged by presenting facts and science-based recommendations to groups that may have conflicting interests.
What people don't know about my job: "How hard it is," she said. Bethea said she often spends 50 to 60 hours a week on work-related activities, such as fund-raising, speaking or attending legislative hearings. "That'll flat wear you out," she said.
What keeps me going: "One reason I love this job is because it's something I believe so strongly in," Bethea said. "Most people appreciate what we're doing."
She also credited her staff members and their devotion to the mission.
Preparation needed for this job: You need good communication skills and a thick skin, Bethea said. It also takes sharp political instincts, energy, creativity, a willingness to take risks, training in water issues and an understanding of applicable laws and regulations.
Bethea has a bachelor's degree in sociology from the University of North Carolina and a master's degree in city planning from Georgia Tech.
Before becoming a Riverkeeper, she worked as a real estate paralegal and for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Parks Service and the Georgia Conservancy, all in jobs related to water issues.
She was considered the last pro-environment member of the Board of Natural Resources until the state Senate rejected her reappointment this year.
- By Karl W. Ritzler, for ajcjobs. Got an interesting job that you love? E-mail your story to jobseditor@ajc.com.