Jessica Respondek was raised an average Midwestern girl whose family relocated to Florida when she was 10 years old. While Jessica has not always been consciously "green," she has always been frugal as taught by her
grandmother who lived through the Great Depression. After living in various places like Wahiawa, HI and Daufuskie Island, SC, the environment caught her eye. Upon resettling in Pinellas County, her sights were set on surfing and she teamed up with her now husband, Jake, along with others, to restart the Suncoast Chapter Surfrider Foundation. Their focus: clean beaches & clean water. To date, she serves on the Board.
In addition, as DEP began to green the hospitality sector, Jessica spoke at the 2007 SGMP SE Regional Conference about ways to green your meetings, office, and lifestyle. In 2008, the Respondek household finished implementing many of the ways and achieved a 25% reduction in their electric and water bills. Since then, the ball has kept rolling and she uses her work experience and Business education to inspire and create new sustainable ways of living. As a result, she fueled her fire to begin everyday with a green mind – including recycling toilet paper rolls!
email: jnjrespondek@verizon.net
This article appears in May 20-26, 2010.