Tim Mayer

Environmental Administrator

Polk County Health Department

Bartow, FL 33830-6741

Biography

Tim Mayer currently serves as the Environmental Administrator for the Polk County Health Department, in Polk County, Florida. He began his career in 1982 as a field inspector in Monroe County Florida, the Florida Keys. He transferred to the Polk County Health Department (his hometown) in 1989. In 1993, he accepted the position as Environmental Specialist III at the State Health Office, Bureau of Onsite Sewage Programs, in Tallahassee. He was appointed Environmental Administrator of the Polk County Health Department in the fall of 2000.

Tim was awarded a Bachelors of Science in Biological Sciences from Florida State University in 1980 and a Masters of Public Health in Environmental and Occupational Health from the University of South Florida in 1997. He received his certificate as a Registered Sanitarian in 1992.

In his over 23 years of service, he has served on a wide variety of local and statewide committees and associations, most recently completing a term as President of the Florida Environmental Health Association. He administers a staff of over 35 in all Environmental Health programs in Polk County, a county larger in area than the state of Rhode Island.

What I Learned at EPHLI

I‘ll admit that I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into or what to expect when I started this fellowship. I found the sessions and assignments time consuming and intense, but tremendously beneficial. I had been successful (or so I thought) at what I was doing. I had been working off intuition and what I thought was the best way to do things. Some of the concepts presented during the year were vaguely familiar and some were totally new.

As the year progressed and we worked through the assignments and our projects, I found there was a lot I didn’t know. I was stretched to open my eyes about myself and others. I am now much more aware of my own strengths and weaknesses and how to use each of them as an asset. The Institute helped me to a fuller understanding of system dynamics, how things fit and can affect other things, and how these relationships can be used to enhance a wide variety of circumstances. With the tools I now have, I am better equipped to perform my responsibilities as a leader, an administrator, and as a person.