Issue link: http://www.wacmagazine.com/i/1020464
44 WAC Magazine | wac.net By Darrick Meneken S ally Jewell's Seattle story includes a college job making $1.98 an hour renting canoes on Montlake Cut and a turn as CEO of REI. When she le REI to serve as the 51st U.S. Secretary of the Interior, she pivoted from one of the most prestigious leadership positions in the Northwest to one of the most influential in the country. As head of Interior from 2013–2017, the Renton native over- saw 20 percent of the U.S. landmass, 70,000 employees, and an annual budget of $11 billion. During her three and a half years in the other Washing- ton, Sally remained a WAC member. She joined in 1992. She frequently follows her visits to the Club with a short light-rail ride to a new position at the University of Washington—not far from her old gig renting boats. We met up with Sally to talk about her time in D.C., getting back to Seattle life, and her deep insights on this issue's theme of leadership. You served as Secretary of the Interior under President Barack Obama. What lessons did you learn during your time on the cabinet? Certainly when I went to Washington, D.C., it's fair to say that I was naïve about the political process. People said: "ese are shark-infested waters. Be very careful. ere's nobody you Around the WAC, you'll find leaders who span generations, industries and experiences. If you're looking for insights on how to lead—or how to become a better leader—you won't find more fertile ground than the WAC Clubhouse. can trust here." at turned out to be not true. ere are a lot of people you can trust. But there are people that want to manipulate you for their own ends. I learned that early on and had to make some changes to address folks that had an agenda that I think was not fully consistent with what was right for the American people. You succeeded Ken Salazar, who served in Obama's first term. How did you get up-to-speed on the job? I asked people to help educate me. I listened a lot. I did a lot of reading. I have been regularly humbled about my lack of knowl- edge of the things that I have been charged with leading, and listening and respecting people has never let me down. The Every Kid in a Park Program, giving a free national parks pass to every fourth-grader in the country, began under your watch. What inspired that move? My childhood here in Seattle was rich because of the natural world and because of my parents' and my teachers' commitment to lifelong learning and nurturing curiosity. e more you can open young people's eyes to things happening around them, the more they're going to unlock that curiosity and want to be con- nected in some way to the natural world. I think that fuels the soul for all of us. ere's no better classroom than the one with In the following pages, we catch up with WAC members—from former governors to small business entrepreneurs—and ask them to share their lessons about leadership. We also sit down with one of the most prominent WAC members of the last decade to discuss her recent time in Washington, D.C., her return to Seattle, and her reflections on leading from the U.S. presidential cabinet.