When Alina T. Hudak was appointed as director of Florida’s Miami-Dade County solid waste management department a few years ago, she faced monumental tasks with no previous solid waste management experience. Hudak is used to being a trailblazer as the first woman to run a major operational department and serve as county manager and the first female Hispanic assistant county manager. Through her 32 years of county management and leadership experience, she’s earned a significant number of national and local accolades, including the American Society for Public Administration’s National Public Service Award.
While she entrusts the daily waste management operations to staff with technical expertise, Hudak provides “a level of leadership and a prioritizing of department issues that didn’t exist before because it was buried through multiple bureaucracies,” she notes. If something requires quick action, she walks from her office to the mayor’s on the 29th floor of county headquarters, leveraging her experience and political acumen.
She also spends time in the field, from meeting with enforcement officers to discuss how standing water at illegal dumping sites can attract mosquitos carrying the Zika virus to visiting the hubs from where the collection trucks launch. “I learn daily about the operation,” she says. “There is a science to collection and disposal. It’s a more sophisticated business than the average person understands.”
What She Does Day to Day
Hudak directs a solid waste department servicing 350,000 accounts in the unincorporated areas and cities contracting for service. She supervises nearly 1,000 employees. She balances a half-million dollar budget funding a collection and disposal system, including three regional transfer stations, two county-owned landfills, three closed cells, 13 trash and recycling centers, and the one of the country’s largest public waste-to-energy plants, operated by Covanta. She concurrently serves as a deputy mayor, tending to other county operations, and attends commission and committee meetings.
What Led Her to This Work
Hudak earned a B.A. degree in finance and political science and a M.A. degree in public administration from the University of Miami. She has provided leadership for a range of county departments, including police and fire-rescue, animal services, public works, parks, and cultural programs. In December 2014, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez appointed Hudak as director of public works and waste management, the latter recently becoming a standalone department.
What She Likes Best About Her Work
Hudak loves public service and has had a hand in everything from serving in various county job capacities to spearheading major sporting events and charitable efforts on the county’s behalf. “I’m very proud of my department, the work we do and the impact we have on our community,” she says. “I love serving the public. We make a difference in touching 350,000 households twice a week—that is as direct public service as it gets. I’m proud we have a good performance record and our residents are very happy with our service.”
Her Biggest Challenge
Hudak wants improved performance measures in areas such as the bulky waste collection, tightening up collection times as to not allow items to sit out too long. Replacing the aging hybrid fleet is another concern: Hudak looks to transform the fleet primarily into CNG within three years. While the department’s finances are solid, Hudak wants to prepare for the rising costs of solid waste management through a residential rate hike, which has not occurred in 10 years. South Florida is the gateway for Latin America and the Caribbean, with people bringing differing solid waste practices.
Hudak notes a problem in some community pockets with illegal dumping and recycling contamination. To “educate before we enforce,” the department prints materials in English, Spanish, and Creole, and works with district commissioners and schools. “Children will call you out if you’re not properly recycling,” notes Hudak.
Focusing on safety and keeping employees well trained is a priority for Hudak. She wants to improve internal training and also ramp up professional development by sending staff members to national conferences through organizations like SWANA to learn Best Management Practices.
“We have a lot of people retiring in the next five years,” she says. “I want to make sure our young people are being developed to take on these leadership roles.”
