ATLANTA — Billy Wilkins' military career took him to remote corners of the world, where he worked as a civil affairs officer building bridges between American forces and local communities.
Today, that same skillset serves him well throughout Kansas and Missouri, where he leads late-stage development projects for NextEra Energy Resources—only now he's building power plants instead of international partnerships.
"In the Army, I worked as a civil affairs officer. I deployed to countries in the Middle East and to Central Asian States," says Wilkins.
After more than two decades in uniform, Wilkins was ready for a change.
"I retired in 2017," he says. "I really didn't know what exactly I wanted to do, but I used business school as a way to figure that out."
The Atlanta native earned his MBA at Notre Dame, where he discovered NextEra Energy through campus recruiting.
"The role of a developer, as I understood it, seemed to fit my skillset. I was attracted to it, because in terms of breadth and depth, it seemed similar to the jobs I had in the military,” he says.
Six years into his career at NextEra Energy Resources, Wilkins manages teams that shepherd energy projects from permitting through construction. It's detailed work that requires the same mindset he used overseas.
"We are problem solvers," says Wilkins, who recently returned to living in Atlanta to be closer to his parents while continuing to serve his Midwest territory. "We work closely with communities to build relationships."
The parallel to his military service isn't lost on him.
"I try to really get to know people. It's important to be a good listener,” says Wilkins. “Those are the qualities I have learned going through a lot of deployments as a civil affairs officer and now I apply them at NextEra Energy Resources."
For Wilkins, that sense of serving something larger than himself, developed through military service, continues to drive his work helping America build the energy infrastructure it needs for the future.
"There's a lot on our plates right now. I expect we are going to stay very busy," he says. "Americans need more generation, and we are here to support."
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After being wounded in combat in Afghanistan, veteran Kain Schilling brings his values of service, trust and teamwork to his role at NextEra Energy.
