BUZZARDS BAY, Massachusetts – The USTS Kennedy moves away from port, pitching a little in the choppy seas. Annie Paskavitch and about 500 other mariners make the massive craft feel cramped. No matter. Annie is a happy sailor, delighted to trade the frigid Massachusetts winter for port visits in the Caribbean Sea and a special voyage through the Panama Canal. She will learn a lot, too. After all, the USTS Kennedy is one giant floating classroom, and Annie is a cadet at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. 

But that was years ago. The USTS Kennedy has since carried countless new cadets and, after spending six years with the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve, Annie left the water behind for a successful career in the energy industry.

Annie’s energy career has spanned more than 20 years – 14 of them at NextEra Energy. In that time, she has managed a diverse portfolio of power plants and even reimagined how a utility operates its assets.

How did she go from engineering on a ship to engineering in energy? “It’s not so different when you think about it,” Annie says. “The technology is so similar. Either you’re spinning a propeller to move a ship, or you’re spinning a generator to make electricity.”

According to Annie, seafaring actually prepares you quite well for energy. “When I was out there in the middle of the ocean,” Annie recalls, “I placed my life in the hands of my shipmates, and they placed their lives in mine. We were all trusting each other to do the right thing and work safely. We do this in the energy industry, too. Your colleagues are your family, whether you’re working on the line or in the plant.”

Every good seafarer is perpetually answering the call to adventure. For Annie, the energy industry continues to present one adventure after another: “I had the opportunity to build the Fleet Control Center from the ground up. I never thought I’d do something so amazing.”

She is referring to Florida Power & Light Company’s state-of-the-art FCC, which allows the utility to remotely operate its natural-gas-powered facilities in Florida, generating 23 GW of electricity.

During her career, she has also spent time in a waste-to-energy plant, several fossil plants and most recently the wind sector. Annie served as general manager of wind operations for NextEra Energy Resources, where she was responsible for the safe and reliable operations of the geographically distributed Heartland Region in Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Missouri.

Today, Annie is deep into her coursework for “Leadership for the NextEra” – the company’s most prestigious, nomination-only leadership program. She is also looking forward to embarking on a new challenge in the nuclear sector, a sector she has yet to experience.

“I always want to challenge myself and keep learning and growing,” she says.

Annie’s seafaring days are far behind her, but she embodies the mariner’s spirit every single day. Her career is her voyage and fear her white whale.

“I always tell people to do what scares you,” Annie says. “Get out of your comfort zone – that’s the best career advice I ever received, which is why I’m always passing it onto others.”

She acknowledges her new role in nuclear will put her outside her comfort zone, but that’s the goal – to avoid complacency at all costs. She will give it her all and move onto the next challenge, eager to face the deep unknown.