Six months into her new gig — director of the Illinois State Water Survey at the University of Illinois’ Prairie Research Institute — “every day is a new favorite day” for Jenna Shelton.
Back on the campus where she earned her bachelor’s degree in environmental geology, the hydrobiogeochemist spent the past 14 years serving in a variety of capacities at the U.S. Geological Survey — with stops in Colorado, Virginia and Indianapolis.
But it was here where Shelton discovered her life’s work, after taking Craig Bethke’s Introduction to Hydrogeology course.
“I knew I wanted to do something to help secure the Earth’s resources since I was a kid,” she says, “and had been passionate about water after my family learned my mom got cancer from chemicals in her private well growing up. I took a hydrogeology class on a whim and instantly knew that water was my calling.”
Born on Alabama’s Fort Rucker Army Base, Shelton “moved around a lot as a kid” but spent the majority of her younger years in Lisle and Melbourne, Fla. She now calls Champaign home, along with her husband, Golden Retriever and Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever.
In 2026, Shelton took part in News-Gazette Editor Jeff D’Alessio's Beyond the Boardroom feature, spotlighting leaders of local organizations big and small.
The hardest thing about being a leader is … trying to make time for everybody, including myself.
My one unbreakable rule of the workplace is … to always let me know where you are. I really like to support a flexible workforce — telework, remote work, etc. — and we have people in the field all the time, but I need to ensure staff are safe.
I cannot do that if I do not know where they are working from any given day. This is a hard rule for me.
My philosophy on meetings is … to both have an agenda and to make sure everyone — as much as possible — has a voice.
Sometimes I get too busy to make an agenda — whoops! — but I try to at least send out a “why are we doing this” type of email with a calendar invite or before any standing meetings.
I also try to ask everyone individually if they have anything to contribute.
I can’t live without my … reMarkable notepad. I only recently purchased one and it has changed my life.
I retain information by writing things down, and this has prevented me from lugging around multiple notebooks everywhere I go. I love it and will never not have one moving forward.
The three words I hope my staff would use to describe me are … accountable, empathetic and patient.
On my office walls, you’ll find … photos and maps. Photos are of my dogs and of water resources around the state. In my previous job, I ran a geologic mapping program, so there are geologic maps on my walls, too.
I’m frugal in that … I try to buy second-hand as much as possible. One, it saves money, but more importantly, it reduces the impact on Earth’s resources. For example, my reMarkable was refurbished.
The single-most important question I ask job candidates during interviews is … what traits in a previous supervisor did you think were most helpful and least helpful?
I really like to know what candidates value in their leadership to get a feel for whether or not we’d work well together.
I am also very focused on constructive feedback, and I think answering this question provides an opportunity for people to intentionally state what hasn’t worked well for them in a supervisor/supervisee relationship.
The first thing I do when I get to work most days is … check in with my superstar administrative office manager, Brionna Gee. She keeps me organized, grounded and brings joy to every workday.
Then, I hit emails and prepare for my meetings throughout the day.
For lunch … I usually work. It’s rare for me to find time in a day to take 30 minutes and decompress.
I am better during the warmer months; I try to walk around the Water Survey campus for at least 15 minutes over my lunch, but I generally eat at my desk while answering emails or in between meetings.
I wind down after work by … reading, exercising, snuggling with my dogs, connecting with friends and baking.
The last luxury in which I indulged was … a very nice espresso maker.
The last good book I read was … “The Nix.” It was a re-read, but it’s one of my all-time favorite books.
I’m up and at ’em every day by … 6:20. I usually have coffee and answer emails right away, then try to walk for at least 30 minutes — outside if the weather is nice, inside on a treadmill if the weather is poor.
I get ready for the day, answer a few more emails and take my dogs for a walk if they didn’t join me in the a.m. I try to be to the office between 8 and 9 a.m. every day.
My exercise routine consists of … a mixture of running, hot yoga, cycling, strength training and simply walking. I try to exercise five or six days a week, and also walk my two dogs a few times each day.
Exercise is so important to my mental health, and I will prioritize it over almost anything.
I knew this was what I wanted to do for a living after … the first time I watched the movie “Fern Gully” as a child. I was terrified deforestation would destroy humanity; at the time, I thought plants were our only source of oxygen.
The next year, in third grade, I did my science experiment on solar ovens. I always knew I wanted to do something to help keep the environment healthy, which led me to hydrogeology.
The worst job I ever had was ... being a referee for a competitive/traveling soccer league when I was a pre-teen.
No one is more passionate about bad calls than a soccer parent.
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