Building Tomorrow Together: Brent O’Keefe

TVA’s Program Manager for Environmental Compliance is Caring for the Environment, 1 Mile at a Time

For Brent O’Keefe, work and play often have the same backdrop – the great outdoors.

A program manager for Environmental Compliance, specifically Transmission projects, O’Keefe knew early on that he wanted a job that took him out in the field – not only to be surrounded by nature, but also to protect it.

“I provide support for right-of-way maintenance projects and do environmental reviews before the crews go out,” he said. “These big transmission towers cross everything from wetlands to bald eagle nests. And I’m the one writing the permits to protect them.”

Working alongside cultural and biological groups, O’Keefe’s team collects information about environmentally sensitive areas and creates permits that protect the land and the crews.

O’Keefe is in the field regularly, scoping out access roads and transmission lines to ensure power can travel across the region with as little impact as possible on the land or its inhabitants.

“I’m proud of the conservation work TVA does,” he said. “We have a lot of plants and animals that are either endangered or unique to this area – streams that have fish that don’t exist anywhere else in the world. TVA is protecting them and providing access for us to go out and see them.”

O’Keefe has traversed countless miles across this service territory. Whether biking Raccoon Mountain, paddleboarding the Tennessee River or embarking on runs that span states, he continues to be amazed by the world that awaits him.

“I want to encourage people to go out and explore," he said. “I notice something new every time.”

Lacing up his running shoes, O’Keefe is leading by example – an ambassador for both the land and the mission of TVA.

“TVA is moving in the right direction,” he said. “We are bridging the gap, providing power in new ways as technology progresses. And my job is about connecting all that. It’s great to see, especially on the environmental side, that we are trying to do things right on the front end."

Even as O’Keefe celebrates the many miles in the rearview mirror, he never loses sight of what's ahead.

“I hope to be a part of making environment the forefront of TVA – to be part of keeping it safe.”