Nikesh Patel, 39

Nikesh Patel might be the best candidate to win the fictional and unofficial, yet vitally important “Bill Belichick Prize,” based on one of the NFL head coach’s most famous phrases: “Do your job!”

Patel is a city engineer for Sarasota, and frankly, local government could use more people like him. After 17 successful years with the Florida Department of Transportation, during which time he helped complete projects like widening the interstate from Manatee County to Alligator Alley and improving the interchange at Interstate 75 and University Parkway, Patel joined a training program for his current role, where, say several people in the city, he excels at doing his job. 

Photo by Mark Wemple

At 16 years old, Patel worked a summer job at an air filter manufacturer — four years after moving to Florida from Zambia, a landlocked country in the southern part of Africa. The switch resulted in “a culture shock,” Patel says, but adds that “it worked out” — partly by working so much as a teen.

In high school, Patel signed up for a work-training program that turned into an internship with the Florida DOT in its District One office in Bartow. The internship became a full-time role, and his career was off. Now, in his role with the city of Sarasota, Patel says no two days are the same, be it transportation planning, permits, surveys, or maintenance of existing assets.

Patel credits his mentor, Sarasota Deputy City Manager Pat Robinson, with guiding him through the ins and outs of working in what could sometimes be a complicated environment. Robinson, Patel says, has taught him the value of finding solutions where multiple sides benefit and the importance of sticking to your values, even in difficult situations. 

While Patel works hard at doing his job, his hobby also sounds like it takes a good bit of work to keep up with: Patel, his wife and two kids spend some time each week on the family farm, which is home to 10 goats, two donkeys, three cows, nine chickens, two cats and two dogs. But in a good example of working smarter rather than harder, Patel says he has installed a system that provides water to the animals automatically.

Patel says he would like to reach 30 years of public service before making the farm his full-time concern, so Sarasotans can count on nearly another decade of him doing his job before then.