From Boca to the Beltway, no one’s putting this young Republican environmentalist in any boxes
Student, activist, leader — and now city appointee, Sayd Hussain isn’t waiting until he graduates to make his mark on the world
Upon meeting Sayd Hussain, he might seem like any other college student.
The 21-year-old junior majoring in Environmental Engineering at Florida Atlantic University is outgoing and funny, has many friends at the school and is involved in college organizations, including Student Government. He is also a member of Boca Raton’s Green Living Advisory Board, and has a passion for public service.
Hussain has always been interested in politics, and describes watching the news from a very early age. “It was just a personal interest,” said Hussain, who is thin, of medium height, and has dark hair and eyes.
After interning at the White House in the summer of 2018 with the Council on Environmental Quality for the President — first created under President Nixon — Hussain came back to Boca Raton with domestic and foreign experience in environmental policy and a desire to get involved.
Hussain decided on the Green Living Advisory Board, one of many panels that advises the Boca Raton City Council on decisions, because of his experience with and passion for environmental work. According to Lindsey Nieratka, who is the Sustainability Manager for the City of Boca Raton, the role of the board “is to advise the City Council on items related to residential sustainability.”
To apply, Hussain first had to fill out an application to verify his status as a resident of Boca Raton, and then go through an interview process.
“You have to be voted in by a majority of the City Council,” Hussain explained. “Before my internship in DC, I had previously tried to join the Community Service Board and I failed — I didn’t get a single vote.”
Hussain’s board appointment interview was at the Sept. 12 City Council meeting, according to Nieratka and city records.
“I was nervous during the voting process because I didn’t want the same thing to happen to me again,” Hussain admitted. But it didn’t — Council Member Andy Thompson nominated Hussain and everybody else — except the mayor — voted for him.
“It was enough,” Hussain said, smiling at the recollection. He gazed around the small courtyard in front of FAU’s bookstore, as if remembering the day fondly. “I had enough votes to get on the board. I think what really got their attention was my internship experiences. I did a lot of environmental work there and I wanted to bring it back to the local level in Boca Raton.”
“The other members [of the Green Living Advisory Board] like that I’m young,” Hussain said. “They’re happy that I’m a part of the board. I feel equal with them because they know that I have a very strong background in this kind of work.”
Now, Hussain attends monthly meetings of the Green Living Advisory Board, which are held on the last Friday of every month. Recently, Hussain helped prepare a presentation on increasing the Green Living Advisory Board’s jurisdiction from exclusively residential life to include business life as well. The plan was approved by the board and will now move to the City Council, where Hussain is confident it will pass.
This new increase in jurisdiction is essential for another goal of Hussain’s: banning plastic drinking straws in Boca Raton. Delray Beach, Boca Raton’s neighbor to the south, just passed a city-wide plastic straw ban that will go into effect in 2020.
“I feel that if Delray is willing to do it, there is no reason Boca can’t as well,” Hussain said. “I am passionate about reducing waste in Boca Raton.”
Hussain said that his passion for cutting back on waste came from a trip to Cuba, where he was inspired by the lack of waste. Hussain said that during his visit, he saw very little single use plastics and observed people reusing everything.
“I’m a Republican but I consider myself an environmentalist,” Hussain said. “I’m not a climate change denier or any of that. A lot of Republicans aren’t [environmentalists], I feel like there’s a stigma because [environmentalism] is so liberalized, and conservatives think they need to be against it.”
Hussain said that when he first brought the straw ban up to the City Council, they responded with “we believe in a free market,” and expressed concern about the idea of telling local businesses that they couldn’t use plastic straws.
But Hussain isn’t giving up: “I put [the straw ban] on the agenda for March’s Green Living Advisory Board meeting,” Hussain said. He explained that if the board likes the idea, they will host a presentation and if enough City Council members are interested in the idea, it will come up for a vote.
Every few minutes, Hussain’s phone would buzz on the table in front of him. He would pick it up, type furiously for a few seconds, and then lay it back down, apologizing for the interruption.
Hussain explained that he is currently involved in a lawsuit against his condo association because of a situation involving dirty water. He organized a group of other renters and convinced an attorney to represent them pro bono, and is a part of a group chat with all those suing, where they share pictures of their water and updates about the case.
“On top of the lawsuit, I’m a full-time student taking 16 credits, I’m a member of the Green Living Advisory Board, and I’m currently applying to law school and studying five hours a day for the LSAT…The lawsuit is like my hobby, if I want a break I’ll look at it,” Hussain chuckled. He explained that he manages his stress by taking things day by day and just thinking about what he has tomorrow.
Hussain’s girlfriend, Leanet Gutierrez, said that Hussain is one of the most honest, sincere people she has ever known.
“Throughout our relationship I’ve seen Sayd’s love for public service through his passion to defend the little guy, or those who don’t have a voice.”
Gutierrez said that while she shares Hussain’s passion for politics and activism, she doesn’t consider herself as outgoing or charismatic as her boyfriend, and that she prefers to focus on “finding and fixing the flaws in the law in order to have an even better democratic government.”
“I think our passion for helping people is what really drew us together,” Guitterez said.
Robert Marriaga, a friend of Hussain’s who met him through their mutual involvement in Student Government, described him as being humble, hardworking, caring and loyal.
“Sayd’s passion for public service is unmatched,” Marriaga said. “He is a person that enjoys serving others and loves helping people.”
Currently, Hussain is waiting to hear back from Harvard Law School’s junior deferral program. Hussain explained that through the program, you apply during your junior year of college and, if you are accepted, you begin law school two years after graduating from college. Hussain said he would like to spend that time working as engineer for the City of Fort Lauderdale, where he has a pending offer. Hussain said he will hear back from Harvard on Aug. 1.
“I am getting an engineering degree, I kind of want to make use of it for a few years, and then become a lawyer later,” Hussain explained. “Eventually I want to go into politics. There’s no way I’m not going to run for office. I really care about people.”
