DELTA DISPATCHES - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Policy
- Senior Outreach Coordinator for National Wildlife Federation
is the Senior Outreach Coordinator for National Wildlife Federation on the Restore the Mississippi River Delta Coalition. In this role Alex works to foster relationships, build awareness and increase engagement with coastal citizens around the importance of restoring Louisiana's wetlands, particularly in Plaquemines, St. Bernard, and Jefferson Parishes. She works with residents, community leaders, elected and government officials, community organizations, and businesses to support restoration in the Mississippi River Delta.
Before joining NWF, Alex served as Advisor to the Service Coalition at University of New Orleans, as a Community Relations Specialist and Volunteer Coordinator with FEMACorps in New York and Atlanta and as a Team Leader with AmeriCorps NCCC in Sacramento, CA. She was also a Regional Approaches to Climate Change Fellow at Oregon State University in 2017, studying the effects of the changing climate in agriculture. Alex comes from a long line of Louisianans and is passionate about her community. She received her BS in Biology and Master's in Public Administration from University of New Orleans, where she conducted research on public attitudes toward diversions in the oyster fishing community Southern Louisiana.
Job Titles:
- Coastal Scientist, Mississippi River Delta Restoration Program, National Wildlife Federation
- Scientist With the National Wildlife Federation
Alisha Renfro is a coastal scientist with the National Wildlife Federation working on the Mississippi River Delta Restoration Campaign. Alisha has a M.S. in Marine Science from University of North Carolina at Wilmington and a Ph.D. in Marine and Atmospheric Science from Stony Brook University. Over the past 15 years, she has worked in a variety of coastal environments, including beaches, barrier islands, forested wetlands, and freshwater and saltwater marshes. Her scientific research has focused on examining sediment transport and deposition and nutrient cycling in estuaries and wetlands to understand the reasons behind declining wetland health and increasing land loss. In her role with the National Wildlife Federation, she works to ensure the best available science is used to highlight to the ecological and economic importance of the Mississippi River Delta and the solutions that are needed in the pathway forward to a more sustainable future.
Job Titles:
- Analyst
- Analyst, Resilient Coasts and Watersheds, Environmental Defense Fund
Allie is an Analyst on the Resilient Coasts and Watersheds Team for EDF, and she also serves as the projects team coordinator for the Restore the Mississippi River Delta coalition. In these roles, she tracks priority coastal restoration projects in Louisiana, coordinates project team meetings, and helps to identify barriers - and solutions to overcome them - to project implementation. As a Louisiana native, she is passionate about protecting and preserving the coast and all the communities it serves!
Allie received a Bachelor's in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Villanova University, a Master's in Public Administration from Tulane University, and a Master of Urban Management and Development from Erasmus University Rotterdam. She completed her capstone project at Tulane on strategic flood risk communication, and her thesis at EUR on institutional inertia and critical junctures in the water management sector in New Orleans.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director, Gulf Program, National Wildlife Federation
Amanda joined the National Wildlife Federation's team in 2009. As NWF's Senior Director, Gulf Program, Amanda leads program strategy and management throughout the Gulf region. In Louisiana, she works with government officials, community leaders, and coastal science experts to address coastal land loss and increase community resilience. Amanda has led the MRGO Must Go Coalition since 2009 and was part of NWF's oil spill response team in 2010, working the front lines of the BP disaster to raise awareness about impacts and engage advocates to support restoration. Amanda currently serves as an executive board member of Florida Wildlife Corridor. Prior to joining NWF, Amanda worked on Gulf Coast environmental issues, including serving as Associate Regional Representative for Sierra Club in Florida where she focused on voter education and coastal pollution issues. She holds a B.S. in Political Science from the University of Mary Washington and a Master's of Public Administration from the University of South Florida. Amanda resides in St. Petersburg, Florida and takes her kids to the beach every chance she gets.
Job Titles:
- Sportsmen Outreach Coordinator, National Wildlife Federation
From his earliest memories in the river bottoms of West Tennessee, Bill's life revolved around hunting and fishing. By his teens, he'd hunted ducks in all four flyways and fished from East Tennessee to the Pacific. As an adult, he's hunted from prairie Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and the Chesapeake to the California Delta, but the Mississippi Flyway was always "home." His professional career has been in the outdoor industry; from an obscure duck call salesman to Marketing Director at Avery Outdoors to, most recently, Managing Editor of the Mid-South Hunting & Fishing News, communicating with sportsmen has been the key to his success.
Job Titles:
- Vice President for Coastal Policy, National Audubon Society
- Vice President for Gulf Policy
, Audubon's Vice President for Gulf Policy, has been working on restoration policy for over two decades. After serving in the Clinton Administration, Brian has successfully lead campaigns to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, pass comprehensive legislation to restore the Gulf of Mexico in the wake of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, and many other leading conservation issues. Today, Brian's focuses exclusively on Coastal and Marine policy.
Job Titles:
- Office Manager for the Restore
- Office Manager, National Wildlife Federation
is the office manager for the Restore the Mississippi River Delta coalition in the New Orleans office. She oversees an office that is home to those from Audubon, EDF, CRCL and NWF. She leverages the diverse needs of the many, against the will of the few. Before joining NWF, Brooke's most recent position was as a special education teacher in Washington, DC. She created a garden curriculum to go along with the vegetable and pollinator gardens she helped start at the school. She has a BA in Political Science from the University of Maryland and a Master's degree in Special Education from George Washington University. A traveler and a passionate gardener, she resides, with a dog and a cat who adopted her, in the Lower 9th ward of New Orleans where she is very active in the community.
Job Titles:
- National Wildlife Federation As Their Senior Advisor
- Senior Advisor for Resilience, National Wildlife Federation
Charles joined the National Wildlife Federation as their Senior Advisor for Resilience in 2024 after spending more than a decade in the Louisiana Governor's Office. While in the Governor's Office, Charles worked on policy in support of the CPRA and the coastal program through the 2012, 2017, and 2023 master plans and was the lead staff for the Governor's Advisory Commission. In 2020, Charles was on the governor's small team running the Climate Initiatives Task Force and helping to develop the 2022 Climate Action Plan. In 2020 he also became the state's first Chief Resilience Officer, first working to broaden the state's approach to managing the implications of the coastal crisis, and then later being appointed to the role statewide and across multiple environmental hazards. Charles is from Baton Rouge, LA and attended college at LSU and has a master's degree from New York University.
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Director
- Director for Pontchartrain Conservancy
Corey Miller is the Community Engagement Director for Pontchartrain Conservancy (PC). A third generation New Orleanian, he received his MA in Sociology at the University of New Orleans through an assistantship with their Center for Hazards Assessment, Response and Technology. He joins PC with more than a dozen years of experience working to improve coastal community resilience in the face of land loss, climate change, hurricanes, flooding, and a constantly changing environment. Throughout, he has focused on increased awareness through community outreach and improving ways that local knowledge and public input can be garnered and incorporated into plans for coastal restoration, flood protection, and community adaptation.
An ambassador for all things New Orleans - from culture to cuisine and all things between - he enjoys cooking, gardening, carnival, festivals, and any time spent on the water (preferably with fishing pole in hand).
Job Titles:
- Chief of the Grand Caillou / Dulac Band of Biloxi Chitimacha Choctaw
- Coastal Resilience Analyst, Environmental Defense Fund
Devon is the future Chief of the Grand Caillou/Dulac band of Biloxi Chitimacha Choctaw (starting August '22) and a '22 graduate of Williams college, where he majored in Geoscience. Throughout his undergraduate degree, he studied how coastal land loss is disproportionately affecting tribal communities in southeast Louisiana. Devon has had varied work experience ranging from developing media and GIS projects with the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences to conducting fieldwork on shoreline change in the Gulf Islands National Seashore with the National Park Service. Devon has also held several other leadership roles through the Native Youth Community Adaptation Leadership Congress and the Y Bold and Gold Advisory Council. Devon is currently working as a Coastal Resilience Analyst for EDF and the MRD coalition, where he is working to support the science committee and to help advance justice for coastal communities.
Job Titles:
- Community Program Director
LL Powell, JD Wolfe, EI Johnson, PC Stouffer. 2016. Forest recovery in post-pasture Amazonia: Testing a conceptual model of space use by insectivorous understory birds. Biological Conservation 194:22-30.
LL Powell, G Zurita, JD Wolfe, EI Johnson, PC Stouffer. 2015. Changes in habitat use at rain forest edges through succession: A case study of understory birds in the Brazilian Amazon. Biotropica 47: 723-732.
EI Johnson, JK Dimiceli, PC Stoufferi, ME Brooks. 2011. Habitat use does not reflect habitat quality for Henslow's Sparrows (Ammodramus henslowii) wintering in fire-managed longleaf pine savannas. Auk 128: 564-576.
M Uriarte, M Anciães, MTB Da Silva, P Rubim, EI Johnson, EM Bruna. 2011. Disentangling the drivers of reduced long-distance seed dispersal by birds in an experimentally fragmented landscape.
EI Johnson, PC Stouffer, CF Vargas. 2011. Diversity, biomass, and trophic structure of a central Amazonian rainforest bird community. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 19: 1-16.
EI Johnson, JK DiMiceli, PC Stouffer. 2009. Timing of migration and patterns of winter settlement by Henslow's Sparrows. Condor 111: 730-739.
EI Johnson. 2006. Effects of fire on habitat associations, abundance, and survival of wintering Henslow's Sparrows (Ammodramus henslowii) in southeastern Louisiana longleaf pine savannas. M.S. Thesis. Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA.
JD Wolfe, EI Johnson. 2011. Louisiana's crude awakening: how citizen scientists help monitor the effects of oil on birds. Birding 43: 48-52.
Job Titles:
- Senior Communications Manager, Mississippi River Delta Restoration, National Wildlife Federation
A native of Houma in coastal Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, Emily Guidry Schatzel works with the National Wildlife Federation's Louisiana and Gulf teams to increase awareness about the delta's rapidly disappearing wetlands through strategic communications, including media engagement, public relations and social media. She holds a J.D. and a Master's in Communications from Loyola University New Orleans, and dual Bachelor's degrees in English and Mass Communication from Nicholls State University. Prior to joining the National Wildlife Federation team in 2009, Emily was the media director for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a national legal and public advocacy nonprofit, and also worked as a communications consultant for the mutual fund giant Vanguard.
Job Titles:
- Communications
- Outreach Coordinator, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana
Emma Butler is a Tulane University alumna with a bachelor's in Political Science and Environmental Studies who is committed to public service, environmental stewardship, and a sustainable future for the state of Louisiana. During her time at Tulane, Emma learned about the unique environmental factors that influence the state and its residents, including issues of flooding and subsidence. Her studies combined with her interest in public service fueled her decision to continue working to address these environmental challenges with local communities. She completed two years of AmeriCorps service and previously worked on urban stormwater management before joining CRCL. Outside of the office, Emma can be found with a book in her hand and a cat in her lap.
Job Titles:
- Director of Bird Conservation, National Audubon Society
Erik joined Audubon in April 2011 as a Conservation Biologist for the Mississippi Flyway and Gulf Coast Initiative where he provided science-support and guidance for Audubon's strategic planning process and building upon conservation and monitoring efforts in the region. Before coming to Audubon, Erik's graduate work at Louisiana State University included researching the effects of forest fragmentation on Amazonian bird communities and understanding the effects of fire management on grassland birds in pine savannas of the southeastern U.S., and he has published his work in scientific journals including The Auk and Ecology. It was while finishing his dissertation when the BP oil spill shocked the Gulf Coast and in response, Erik helped develop a citizen science program across the central Gulf Coast, Audubon's Coastal Bird Survey, which he continues to lead. Erik started his ornithological career stewarding and monitoring breeding Least Terns and Piping Plovers in Massachusetts, and has returned to these coastal roots by leading the development of a comprehensive beach-nesting bird stewardship program in Louisiana by developing partnerships with other organizations and local communities. Erik also has developed several bird monitoring initiatives at the Paul J. Rainey Audubon Sanctuary to understand the effects of management on marshbirds, supporting the science-based restoration mission of the Rainey Conservation Alliance, a collaboration among local landowners in Vermilion Parish to save coastal marshes. Erik is active in Louisiana's birding community and serves as Louisiana's Christmas Bird Count regional editor, a member of Louisiana's Bird Records Committee, Vice President of Baton Rouge Audubon Society, and Co-director of the Louisiana Bird Observatory.
Job Titles:
- Wetland Ecologist, Pontchartrain Conservancy
George (he/him/his) is from Greenville, SC. He attended North Carolina State University for his undergraduate studies and received a B.S. in Zoology. He then moved to New Orleans and later attended Tulane University, where he received his master's degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. He will complete his Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences with a minor in Applied Statistics in the spring of 2023. How bald cypress trees react to abiotic stresses commonly associated with restoration work is the focus of his graduate work, and he is continuing said work at Pontchartrain Conservancy.
He lives in River Ridge with his wife, kids, dog, and tortoise. He enjoys reading, writing, and playing video games in his free time.
LL Powell, JD Wolfe, EI Johnson, JE Hines, JD Nichols, PC Stouffer. 2015. Heterogeneous movement of insectivorous Amazonian birds through primary and secondary forest: A case study using multistate models with radiotelemetry data. Biological Conservation 188: 100-108.
EI Johnson, JD Wolfe. 2014. Thamnophilidae (antbird) molt strategies in a central Amazonian rainforest. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 126: 451-462.
JD Wolfe, EI Johnson, RS Terrill. 2014. Searching for consensus in molt terminology 11 years after Howell et al.'s "first basic problem". Auk 131: 371-377.
EI Johnson, JD Wolfe, TB Ryder, P Pyle. 2011. Modifications to a molt-based ageing system proposed by Wolfe et al. (2010). Journal of Field Ornithology 82: 422-424.
Job Titles:
- First - Ever Policy Director
- Policy Director, National Audubon Society
joined Audubon Mississippi as their first-ever Policy Director in September 2017. She shapes and leads a dynamic policy agenda in this role to advance Audubon's mission and conservation priorities in unique places like the Mississippi and Gulf Coasts and the Mississippi Flyway. She brings nearly two decades of winning campaigns on conservation, water, climate change, and public health across the Gulf region and nationally. Her track record reflects her knowledge of integrating policy, advocacy, science, and education to build diverse, influential partnerships. Before joining Audubon, Jill led the National Wildlife Federation's policy efforts in Mississippi and Alabama, striving to guide billions of recovery dollars from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil disaster to projects restoring the Gulf. In earlier roles, she was deeply involved in Hurricane Katrina recovery and securing landmark federal protections for coastal wetlands. A Connecticut native, her love for the Gulf began after completing a Master's in Environmental Policy from the State University of New York (SUNY) - College of Environmental Science and Forestry and a B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Rochester. She enjoys exploring the outdoors, spoiling her dogs, and traveling in her free time.
is the Wildlife Policy Specialist for the National Wildlife Federation's Gulf of Mexico Program. Joe is a native Floridian who lives in Hernando County, Florida with his wife Becky and his two dogs. Joe is a graduate of Eckerd College. Joe has worked for groups including Florida PIRG, the Endangered Species Coalition, Sierra Club, Oceana, and Healthy Gulf. Joe worked for the Hernando County School District as a Science Teacher for ten years, as well as for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) as a Regional Volunteer Coordinator. Joe enjoys paddling, hiking, and fishing along Florida's Nature Coast and spending time with his grandchildren, Grace, and Wren.
As a Communications Associate, Julia-Claire Evans helps to build awareness and support with a variety of audiences around the importance of restoring Louisiana's coast for the National Wildlife Federation and the Restore the Mississippi River Delta Coalition. Julia-Claire works with a diverse group of stakeholders, including coastal communities, coastal scientists, policy makers and a network of environmental NGOs to help Louisiana's people, wildlife and economy adapt and thrive in face of climate change.
Julia-Claire is a recent LSU graduate from Lafayette with a bachelor's degree in Journalism. She has a strong communications and journalism background and previously wrote for 225 Magazine and the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report. She loves hiking, music and reading (especially historical fiction) and outside of the office, you can catch her spending her free time at local concerts with friends. She is passionate about all things south Louisiana and sustaining and restoring this beautiful state's coast, and she decided to combine that passion with her love for writing to work towards spreading information and drawing attention to Louisiana's local communities and the environmental work being done across the state.
Job Titles:
- Campaign Manager, Restore the Mississippi River Delta, Environmental Defense Fund
Katie handles the day-to-day management, coordination and organization of the Restore the Mississippi River Delta (MRD) coalition. Katie leads the coalition's grant reporting process and facilitates the development of the coalition's workplan, which she then updates and reports on an ongoing basis. In the MRD coalition and for EDF at large, Katie is an active member of diversity, equity, inclusion and justice initiatives - helping lead the development and implementation of the MRD coalition's DEIJ strategy, and participating on EDF's DEI Council to help strengthen workplace culture. Her work involves a deep understanding of partner expectations and priorities, implementing systems for successful internal organization and acting as a central source for coalition history and knowledge.
Katie received her BA in Political Science from Loyola University New Orleans in 2013, and her MA in International Affairs from The New School in New York in 2015. Since then, she has been working on environmental issues in New Orleans - including the creation of 2 coloring books that seek to increase youth understanding of complex environmental topics like water infrastructure, hurricane preparedness and coastal protection.
Job Titles:
- Communications Associate
- Communications Associate, Restore the Mississippi River Delta Coalition, National Audubon Society
Kelly McNab is the Communications Associate for the Restore the Mississippi River Delta Coalition and National Audubon Society. In this position, she is responsible for developing coalition-related web, social, and print content, as well as focusing on GIS story maps and dashboards. Kelly grew up in Houston, Texas where she developed a passion for protecting our natural environment and wildlife. Previously, Kelly worked as an Environmental Policy Specialist for the Conservancy of Southwest Florida in Naples. There she focused on land, water and wildlife advocacy as well as creating communication materials with the intent of translating complex scientific topics into a format that every person can understand and act on. Kelly received her BS in Natural Resources Management from Colorado State University and an MS in Environmental Management and Sustainability from St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of the Pontchartrain Conservancy
- Executive Director, Pontchartrain Conservancy
- Operations
Ms. Trail is the Executive Director of the Pontchartrain Conservancy, and has been since 2016. She earned her BS and MS in Civil & Environmental Engineering at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. Kristi is responsible for all aspects of governance and day-to-day operations for PC.
Prior to joining PC, Ms. Trail worked as an engineer in various capacities in the energy sector and as a private consultant.
She is active in the New Orleans community, serving on many non-profit boards including LSU Health Foundation, and the Audubon Area Zoning Association. She is also an active member of the Louisiana Women's Forum & the Women's Professional Council of New Orleans. Additionally, she is a fellow of the Loyola University Institute of Politics (2005) and the Institute of Environmental Communications (2005).
She is a native of New Orleans & lives in uptown New Orleans with her husband and two children.
Job Titles:
- Audubon in 2014 As the Communications Associate
- Director for the Restore
- Director, Mississippi River Delta Program, National Audubon Society
In 2019, Lauren became the Director for the Restore the Mississippi River Delta Coalition, which comprises Audubon, National Wildlife Federation, Environmental Defense Fund, and Pontchartrain Conservancy. In addition to playing a leadership role in the coalition's communications and state policy committees, Lauren will also ensure Gulf-wide consistency in communications for Audubon. Before her role as Director, Lauren was Audubon Louisiana's Communications Manager. In that role, Lauren guided the strategy for all outreach and communication efforts for Audubon Louisiana.
Lauren initially joined Audubon in 2014 as the Communications Associate for the Restore the Mississippi River Delta Restoration Coalition. Prior to joining Audubon, Lauren was the Manager of External Relations for the Stephenson Disaster Management Institute (SDMI) at Louisiana State University. At SDMI, Lauren was responsible for overseeing the coordination of public relations, marketing, and development for the Institute. She also led the branding and launch of the Center for Business Preparedness, chaired the communications committee for the Food & Agriculture Protection Training Consortium and was on the Board of Directors for the International Disaster Conference and Expo. Prior to SDMI, Lauren worked in the public affairs department for the National Center for Biomedical Research and Training, a counter-terrorism research and training academy located on LSU's campus. Lauren is a graduate of LSU, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication in 2007. Lauren lives in New Orleans.
Job Titles:
- Senior Manager, National Audubon Society
joined the Audubon team in 2017 and has worked in Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi. She graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University in Southwest Florida, where she began working to protect beach-nesting birds after the BP Oil Disaster. Melinda relocated to the northern Gulf Coast and worked as a Biological Technician in Louisiana and Mississippi. She has spent the past five years as Mississippi's Stewardship Manager, leading and growing the coastal program by engaging with a diverse network of partners and stakeholders. Melinda has held varying board positions with the Mississippi Coast Audubon Society and currently serves as the chapter's president. She is a Master Naturalist who serves on the Mississippi Sound Estuary Program's Advisory committee. She was inspired by her father who was a lifelong conservation biologist and is proud to carry on his work today.
LL Powell, PC Stouffer, EI Johnson. 2013. Recovery of understory bird movement across the interface of primary and secondary Amazon rainforest. Auk 130: 459-468.
EI Johnson, PC Stouffer, RO Bierregaard Jr. 2012. The phenology of molting, breeding and their overlap in central Amazonian birds. Journal of Avian Biology 43: 141-154.
Portia received her B.A. in Political Science from Indiana University before moving to New Orleans to receive her J.D. and Certificate of Specialization in Environmental and Energy Law from Tulane University School of Law. Prior to joining Audubon, Portia worked as a Senior Research Fellow with the Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy, where she conducted legal policy research on Louisiana coastal, marine, and freshwater issues.
Job Titles:
- Manager
- Manager, Climate Resilient Coasts & Watersheds, Environmental Defense Fund
Rachel is a Manager on the Resilient Coasts and Watersheds team for EDF's Mississippi River Delta Restoration program. She is also the Projects Committee chair for Restore the Mississippi River Delta. In this capacity, she reviews scientific literature for the latest research and tracks coastal restoration projects in Louisiana to identify challenges and barriers in project implementation and develop strategies and solutions to overcome. Rachel received both her BA and Master's Degree in Marine Science and did her thesis work on river diversions and wetland loss in the Mississippi River Delta and their associated effects on oysters.
Job Titles:
- Director of Communications and Development, Pontchartrain Conservancy
- Member of the Association
A Memphis native, Regina Wilkins has been a resident of New Orleans since 2003, living in Treme since then. She holds a bachelor of arts from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and a Master of Fine Arts from Western Michigan University. She is the Director of Communications and Development at Pontchartrain Conservancy, and provides Communications support for the MRD.
Before joining Pontchartrain Conservancy, Regina worked in local education in grants compliance and management at the Orleans Parish School Board and as the director of development at a local charter school. During her tenure, she raised over $2.5 million for scholarships and other educational needs for high poverty students in New Orleans. Prior to her work in education, Regina worked for SPX Corporation for ten years in a variety of national sales management roles.
Regina is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and will sit for her Certified Fundraising Executive credential in 2022. She is a passionate supporter and past board chair of the Marigny Opera House Foundation, as well as a coach and mentor for professional women in the nonprofit sector. She is an avid gardener, an amateur photographer, and is restoring a historic Creole cottage in Treme with her husband.
Job Titles:
- Senior Digital Marketing and Communication Manager for the Restore
- Senior Digital Marketing and Communications Manager, Restore the Mississippi River Delta Coalition, National Audubon Society
Ryan Chauvin is Audubon's Senior Digital Marketing and Communication Manager for the Restore the Mississippi River Delta coalition. In this role, he manages the website, email, and social media platforms to raise awareness and increase the reach of the coalition. Ryan grew up in South Mississippi and is proud to be working for an issue affecting the lives of his friends, family and community. Previously, Ryan has worked as an SEO and marketing specialist for Forthea Interactive Marketing in Houston and as a Digital Communications Associate for the Pew Charitable Trusts working on environmental issues across their portfolio of global campaigns. He holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Southern Mississippi and a MA in Media and Public Affairs from George Washington University.
Job Titles:
- Senior Communications Manager, Environmental Defense Fund
Samantha is a communications professional with 10 years' experience in delivering impactful strategies, telling compelling stories, and managing cross-functional projects. Throughout her career, she has produced award-winning documentaries, led campaigns for major partnerships and initiatives, and secured top-tier press hits. On Capitol Hill, she served as the Press Secretary for a congressman on the House Agriculture and Transportation & Infrastructure Committees, where she navigated competing stakeholder interests to ensure the office communicated clearly and empathetically about complex and nuanced environmental issues. After transitioning out of government and into advocacy, she led communications at Ocean Conservancy for Government Relations, Sustainable Fisheries, and Florida Conservation where she used her experience communicating with diverse audiences around nuanced issues to support sustainability efforts with commercial and recreational fishermen, lead communications campaigns for major partnerships and initiatives, and develop brand identity, thought leadership, and visibility. In her current role at Environmental Defense Fund, she works with stakeholders and partners to support climate resilience for coastal and watershed communities.
Job Titles:
- Outreach Manager, Mississippi River Delta Restoration, National Wildlife Federation
As Outreach Manager, Samantha Carter works to develop and implement outreach and engagement strategies to advance the priorities of the Restore the Mississippi River Delta Coalition for the National Wildlife Federation. Focusing on the Greater New Orleans area, she educates and engages community leaders and other key stakeholders to address the alarming loss of coastal wetlands in Louisiana. In particular, Samantha works with professional Chefs, restaurateurs and food lovers of all kinds to make the connection between coastal restoration and Louisiana's rich and diverse culinary heritage and culture. Additionally, she helps to organize the annual Cook-Off for the Coast in St. Bernard Parish and many other fun and educational- restoration and food focused events.
Before joining NWF, Samantha worked as a City Planner for the City of New York focusing on the cleanup, redevelopment and reuse of environmentally contaminated sites in low income communities. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Studies, with a minor in Biology from George Washington University and a Master's of Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies with a focus on urban planning and sustainable design in coastal communities. The California native considers herself solidly tri-coastal at this point in her life.
Job Titles:
- Legislative Analyst, Coastal and Flood Resilience, Environmental Defense Fund
Sarah is a Legislative Analyst, Coastal and Flood Resilience at the Environmental Defense Fund. At the EDF, she is a member of the Political Affairs team and works to advance coastal and flood resilience, climate, clean energy, and other pro-environment legislation in Congress. She serves on the MRD policy committee, and focuses on administrative action and prioritization of nature-based infrastructure as it relates to the protection of our coastlines.
A Tarteel born and bred, Sarah got her bachelor's in environmental studies and marine science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as a Master's in Public Administration. Prior to joining EDF, Sarah worked at the Virginia Coastal Policy Center, where she worked to educate local policymakers about flood resilience, help local governments prioritize resilience projects, and provide research for the Louisiana Coastal Resilience Master Plan. In her free time, Sarah enjoys cooking, seeing live music, and playing with her cat, Teddy.
Job Titles:
- Executive
- Campaign Director, Restore the Mississippi River Delta
Simone's primary role as campaign director of the 5-group coalition, Restore the Mississippi River Delta, is to support the staff's daily work towards achieving a future MS river delta that includes a just, climate resilient coast where people and nature thrive. Simone's work will center around implementing the coalition's goals, which include advancing priority projects, protecting and pursuing critical coastal funding, and working/laying the foundation to secure an equitable, safe and flourishing future coast.
Simone brings 16 years of experience in organizational leadership, coastal advocacy, policy work, and outreach to Restore the Mississippi Delta (MRD) after previously serving as the executive director for Restore or Retreat - a partner organization and nonprofit coastal advocacy group working to identify and expedite the implementation of aggressive, large-scale restoration projects. Through that partnership, she has been directly embedded and working alongside the MRD for more than a decade. In 2017, she was awarded the Coastal Stewardship Award by the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana in recognition of her impact on addressing our coastal crisis. Simone has also been the co-host of the MRD's Delta Dispatches podcast, where she has interviewed thought leaders on coastal issues in more than 170 episodes since 2016.
A Houma native and Jefferson Parish resident, Simone is a leading expert on coastal restoration efforts. Appointed to serve on the Governor's Advisory Commission on Coastal Protection, Restoration and Conservation, she is also a member of the Commission's Diversion Subcommittee and is a member of the state's Coastal Advisory Team working on the 2023 Coastal Master Plan. She never says no to a field trip, loves Mardi Gras (just another Tuesday everywhere else), and has a loving family that allows her to put her potato salad IN her gumbo.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director for EDF 's Climate Resilient Coasts
- Senior Director, Climate Resilient Watersheds, Environmental Defense Fund
is a senior director for EDF's Climate Resilient Coasts and Watersheds strategic initiative. In this work, Will engages communities, farmers, businesses, academics and public agencies to develop shared and equitable solutions to increase climate resilience.
Will has broad expertise on environmental market design, mitigation policy and working lands conservation. He serves on the board of the Ecological Restoration Business Association.
Since joining EDF in 2003, he has focused on market-based incentives to expand environmental benefits on America's working lands, including prior work on state tax policy, farm bill program design, bioenergy markets and habitat exchanges.