Restore the Mississipi River Delta

Meet Shannon Cunniff

Shannon is the deputy director for the Mississippi River Delta Restoration and Resilience Project at Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Working closely with the senior director, Shannon focuses on improving strategic and tactical effectiveness of the EDF team. She works on setting team goals, objectives and strategies; translating those into work plans; and evaluating progress to ensure timely, high-quality products. She manages staff scientists, policy analysts and consultants to solve complex problems and execute tasks.

Shannon is no stranger to flood risk reduction and environmental restoration. Much of her 27 years experience, including 11 years as a senior executive, involved developing and implementing national policy, managing federal water and environmental programs, and solving multifaceted issues.

"Throughout my federal career, I have worked at the intersection of water resources and environmental protection. I joined EDF to address these issues from another perspective and to use my skills, knowledge, contacts and creativity to secure a robust future for the Mississippi River Delta," said Shannon. "This region is so important to the cultural, biological and economic integrity of our nation. We need to implement wiser approaches now to ensure the delta continues to provide diverse, valuable services for generations well into the future."

Prior to EDF, Shannon worked at the Department of Defense, guiding development and implementation of its Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan. Most relevant to her Mississippi River Delta work, Shannon worked at the Bureau of Reclamation, managing research and policy programs addressing environmental, water supply and energy challenges, and for several years, she worked on the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration. Shannon served as the deputy director of the Interagency Floodplain Management Review Committee, formed by the White House in the wake of the 1993 Midwest floods, to address national policy and program implementation issues related to flooding and flood risk management. Before that, Shannon served as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s national expert on federal water resources programs, served as EPA’s liaison to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and Federal Emergency Management Agency, and led EPA’s oversight of National Environmental Policy Act compliance by federal water and energy agencies. Early in her career, Shannon worked on coastal and water resource projects as a district ecologist for the Corps. Not one for idle hands, Shannon also chairs the Environment and Energy Conservation Commission for Arlington County, Va.

Meet Julia Hathaway

Julia Hathaway is program director for the National Wildlife Federation’s (NWF) Mississippi River Delta Restoration program. Based in Washington, she leads NWF’s efforts to activate a large-scale, long-term restoration program to reestablish a self-sustaining Mississippi River Delta ecosystem.

Before joining NWF, Julia served on the professional staff of one of the House Natural Resources Committee’s subcommittees, handling wildlife, ocean and coastal issues within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Prior to that, Julia was legislative director for the Ocean Conservancy where she helped spearhead the conservation community's efforts to reform federal fisheries management, protect marine ecosystems and improve ocean governance. She also focused on the federal budget and appropriations processes.

Julia also served in the Clinton Administration in the Office of Legislative Affairs for the U.S. Department of Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service, representing the National Wildlife Refuge System programs to Congress.

During her earlier tenure on Capitol Hill, she worked for Senator Bob Graham (D-Fla.), advancing policies to protect wildlife and the ecosystems upon which they depend, such as the Florida Everglades.

Meet Brian Moore

Brian Moore is legislative director of the National Audubon Society (Audubon). Based in Washington, he oversees the legislative operations of Audubon, focusing on ecosystem restoration, agriculture, budget, and appropriations legislation.

Before joining Audubon, Brian was legislative director of the Alaska Wilderness League, where he helped spearhead the conservation community's efforts to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil and gas development. Prior to that, Brian spent two years at the Brookings Institution, focusing his attention on Congress and its relationship with other branches of government and lobbying institutions, as well as the federal budget and appropriations processes.

Brian served in the Clinton administration from 1998-2001 in the Office of Legislative Affairs for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service, representing the USDA's conservation programs with Congress.

Meet Doug Meffert

The National Audubon Society welcomes Dr. Doug Meffert as vice president and executive director for the state of Louisiana.

Doug joins a strong Audubon Louisiana team focused on the Mississippi River Delta Restoration Campaign and the protection of many globally significant Important Bird Areas, including Audubon’s work in the Rainey Conservation Alliance and coastal waterbird conservation efforts.

He has a long history in the state, most recently as director of project development and associate professor at Tulane University’s Payson Center for International Development and as the executive director of RiverSphere, an initiative to develop a new campus for the university oriented to water resources and renewable energy.

Prior to those posts, Doug was deputy director of the Center for Bioenvironmental Research, a joint project of Tulane and Xavier Universities. In addition, Doug has served as Tulane’s representative on a range of coastal research and policy committees, including the Framework Development Team for Louisiana’s 2012 Coastal Master Plan and the Deepwater Horizon Science and Engineering Review Team.

As a teacher, Doug focuses on sustainable development and climate change. He has run his own consulting firm specializing in urban park habitat creation for birding and other recreational services, coastal adaptation, disaster recovery and emergency preparedness. He is widely published and is a sought-after international speaker.

Doug received a Loeb Fellowship at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and is a research fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy in Cambridge, Mass. He holds Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Engineering degrees from Tulane University and a doctorate in environmental science and engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Meet Morgan Crutcher

As the technical and policy assistant at the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (CRCL), Morgan provides staff with accurate and reliable scientific, technical, and policy information for the purpose of establishing CRCL’s advocacy positions. Her broad range of previous work includes lobbying D.C. congressional staff for passage of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act for Ducks Unlimited, building nutria captivity pens in a flotant marsh for the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in Louisiana, using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software to analyze changes in wetland vegetation in relation to Great Lake levels for the USGS Great Lakes Science Center in Michigan, interviewing Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) trailer residents along the Mississippi Gulf Coast for a Columbia University study on the health needs of this population, fenceline monitoring of an oil refinery in St. Bernard Parish for the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, and much, much more!

She credits her current position at CRCL to two life-altering decisions. The first was in 2000, when Morgan transferred from the University of Tennessee to Loyola University in New Orleans, where she still lives today. The second was her decision to take Bob Thomas’ class on Mississippi River Delta ecology. From then on, Morgan was forever attuned to all things coastal Louisiana. In 2006, she showed up on CRCL’s doorstep with a passion for visioning the future of coastal Louisiana and a request for a summer internship. They offered her the position, and four years later, she answered their call for a full time position. Along with Communications Director Scott Madere, Morgan provides the office with eternal optimism, a smiling face, and on occasion, donuts.

A third culture kid, Morgan has lived in eight different states and passed her senior year of high school in French-speaking Belgium. She never says no to an opportunity to travel, and in addition to visiting many countries across Europe and the Americas for fun, she has volunteered in both Africa and Central America.

“For me, the common, defining element of all the places I’ve lived or visited has been water,” says Morgan. “How we access it, allocate it, use it, treat it, manage its flow across the landscape, desire to live next to it as a feature of that landscape, and value it as a resource are all important questions when considering settling an area. Therefore, coastal Louisiana is naturally a fascinating and unique place to me, both culturally and physically. I am personally and professionally committed to its future.”

Morgan has a bachelor’s in environmental studies from Loyola University New Orleans and a master’s in natural resource policy from the School of Natural Resources and the Environment (SNRE) at the University of Michigan. A proud wolverine and “SNERD,” she loudly cheered Michigan to victory at the 2012 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans and dreams of the day when the Wolverines and Louisiana State University Tigers meet in the Rose Bowl.

Meet Kevin Chandler

Kevin visiting the Perito Moreno glacier in Argentine Patagonia.

Kevin is the new communications coordinator for the Mississippi River Delta Restoration Campaign, a joint collaboration by Environmental Defense Fund, National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation. In this role, Kevin serves as part of the coalition’s central coordination team, overseeing the campaign website, contributing to campaign media and coordinating joint communications efforts.

Kevin arrives at the campaign via the Armed Forces Foundation, a Washington, DC-based military service nonprofit where he served as public affairs director, managing all aspects of the foundation’s communications efforts and working on the group’s military outreach programs. He has also taught high school literature in North Carolina and worked on children’s educational and poverty programs in Argentina. He holds both a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication and an M.A. in Political Science from the University of North Carolina. As a master’s student, he concentrated on climate change and renewable energy policy.

“Growing up in eastern North Carolina, I spent nearly my entire childhood on the water and know well the crucial role wetlands play in the overall health of coastal ecosystems,” says Kevin. “Nowhere is this more evident than the Mississippi River Delta, and at the same time, nowhere are wetlands more under threat. I am honored to have the opportunity to work for positive change on one of the most far-reaching ecological issues of our time.”

Meet Elizabeth Skree

Liz Skree is the communications manager for the Mississippi River Delta Restoration project at Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Working as part of the broader Restore the Mississippi River Delta Campaign, Liz manages Delta Dispatches, the campaign’s blog and e-newsletter publication about national and local efforts to restore the Mississippi River Delta. Liz also manages EDF’s Restoration and Resilience blog, social media strategy and web presence. She is based in Washington, DC.

Prior to coming to EDF, Liz worked as a forest policy intern at American Forests, a national nonprofit conservation organization working to protect and restore forests around the world. She also interned with the International Programs section of the U.S. Forest Service, working on policy and outreach.

“I’ve always loved the outdoors. My family is really into camping, and when I was a kid, I wanted to be a park ranger when I grew up!” says Liz. “This interest in the natural world continued in college, where my environmental studies classes taught me the many reasons why we need to protect the environment. I am thankful to work at an organization like EDF—working every day to defend and restore important ecosystems and helping others learn about what we do and how they can get involved.”

Liz holds a B.A. in Political Science from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota.