Watershed NOLA

About Me

HI Water Mgmt. Sub-Committee Chair
Grasshopper Mendoza
Co-Chair
Alim Hannoura

Advisory Group-
Tony Laska
Billy Marchal
Steve Picou
Mark Shexnayder
David Waggonner

Policy Working Group-
Diane Baum
Mark Davis
Harold Gorman
Grasshopper Mendoza
Whitford Remer
Thomas Rush
Prisca Weems

Infrastructure Working Group-
Cherrie Felder
Sarah Mack
Damian Tatum

Eco-System Mgmt. Working Group-
Joe Evans
Bill Kappel
Tony Laska
Damian Tatum

Stormwater Mgmt. Working Group-
Diane Baum
Brad Case
Cherrie Felder
Brent Magee
Billy Marchal
Grasshopper Mendoza

Research & Development Working Group
Harold Gorman
Earthea Nance
Steve Picou
Damian Tatum
Oliver Wise

GROUP BIO's-

TONY LASKA, Ph.D.

New Orleans Program Manager, Conservation Services Group
Trained in coastal/estuarine ecology, served as environmental planner and advisor to the mayor during the ‘80’s. Energy Coordinator, City of New Orleans. Field and lab toxicology research on EPA-funded study of HCB and HCBD, UNO. Executive Director, The Wetlands Conservancy, Oregon. Special Assistant to the President, Clatsop Community College, liaison with congress and advocates for design and construction funding of Marine and Environmental Research & Training Station, Astoria. Multifamily Coordinator and Home Energy Review Program Manager for Conservation Services Group, Portland Oregon.

MARK S. DAVIS

Mr. Davis has extensive experience in the laws, policies and programs associated with coastal restoration, land use regulation, and hazard mitigation in coastal Louisiana. He is the founding director of the Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy where he concentrates on the legal and policy aspects of efforts to enhance and maintain the sustainability of the ecology and communities of South Louisiana. Prior to joining Tulane in 2007, Mr. Davis was the executive director of the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana for fourteen years. The Coalition is a diverse advocacy and education organization that has been broadly recognized for its leadership and effectiveness in framing problems and solutions in connection with the land loss/rising sea crisis facing coastal Louisiana and its communities.

Mr. Davis has also served as an advisor to the Louisiana Speaks effort and on the Coastal Conservation and Restoration Advisory Boards of Governors Foster and Blanco. He has written and spoken broadly on coastal land use and stewardship topics locally and nationally and has received an Environmental Hero Award from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for his work in this field.

CHERYL “CHERRIE” D. FELDER

A graduate of Vanderbilt University, has earned almost thirty years of experience in the marine industry, working in operations, dispatch, and marketing and currently serving as Vice President of Channel Shipyard Companies, responsible for governmental and legislative actions, and as Director Government Affairs for GRIFCO/DG Marine Transportation, L.L.C.
Ms. Felder currently is Chairman of the Lower Mississippi River Waterway Safety Advisory Committee and is a member of the Governor’s Maritime Advisory Task Force. She serves as Vice Chairman of the Maritime Navigation Safety Association, Treasurer on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of Waterways Council, Inc. and as President-Elect of the Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association. Ms. Felder is a Board member of the American Waterways Operators and a member of the Louisiana Association of Waterway Operators and Shipyards, Texas Waterway Operators Association, the Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA), the Executive Committee of the Eighth Coast Guard Area Maritime Security Committee and the Gulf Coast Joint Hurricane Response Team.

SARAH K MACK, MSPH, PhD

Sarah provides technical analysis on carbon impacts of wetland restoration, sustainable infrastructure, and climate change adaptation. Previously she was the Technical Administrator of the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (S&WB) where she also served as the Emergency Liaison between the S&WB and other agencies responsible for the initial response and later recovery of sewer, water, and drainage infrastructure during the 2005 hurricane season. Dr. Mack initiated the S&WB long-term recovery planning efforts and was responsible for the hazard mitigation activities that followed. She also initiated and served as Project Manager for the regional initiative between S&WB and St. Bernard Parish Government to implement the Central Wetland Unit Wetland Assimilation System.

THOMAS RUSH
Communications Manager, Greater New Orleans, Inc.

A recent graduate from Florida State University with a B.S. in Economic Development and Creative Writing. Professional experience includes working with the City of New Orleans Department of Public Works in establishing private funding mechanisms for infrastructure improvements. He is the co-founder of One World Communicates, an international non-profit which aims at increasing access to education and looks to focus on sustainable international economic development in developing countries.

Currently serving as: member of the Alliance for Affordable Energy Solar Committee, New Orleans USGBC Advocacy Committiee, South-east Louisiana Boys and Girls Club Executive Board, and Where Y'at Magazine Arts and Culture Editor.

MARK SCHEXNAYDER

A Marine Biologist with the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Marine Fisheries Division for over 14 years, Mark has been a Field Biologist, Coastal Study Area Leader, Director of the Lyle S. St. Amant Marine Biological Laboratory on Grand Terre Island, and, most recently, the Crustacean (shrimp and crab) Program Manager for the Department. Also served on the Louisiana Select Council for Shrimp Management and Louisiana Crab Task Force

In 2000, Mark was hired by Sea Grant/LSU AgCenter as an Area Agent (Fisheries), where he has served as a Coastal Advisor serving the Greater New Orleans area. Since Katrina/Rita, mark also coordinates hurricane recovery programming. He has worked with the New Orleans business community to start “LSU Levee School” where levee commissioners and staff learn about coastal restoration, legal issues financing, etc. He spearheaded the Lake Pontchartrain artificial reef program that has completed 5 new reefs in the lake and will place 2 more by years end.

OLIVER WISE

Oliver Wise joined the RAND Gulf States Policy Institute in October 2008 and focuses primarily on economic development, energy, and housing policy. Prior to joining RAND, Oliver was a Research Associate with the Citizens Budget Commission in New York City, where he worked on energy, economic development, and fiscal policy. Oliver holds an MPA from the Wagner School at New York University and a BA from Tufts University.

PRISCA WEEMS

Specializes in environmental/green building design, program development, and in large scale projects that utilize renewable energy and distributed generation, and that minimize ecological impact. As the founder and principal of FutureProof and a LEED AP, she acts as a sustainable development consultant, designer and project manager. Prisca serves on the Louisiana State Uniform Construction Code Council, is an advisor to the Green Building Committee of the Home Builders Association of greater New Orleans in the development of their NOLA Green building rating system, and is the Chairperson of the Sustainability Committee for the American Institute of Architects New Orleans Chapter. At the LSUCCC, as chairperson of the Administration Committee, she is spearheading the process of implementing a cutting edge, statewide, interoperable software program for uptake by existing and new code offices. The delivery of the software to the Parishes is being covered by a grant from FEMA.
Prisca holds a MArch from Tulane University School of Architecture, and has been practicing in the US and Europe since 1995. She is currently completing a MSc in Advanced Environmental and Energy Sciences at the Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales/University of East London. Her thesis is on water issues.

WHITFORD REMER

Whitford Remer is a joint degree candidate at Loyola
College of Law and the University of New Orleans. He will graduate with a J.D. (Environmental Certificate) and Masters of Urban Planning (Land Use Specialist) in 2011."

DIANE BAUM

Chief Executive Officer of Enviroscore, a consulting firm founded 15 years ago in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to advise lending institutions about environmental risk. Ms. Baum is a nationally recognized expert on stormwater compliance, assisting companies and associations with regulatory permitting and plans. An advocate for affordable green homes, she is also a nationally accredited Green Verifier through the National Association of Home Builders. She serves on the Lower Mississippi River Waterway Safety Advisory Committee (LMRWSAC) and is a member of several green building committees. Ms. Baum’s previous experience includes working as an Environmental Specialist at the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

DAMIAN TATUM

Damian is a New Orleans native, and holds degrees in mechanical engineering from LSU and Penn State. He is employed by Lockheed Martin Space Systems as an aeronautical engineer. He is a regular contributor to the satirical New Orleans Levee, as well as Liquid Magazine, and is a volunteer project leader for the Young Leadership Council.

DANIEL J. CARR

Mr. Carr is an attorney who practices commercial litigation at the law firm Stanley, Reuter, Ross, Thornton & Alford, LLC. He graduated from the University of New Orleans in 1993 and Tulane Law School in 2006. Before entering private practice, Mr. Carr served as law clerk to the Honorable Jacques L. Wiener, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

ALIM HANNOURA, Ph.D., P.E.
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of New Orleans (retired 6/2009)

Served as a consultant for the Delft Soil Mechanics Laboratory, The Netherlands, during the construction of the Oosterschelde storm barrier ; the Franzius Institute for Coastal Engineering and Soil Mechanics Research, University of Hannover, Germany; Inter American Bank–Ecuador Municipal Development Program ; the Corps of Engineering SELA project, New Orleans District; Jefferson Parish Department of Public Works; St. Tammany Department of Engineering; and local and international engineering consulting firms on a variety of storm water management projects.

GRASSHOPPER MENDOZA

Is a real estate sales and leasing agent with NAI/Latter & Blum Inc where she focuses on energy efficient, green building development in the commercial sector. Grasshopper is a graduate of San Francisco State University where she earned a degree in International Business.
Grasshopper promotes economic development via sustainable infrastructure and quality of life improvements in New Orleans. She Chairs the Horizon Initiative’s Water Mgmt. Sub-Committee, is a member of the US Green Building Council Louisiana Advocacy Committee and is a Parkway Partners/Louisiana Urban Forestry Council certified Citizen Forester.

BILLY MARCHAL

Mr. Marchal is Executive Director of the Flood Protection Alliance, a group of civic, business, and environmental leaders working behind the scenes to insure timely, robust flood protection for the metropolitan New Orleans area by coordinating, facilitating, and sometimes instigating. Mr. Marchal was appointed to Governor-elect Jindal’s Transition Advisory Committee for Flood Protection and Coastal Preservation. He also worked full time on the Drainage and Flood Control Subcommittee of Mayor Nagin’s Bring New Orleans Back Commission (BNOBC). Drawing on the success of the BNOBC planning, Mr. Marchal organized the Southeastern Louisiana Recovery Committee. He holds degrees in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech and a Masters of Business Administration from Tulane University. Mr. Marchal sits on the Executive Committee of the Horizon Initiative, and chairs the Infrastructure Committee.

STEVE PICOU

Steve Picou has a background in sustainability, community activism, music, media and real estate. He is a futurist with a broad, system-oriented perspective. In his work at the LSU AgCenter, Steve promotes sustainable/green building, wind code compliance, energy efficiency and economic development. Steve served as Assistant Director of the Louisiana Music Commission from 1992 to 2005, giving him a strong understanding of governmental processes, politics and bureaucracy. He is a member of the US Green Building Council Louisiana Advocacy Committee and is a Parkway Partners/Louisiana Urban Forestry Council certified Citizen Forester. Steve is a graduate of the University of New Orleans and a Fellow of the Loyola University of New Orleans Institute of Politics.

BILL KAPPEL

Bill Kappel, M.S., is an urban and regional planner, and manager of CEI’s New Orleans Office. His areas of expertise include land use planning, flood plain management, community recovery planning, economic development, and coastal zone management planning. Prior to joining CEI, Mr. Kappel served as the leader for FEMA’s Long Term Community Recovery Planning Operations in St. Bernard Parish in 2005 and 2006. While undertaking doctoral studies at the University of New Orleans, he was a research associate at the University of New Orleans (UNO) Center for Hazards Assessment Response and Technology during 2005. His research included Louisiana river diversion projects and their application for future coastal restoration. Mr. Kappel’s experience in public policy and regional development has included serving as a mayoral candidate policy advisor; political action committee chair for education reform; strategic planning, marketing and business retention for MetroVision, a major economic agency for the New Orleans area; and staff to the New Orleans City Council on a multitude of governmental and citizens issues.

J. O. Evans, III

J.O.Evans III is an interdisciplinary designer and artist with a background in ecology, composition and sculpture. As a Partner and Director of FutureProof, a LEED AP and a Permaculturalist, he acts as a sustainable development consultant, designer, project manager and studio director. Joe's work focuses on the human relationship with nature, spanning such diverse issues as localized infrastructure, water resource management, renewable energy, transportation alternatives, materials and fabrication, food production and distribution, building science, low impact development, wildlife conservation and regenerative landscape design.
Mr. Evans serves as the Vice President of Groundwork New Orleans, a regional branch of Groundwork USA supported by the Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields Program and the National Park Service Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program. He serves on the Horizon Initiative's Ecological Systems Water Management Subcommittee, and has served as a volunteer expert for the AIA's Center for Communities by Design, Sustainable Design Assessment Teams. He lectures on sustainable and regenerative strategy, green building, and teaches LEED preparatory seminars for the USGBC and the AIA.

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