1

2019 Gulf Coast Land Conservation Conference Agenda New tools for coastal conservation in a changing world

September 9 - 11, 2019 Marriott Grand Hotel, Point Clear, Alabama

Monday, September 9 PRE-CONFERENCE

12:00 pm – 6:00 pm Exhibitor Set up and Registration Open Grand Ballroom Foyer 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm Partnership for Gulf Coast Land Conservation Annual Business Meeting Beachside Meeting Room

PGCLC member organizations gather for business meeting and elections.

3:00 pm – 3:15 pm Afternoon Coffee Break

3:15 pm – 5:00 pm Increasing Strategic Bird Habitat Conservation across the Gulf Pre Conference Training - open to all conference attendees

Kara Lankford, Director of Gulf Coast Restoration, National Audubon Society Dr. Nicole Michel, Senior Quantitative Ecologist, National Audubon Society National Audubon Society recently detailed a series of conservation strategies in the report Audubon’s Vision: Restoring the Gulf of Mexico for Birds and People (February 2019). The report provides an overview of Audubon’s rigorous modeling effort that identifies highly suitable habitat for 11 flagship bird species. The document provides recommendations for 30 projects with an investment of $1.7 billion in science, habitat restoration, land protection, and stewardship.

This workshop is designed for land trust leaders and other land conservation practitioners. Participants will learn how to use the report and modeling in the development of their own land protection and land stewardship projects to help meet bird conservation goals.

2

Monday, September 9

6:00 pm – 7:30 pm 2019 Gulf Coast Land Conservation Conference Welcome Reception Grand Ballroom Patio Ray Herndon to introduce the new Gulf Partnership Board of Directors. Welcome by Christine Johnson, Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast/PGCLC Chair and remarks by Patti McCurdy, State Lands Director, Alabama Department of Conservation.

Light hors de oeuvres, two drink tickets (blue) included in registration. Cash bar.

Welcome Reception sponsored by the Marriott Grand Hotel

7:30 pm until Dinner on your own

A variety of restaurants are available on property. A list of nearby restaurants is available at the conference registration station.

Tuesday, September 10

7:00 am – 8:00 am Continental Breakfast, Registration and Exhibits Grand Ballroom Foyer

8:00 am – 8:20 am Welcome and Morning Plenary I: Recommended Best Practices in Land Conservation in the Gulf of Mexico Region

Grand Ballroom South

Elizabeth Barber, Partnership for Gulf Coast Land Conservation

The Gulf Partnership unveils its Recommendations on Best Practices in Land Conservation for the Gulf of Mexico Region funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Gulf Coast Grant program.

8:20 am – 9:20 am Morning Plenary I, continued: Five Years of the Gulf Coast Project Assistance Fund: Lessons Learned - Panel

Grand Ballroom South Meg Goecker, Alabama Heritage Coastal Trust Tom Kay, Alachua Conservation Trust Matt Singer, Galveston Bay Foundation Stacey Shankle, Trust for Public Land Ernest Cook, Land/Water Associates, Moderator

Ernest Cook will lead a discussion with conservation practitioners who have put PGCLC Project Assistance Funds to work protecting coastal habitats. Panelists will discuss how the Fund accelerates conservation and other lessons learned.

3

Tuesday, September 10 continued 9:20 am – 10:30 am Morning Plenary II: Deepwater Horizon Investments in Land Conservation: a

conversation with state and federal leaders from NRDA and the RESTORE Council - Panel

Grand Ballroom South

Chris Blankenship, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Ben Frater, US Fish and Wildlife Service Leslie Reed, Florida Department of Environmental Protection Robin Riechers, Texas Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Ben Scaggs, Executive Director of the RESTORE Council Chris Wells, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Greg Grandy, Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, Louisiana Kara Lankford, Audubon, Moderator Officials from the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Trustee Implementation Groups and the RESTORE Council will discuss how their organizations are considering land conservation investments in upcoming restoration plans. They will also address how land trusts can be effective proposers and project partners.

10:30 am – 11:00 am Networking Coffee Break and Exhibits Grand Ballroom Foyer 11:00 am – 12:15 pm Breakout Session I Grand Ballroom South

USDA’s Regional Conservation Partnerships Program: How RCPP works in the Gulf of Mexico Context Susan Carr, North Florida Land Trust Steve Musser, USDA NRCS Alabama Russell Morgan, USDA NRCS, Florida Ben Malone and Steve Musser, USDA NRCS, Alabama Kurt Readus, USDA NRCS, Mississippi Tim Landreneau, USDA NRCS, Louisiana Sal Salinas, USDA NRCS, Texas James Tillman, USDA Senior Regional Conservationist and Lori Faeth, Land Trust Alliance, Moderators Alabama USDA NRCS and North Florida Land Trust staff will share their experiences in working with USDA’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program, followed by a state by state discussion on implementing RCPP under the 2018 Farm Bill.

4

Tuesday September 10 continued 11:00 am – 12:15 pm Breakout Session I continued

How Hazard Mitigation funds can be used to fund conservation projects Magnolia I Ernest Cook, Land/Water Associates Johnny Mojica, Earth Economics Cindy Brown, Land Trust for Louisiana, Moderator In recent years, FEMA policy and economics have shifted to give more credit to nature-based solutions for disasters like flood, drought, and wildfire, also referred to as green infrastructure. This creates opportunities for nonprofit land conservation organizations and public agencies to access Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funding to implement nature-based solutions, such as land acquisition, restoration, and conservation. Presenters will discuss how other states and nonprofits are pursuing these opportunities.

Land stewardship: strategies for funding long-term land management Beachside Room Shane Wellendorf, Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy Robert Smith, Wildlife Mississippi/Mississippi Land Trust Nicole Adimey, US Fish and Wildlife Service Yael Girard, Weeks Bay Foundation, Moderator

Hear about new approaches and strategies for calculating and funding stewardship and management activities on your protected lands. Learn how land trusts leverage private and public dollars for stewardship and management with USDA programs and the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program.

12:15 pm – 1:15 pm Picnic Lunch (provided), Networking and Exhibits Grand Bay Ballroom Foyer Make a deli lunch and join your colleagues under the oaks or by the bay.

1:15 pm – 1:45 pm Afternoon Plenary I: 2018 Farm Bill and Beyond Grand Ballroom South

Lori Faeth, Government Relations Director, Land Trust Alliance Liz Barber, Partnership for Gulf Coast Land Conservation, Moderator The 2018 Farm Bill was a huge win for land trusts! How did we do it? What’s the status of implementation and what’s on the horizon for 2023? All this plus a summary of what else is going on in Washington, DC that land trusts need to know.

5

Tuesday, September 10 continued 1:45 pm – 2:45 pm Roundtable Discussions with your USDA NRCS State Conservationists

Alabama -Ben Malone USDA NRCS, Moderators Dan Dumont, AL Forest Resources Center & Yael Girard, Weeks Bay Foundation - Grand Ballroom South

Florida - Russell Morgan, USDA NRCS, Moderator Debi Osborne, Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast – Beachside Room

Louisiana - Tim Landreneau, USDA NRCS, Moderator Cindy Brown, Land Trust for Louisiana - Magnolia I

Mississippi - Kurt Readus, USDA NRCS, Moderator Robert Smith, Wildlife MS/MS Land Trust - Magnolia 2

Texas - Sal Salinas, USDA NRCS, Moderator Jeff Crosby, Colorado River Land Trust - Grand Ballroom South

Join USDA NRCS State Conservationists and Gulf Ecosystem Restoration Team leaders from AL, FL, LA, MS and TX for roundtable conversations about the new 2018 Farm Bill and how Deepwater Horizon funding might be leveraged with USDA programs for land conservation across the Gulf.

2:45 pm – 3:00 pm Afternoon Networking Coffee Break and Exhibits Grand Ballroom Foyer 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm Afternoon Plenary II: Putting Conservation Science into Practice Grand Ballroom South

Billy Van Pelt, American Farmland Trust Mike Osland, University of Louisiana

John Oetting, Florida State University Chris Shepard, The Nature Conservancy Tom Kay, Alachua Conservation Trust, Moderator Experts in conservation science will share their findings and discuss how land trusts can put cutting edge science to work in their communities. Panelists will share maps, apps, and other tools to strengthen coastal conservation in a changing world.

4:45 pm – 8:00 pm Field Trip and Evening Social at Weeks Bay Foundation Meet in hotel lobby to ride share to Weeks Bay Foundation – departure times below. Maps to Weeks Bay Foundation available at conference registration. Learn about the Weeks Bay Foundation and the Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. Walk along the nature trails that wind through wetlands, marshes and forest. Enjoy food, drink and conversation with colleagues. Special thanks to Yael Girard and the Weeks Bay Foundation for hosting.

Social, dinner and beverages included. Red ticket for dinner. Optional boat tour on Weeks Bay. Ticket purchase required in advance.

6

Tuesday, September 10 continued 4:45 pm DEPARTURE FROM HOTEL TO WEEKS BAY RESERVE RESOURCE CENTER - For

those who purchased a boat tour, meet in lobby to carpool to boat launch Those attending the boat tour meet in lobby at 4:45. Carpool to the Weeks Bay Reserve Resource Center boat launch at 11525 US Hwy 98, Fairhope, Alabama.

5:15 pm DEPARTURE FROM HOTEL TO WEEKS BAY FOUNDATION - For those NOT attending the boat tour, meet in lobby to carpool to Field Trip and Evening Social. Please carpool to the Weeks Bay Foundation, 11401 US Hwy 98, Fairhope, Alabama. Guided nature walks from 5:45 pm – 6:30 pm. Gather at 6:30 pm for dinner/social. Bring your red ticket for dinner.

Wednesday, September 11

7:00 am – 8:00 am Continental Breakfast, Registration and Exhibits Grand Ballroom Foyer 8:00 am – 8:45 am Morning Plenary I: Dispelling the Overhead Myth: How to change the

conversation and raise more support Grand Ballroom North Christine Johnson, Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast Julia Weaver, Partnership for Gulf Coast Land Conservation, Moderator

Let’s raise more in support of our work by changing the conversation from overhead to our impact, efficiency, and our results!

8:45 am – 10:00 am Breakout Session 2

Staying Above Water Part 1: Land Protection in a Changing Climate Azalea C – F Mark Anderson, The Nature Conservancy Kelly Watkinson, Land Trust Alliance Maria Whitehead, Open Space Institute Christina Mohrman, Gulf of Mexico Alliance, Moderator Looking for science-based solutions to conserve biological diversity and maintain nature’s services within coastal landscapes under climate change? Wonder what tools you need to incorporate climate resilience into your coastal land protections work? Learn from the experts about new coastal resilience science and data specifically developed for the Gulf Coast. The morning session will introduce you to the science and the concepts and the afternoon session will provide an opportunity to work with the online mapping tool and learn more about how to integrate coastal resilience into your land protection decisions. Participants may attend one session or both.

7

Wednesday, September 11 continued 8:45 am – 10:00 am Breakout Session 2 continued

Protecting Healthy Watersheds: Ingredients for Success Grand Ballroom North Susan Carr, North Florida Land Trust Dan Dumont, Alabama Forest Resources Center Debi Osborn, Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast Mary Anne Piacentini, Katy Prairie Conservancy Kari Servold, Moffatt and Nichol Roberta Swann, Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, Moderator Panelists will discuss four very different watershed conservation initiatives that are underway in the Gulf Region and discuss lessons learned from working in a large landscape with many partners. The projects are:

• Accelerating Land Acquisition to Protect Watersheds & Increase Resiliency in the Katy Prairie region of Texas to protect prairie in five watersheds;

• Accelerating Land Protection in Florida’s Ocala to Osceola (O2O) Conservation Corridor to support land protection and outreach staff to protect 10,000 acres (in 3 years) in the 1.6 million acre O2O Corridor;

• Accelerating Headwater Land Protection in the Mobile Bay Basin to advance strategic protection of healthy habitat parcels in Mobile Tombigbee and Alabama River basins, where 75% of catchments drain first and second order streams, key to the ecological health of the Mobile Bay estuary; and

• Myakka Island Conservation Corridor, Florida to protect properties that will link and buffer already protected lands and help keep waterways drinkable, fishable and swimmable.

10:00 am – 10:30 am Morning Networking Coffee Break and Exhibits Grand Ballroom Foyer 10:30 am – 11:45 am Closing Plenary: The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s conservation

programs in the Gulf region: Lessons learned and plans for the future. Grand Ballroom North

Mike Sharp, Director, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund (AL, FL, MS) Lisa Creasman, The Nature Conservancy, Louisiana, Moderator Learn about the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s programs for the Gulf Region and Southeast US and their long-term vision for priority habitats and focal species.

8

Wednesday, September 11 continued

11:45 am - 12:00 pm Closing Remarks and Adjourn Grand Ballroom North Christine Johnson, Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast and

PGCLC Chair 12:00 – 1:00 pm Lunch on your own

1:00 pm – 3:00 pm Free Post Conference Training: Staying Above Water Part 2: Land Protection in a Changing Climate

Grand Ballroom North Mark Anderson, The Nature Conservancy Kelly Watkinson, Land Trust Alliance Maria Whitehead, Open Space Institute Julia Weaver, Partnership for Gulf Coast Land Conservation, Moderator Looking for science-based solutions to conserve biological diversity and maintain nature’s services within coastal landscapes under climate change? Wonder what tools you need to incorporate climate resilience into your coastal land protections work? Learn from the experts about new coastal resilience science and data specifically developed for the Gulf Coast. This session builds on the introductory workshop on Wednesday morning by providing an opportunity to work with the online mapping tool and learn more about how to integrate coastal resilience into your land protection decisions.

9

The Partnership for Gulf Coast Land Conservation thanks our

2019 Annual Conference Grant Supporters and Sponsors

Platinum U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities

Grand Hotel Golf Resort and Spa

Gold Audubon Louisiana

Silver

Colorado River Land Trust Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast

Gulf of Mexico Alliance Land Trust Alliance

Land Trust for Louisiana National Wildlife Federation

Resource Management Service, LLC The Nature Conservancy

Trust for Public Land US Department of Agriculture

Bronze

Alachua Conservation Trust Alliance of Florida Land Trusts

Dauphin Island Bird Sanctuaries Fairhope Brewery

Global Valuation Services Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium

Mobile Bay National Estuary Program Moffatt and Nichol

The Conservation Fund Weeks Bay Foundation

This annual conference is hosted by the Partnership for Gulf Coast Land Conservation, a collaborative of 28 land trusts working together across the Gulf Coast to increase the pace, quality and permanence of

voluntary land conservation. Volunteer, donate, get involved. www.gulfpartnership.org

10

2019 Gulf Coast Land Conservation Conference

Speakers

NICOLE ADIMEY is a biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In her currently capacity, she serves as the Regional Coordinator for the Partners for Fish and Wildlife. Nicole has previously worked on endangered species recovery, implemented habitat restoration, and conducted field research and conservation management of marine mammals. She also has extensive experience in partnership development, grant writing and strategic planning. Her passions include hiking, biking, skiing, traveling and eating baked goods.

MARK ANDERSON is the Director of Conservation Science for the Nature Conservancy’s Eastern region. Mark has a Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of New Hampshire and manages the Eastern Conservation Science team. He has worked for The Nature Conservancy for over 20 years and has focused on leading regional-scale science assessments to support the conservation of terrestrial, freshwater and marine systems. His research includes climate resilience, ecosystem modeling, seafloor mapping, geophysical processes, and biodiversity conservation. In 2017, Mark received the Conservancy’s Conservation Achievement Award. LIZ BARBER serves as Coordinator of the Partnership for Gulf Coast Land Conservation. Liz is a certified wildlife biologist and conservation planner. Since 2010 she has served as a contract coordinator for the Gulf Partnership. She is the founder of Barber and Mann, Inc, a consulting firm specializing in conservation easements, land planning, real estate and environmental consulting. In addition to her work for Gulf Partnership, assists NGOs, public agencies and private landowners with plans, projects and programs focused on land conservation and wetlands, coastal and wildlife habitat restoration. She holds an undergraduate degree in Forestry and Wildlife from Mississippi State University and a Master of Science in Communication from Mississippi College. She was named Mississippi State University’s 2017 Alumnus of the Year for the College of Forest Resources and is in the Mississippi Wildlife Federation Hall of Fame. CHRIS BLANKENSHIP is the Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Chris has previously served as Director of Marine Resources and Deputy Commissioner of ADCNR. Through his roles at ADCNR Chris has overseen initiatives related to state parks, hunting, freshwater fishing and state lands, in addition to the saltwater and coastal resources. Blankenship is a graduate of the University of South Alabama with a degree in Criminal Justice. LAURA BOWIE serves as the Executive Director for the Gulf of Mexico Alliance, a partnership of the five Gulf States with the goal to significantly increase regional collaboration to enhance the ecological and economic health of the Gulf of Mexico. Since taking the helm in 2013, Laura has led the organization through significant accomplishments, including: (1) building the participation in the organization to over 1000 people actively involved in various committees and working groups; (2) the development of an organizational Action Plan supported and signed off on by all five Gulf State governors; (3) the administration of the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, a $500M research program focused on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill; and (4) the launch of Gulf Star, a new grant program supported by Gulf industries and public agencies alike.

11

Laura holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Mississippi State University and a master’s degree in environmental management from the University of Houston. She and her husband John have been married 20 years and have two sons, Andrew and Mitchell. SUSAN CARR is a plant ecologist, who in later life directs her professional skills toward land Florida land conservation. These days, Susan is a Program Manager with the North Florida Land Trust, a nonprofit conservation organization based in Jacksonville and dedicated to land protection in North Florida. Her goal is protection of a large landscape known as the Ocala to Osceola Wildlife Corridor. Susan also serves as President of the Florida Native Plant Society, a membership based nonprofit focused on conservation of native plants and habitats. Susan’s professional career includes positions with the USDA Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service, and several nonprofit conservation organizations. Susan earned a B.S. in Botany from the University of Florida in 1988, and much later returned to her alma mater to complete her PhD in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation in 2007. Her graduate research focused on floristic diversity of fire-maintained pinelands across Florida. This research lead to several publications and continues to inform the ongoing development of the U.S. National Vegetation Classification. ERNEST COOK is a consultant in land conservation and parks, with specialties in planning, conservation finance and grant-making. His clients include foundations, land trusts and government agencies, many of them currently in Texas. He served for six years as executive director of the Knobloch Family Foundation and developed programs to protect natural areas in the U.S. and Canada. As conservation director of the Trust for Public Land, Ernest established a public finance program and served as its director for over 20 years. In that period, the Trust supported legislation and ballot measures that dedicated over $70 billion in state and local government funds to parks and conservation. Ernest is a graduate of Harvard College and New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts. LORI FAETH joined the Land Trust Alliance as Government Relations Director in July 2017. In her role, Lori is responsible for advancing policy strategies and securing public funding to support land trusts and advance land conservation. She is a veteran of both federal and state government as well as nonprofit organizations. Lori joined the Alliance after serving as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior where she was responsible for advancing the Department’s cross-cutting and multi-stakeholder domestic and international policy issues. Prior to returning to DC in 2009 she spent six years as a senior advisor to Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano. She advised the governor on a broad range of issues including agriculture, energy, natural resources, and the environment. She worked on broad policy issues including forest health, climate change and water management and represented Arizona on the Western Governors Association Staff Advisory Council and the Western Interstate Energy Board. Previously, she spent more than ten years at The Nature Conservancy as part of the national government relations team, ending her tenure as the Director of Government Relations for Arizona. BEN FRATER is the Assistant Gulf Restoration Manager at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Gulf Restoration Office, located in Fairhope, Alabama. Since 2010, he has assisted the Department of the Interior in the restoration efforts associated with the Deepwater Horizon settlement. Throughout his career, he has relied upon land trusts to assist in land conservation in the Gulf States, as well as California and Wisconsin. The goal of these land conservation actions have varied from endangered

12

species permitting, recreation access, water quality enhancement, cultural protections, and of course now the restoration of resources injured by the Deepwater Horizon event. MEG GOECKER is a Senior Coastal Scientist with extensive experience in research, monitoring, planning, government policy and stakeholder coordination of natural resource management. Ms. Goecker was a technical expert for Deepwater Horizon oil spill damage assessment process and for development of restoration projects for oil spill compensation of injury in partnership with and support of state and federal trustees. Ms. Goecker currently serves as a project manager on large-scale ecosystem restoration projects overseeing a team of engineers, scientists, and planners in coastal restoration projects from inception to construction to monitoring project success. Meg was at the very first meeting for the Partnership at its inception in 2010, post-oil spill. At that meeting she was struck by the passion and enthusiasm of land trust members and just knew she had to get involved. She joined the board of Alabama Coastal Heritage Trust shortly thereafter and has been participating in her spare time to support ACHT and the Partnership. GREGORY M. GRANDY is the Deputy Executive Director of Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. He holds degrees in Environmental Management and Landscape Architecture from Louisiana State University. His responsibilities include the development and implementation of effective, efficient coastal restoration projects in the northern Gulf of Mexico. He has a decade of experience as a project manager for the State of Louisiana successfully leading multidisciplinary, multi-agency teams through the planning, design and implementation of coastal restoration projects. He was the program manager responsible for the development and initial implementation of the Louisiana Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP) Plan in Louisiana which was the first state to have their CIAP plan approved, the first state to have CIAP grants awarded, and the first state to construct coastal restoration projects using CIAP funding. His project experience in Louisiana includes the East Timbalier Island Restoration, Breton Island Restoration, Caillou Lake Headlands Restoration, Riverine Mining/Scofield Island Barrier Shoreline Restoration, Pelican Island, Pass Chaland to Pass La Mer, Little Lake Shoreline Protection and Marsh Creation, Four Mile Canal Wetland Terracing, Chandeleur Island Vegetative Planting, Brown Marsh Small Dredge Project, Fort Livingston Shoreline Protection, Caminada Headland Beach and Dune Restoration, and Bay Joe Wise Barrier Shoreline Restoration. Throughout his career, he has had the great opportunity to educate others through a variety of platforms, including serving as the founding Director of the BREC Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center and the host of the award winning, environmental education series Envirotacklebox produced by Louisiana Public Broadcasting. Mr. Grandy recently served as the President of the Louisiana Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects and on the Board of Directors of Preserve Louisiana. KARA LANKFORD serves as Director of Gulf Coast Restoration at National Audubon Society. She is an ecologist and restoration manager with over 10 years of professional experience. Lankford helps guide Audubon’s conservation work across the Gulf Coast to ensure comprehensive, science-based and community-supported restoration of the Gulf with a primary focus on bird recovery after the BP oil disaster. Lankford came to NAS after seven years of working on marine restoration issues at Ocean Conservancy. Before joining Ocean Conservancy, Lankford served as a natural resource planner for the Baldwin

13

County Commission in Alabama, where her accomplishments included implementing the county’s response efforts after the BP oil disaster and managing the county’s Coastal Impact Assistance Program. CHRISTINE P. JOHNSON is the President of the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast. A fifth generation Floridian, Christine shares the Foundation’s vision of creating an emerald necklace of pocket parks and protected lands along the Gulf Coast. After earning a BS in Business Administration from the College of Charleston and an MBA from the University of Florida, Christine worked in management and consulted with Fortune 500 companies in fields ranging from manufacturing to media. Her Florida roots run deep though, and this Manatee County native couldn’t stay away for long. Since 2003, Christine has worked in the Sarasota County region’s nonprofit sector. She successfully completed the Girl Scouts of Gulf Coast Florida’s $7M capital campaign to build a regional headquarters and then served as Director of Development for Ringling College of Art and Design overseeing their largest fundraising campaign, leading a team of five to raise over $100M. In October of 2011, she was named President of Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast where she works to save land and ensure public access to natural places. To date, Conservation Foundation has preserved almost 10,000 acres across 39 properties along the Gulf Coast of Florida. She is the chair of the Science and Environment Council board of trustees, vice chair of Visit Sarasota County, board member of Crowley Museum & Nature Center, vice chair of the Partnership for Gulf Coast Land Conservation and on Land Trust Alliance Leadership Council. Nature is where Christine’s family spends their time together. Her husband, Bill, and their teen-aged children, Grace and Tom, enjoy hiking, camping, backpacking, and being anywhere there is water to swim, fish, sail, or scuba.

TOM KAY has served as the Executive Director of the Alachua Conservation Trust since June of 2013. He holds a bachelor’s of science degree in Environmental Policy & Behavior from the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment and a Juris Doctor from Florida State University’s College of Law.

A licensed Florida attorney, Tom has worked as a staff attorney for a large not-for-profit health care organization and a public housing authority. For seven years, he worked as a litigator in civil, criminal, and real estate matters. He has volunteered on local and national political campaigns and interned in U.S. Senator Bill Nelson’s Tallahassee office during law school. He currently serves as the President of the Alliance of Florida Land Trusts, the umbrella organization for state's 22 land trusts. He also serves on the Executive Committee as Treasurer on the Partnership for Gulf Coast Land Conservation. TIM LANDRENEAU serves as the Acting State Conservationist in Louisiana. A native of Evangeline Parish, Louisiana, Tim grew up on his family’s rice and soybean farm and received his Bachelor of Science degree in Agronomy from the University of Southwestern Louisiana. For the past twenty-six years, Tim has been employed by the USDA – Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). He has served as Soil Conservationist and District Conservationist in several locations across the state and is presently the Acting State Conservationist and Assistant State Conservationist for Easement Programs in Louisiana. Through this position, Tim administers the operations of NRCS in Louisiana and provides management of Farm Bill Programs such as the Wetland Reserve Program and the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program. Tim has also managed other conservation programs such as the Environmental Quality Incentive Program, the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, and the Conservation Stewardship Program.

14

BEN MALONE is the eighth State Conservationist to serve Alabama’s NRCS. After receiving a B.S. in Forest Management from Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (Alabama A & M), he began his career in conservation as a student trainee in New York and Maine with the USDA Forest Service. He served as a Forester with the Forest Service in Vermont until he accepted a position with the NRCS as a Soil Conservationist in Mobile in 1997. Ben was District Conservationist in the Jasper and Mobile, Alabama until 2003, when he accepted a position as a Resource Conservation and Development Coordinator in Hammond, Louisiana. There he worked extensively on Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts. In March 2008, he became Assistant State Conservationist for Field Operations for the Central Area. He has served on two National Technical Teams, and in the summer of 2014, he became Acting State Conservationist in Alabama. A native of Monroeville, Alabama Malone was heavily involved in 4-H during his childhood which guided him to a career in natural resources. He and his wife Felicia are proud parents of Benjamin and Alan. PATTI MCCURDY currently serves as Director of the State Lands Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR). The State Lands Division administers Alabama’s Forever Wild Land Trust and manages the program’s 270,000 acres for purposes of public recreation and habitat conservation. The State Lands Division manages additional jurisdictional trust lands, including submerged lands (inland and coastal), for uses including oil and gas exploration and development, timber harvesting, mineral extraction, agriculture leases, hunting leases and various other revenue generating activities. The Division also administers the Alabama Land Sales and Leasing Act which sets forth appraisal and bid requirements related to the disposition of state-owned land. As State Lands Director, Patti’s coastal duties include implementing Alabama’s Coastal Zone Management program and managing both the Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and 5 Rivers Delta Resource Center. Patti also assists ADCNR Commissioner Christopher M. Blankenship with his duties as Governor Ivey’s designee to the federal Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council and other coastal restoration efforts he leads through ADCNR’s Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Restoration Section. Prior to becoming the State Lands Director in October of 2008, Patti served as Vice President-Legal for Column Financial, a Credit Suisse Company and was a partner in the Birmingham office of Burr & Forman LLP law firm. Patti is a graduate of the University of Alabama’s College of Communication and School of Law. NICOLE MICHELE joined National Audubon Society’s Science Division in December 2015. As the Senior Quantitative Ecologist, Nicole leads a diverse and talented team of quantitative ecologists who produce the robust modeling efforts needed to understand trends and spatial patterns in bird abundance, occupancy, and occurrence; delineate climate and habitat relationships; and evaluate population- and community-level responses to conservation and management actions. At Audubon she is responsible for leading Audubon Science’s efforts in the northern Gulf of Mexico, developing metrics to track bird response to Audubon’s conservation actions, and analyzing bird abundance, distribution, and habitat relationships. She received her PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2012, where she investigated mechanisms and consequences of understory insectivorous bird population decline in Central American rainforests. She completed two postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Saskatchewan studying population trends and drivers of aerial insectivorous birds and large mammals. Nicole has published more than 30 scientific papers, and has more than 20 years of

15

experience analyzing avian distribution, abundance, and response to land use and climate change to inform conservation and management across North and Latin America. She is based in Portland, Oregon, but left a piece of her heart in New Orleans. JOHNNY MOHICA is a Project Director at Earth Economics where he specializes in holistic economic analyses of public spaces, river systems, and the outdoor industry. He works to assess the impact of policy, management, and business decisions by using economic tools such as input-output modeling and benefit-cost analysis. His work has resulted in providing local, state, and national park systems with the tools needed to quantify the social, environmental, and economic benefits of public spaces. Johnny is currently working with land conservation groups throughout the country to build stronger, more resilient communities by developing green infrastructure projects and submitting them for funding under the hazard mitigation grant program. His experience working with nonprofits, tribes, business groups, and all levels of government, allows Johnny to leverage his findings with diverse communities and decision makers. RUSSELL MORGAN served as State Conservationist for the USDA NRCS in Delaware from 2007 to 2013 before becoming the State Conservationist in Florida in 2013. As a conservation leader in Florida, Morgan is committed to promoting cooperative conservation, encouraging watershed-scale conservation and reaching out to all underserved customers within the state. He provides guidance for all of Florida’s NRCS programs and services in an effort to help private landowners conserve their soil, water, and other natural resources. He holds a B.S. degree in Agricultural Engineering from Mississippi State University and a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Mississippi. STEVE MUSSER is a native of the panhandle of Florida; he grew up on a poultry and row crop farm in Chipley. He is a 1978 graduate of Auburn University with a B.S. Degree in Agronomy Crops and Soils Option. While at Auburn, he was a member of two National Championship soils judging teams. He began his career with the Soil Conservation Service/Natural Resources Conservation Service (SCS/NRCS) in 1979 in Ozark Alabama. From there, he went to Monroeville as the district conservationist for three years. He later transferred to New Brockton, Alabama, as the district conservationist and worked there for 13 years. In 1996 he moved to Auburn, Alabama, as Assistant State Conservationist for Programs. His primary duty is managing the financial assistance programs, Environmental Quality Incentive Program EQIP, Conservation Stewardship Program CSP, and the Agriculture Conservation Easement Program ACEP. He has spent his entire career serving Alabama farmers and Alabama agriculture and has enjoyed having a role in working with private landowners in protecting our natural resources. He has enjoyed assisting many landowners in living out their dreams by helping them improve and manage the land they own or farm. JON OETTING has been with Florida Natural Areas Inventory since 1999. He currently is involved in several planning projects, including GIS analysis and computer modeling of rare species habitat and land acquisition priorities for the Florida Forever program. Jon oversees the Inventory's environmental review and data distribution efforts, and manages the content and organization of the FNAI website. He has a master's degree in anthropology from the University of Illinois and a Master of Science in Planning degree from Florida State University. DEBI OSBORNE joined Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast as Director of Land Protection in September 2013 and is leading the initiative to save over 10,000 acres along the Myakka River in the next 10 years, as well as working in other land protection priority areas. Previously, Debi was Director

16

for Real Estate for the National Audubon Society, overseeing acquisition of new property interests and management of Audubon's conservation real estate portfolio, including Audubon Centers, sanctuaries and other properties nationwide totaling more than 150,000 acres in thirty states. Prior to joining Audubon in April 2006, Debi worked for the Trust for Public Land for 17 years. After establishing the new TPL office in 1988, she helped conserve over 60,000 acres throughout the mid-Atlantic region during her tenure as project manager and Field Office Director. Debi has assisted communities and public agencies with land conservation visioning, finance and stewardship issues and conducted conservation training workshops at local, regional and national conferences. She has served on the board of both the Maryland and Virginia association of land trusts. Debi currently serves on the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program's Citizens Advisory Committee and is a 2016 graduate of Leadership Sarasota. Debi holds a Master's degree in City and Regional Planning from Harvard University and undergraduate degrees in Social Ecology and Urban Geography from the University of California, Irvine. MICHAEL OSLAND, PhD, is a Research Ecologist at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Wetland and Aquatic Research Center. In broad terms, his research examines the response of ecosystem to changing conditions including the implications for conservation and restoration. Much of his current research focuses on wetland ecosystems at the dynamic interface between land and ocean: mangrove forests, salt marshes, and salt flats. His education includes a Ph.D. in Ecology from Duke University (2009) and a B.A. in Biology from Willamette University (2000). He was also a Fulbright Fellow in Costa Rica and a Peace Corps Volunteer in El Salvador. MARY ANNE PIACENTINI serves as President and CEO of the Katy Prairie Conservancy where she coordinates KPC’s land protection programs and conservation assistance to private landowners, establishes community partnerships and relationships with diverse stakeholders, and oversees the agency’s operations and programs. She expanded the land protection program from 1,300 acres in 1999 to more than 23,000 acres today; implemented a conservation buyer program to support additional conservation; and formed joint venture partnerships to restore habitat while also increasing earned income using stream and wetlands mitigation projects. In 2018 she was awarded the Flo Hannah Prairie Career Achievement Excellence Award from the Coastal Prairie Partnership and Native Prairies Association of Texas as well as the Bayou Preservation Association’s Terry Hershey Bayou Stewardship Award. Ms. Piacentini received the AIA Houston’s Civic Vision Award in 2016. She was one of four women in Texas to receive Audubon Texas’s inaugural Terry Hershey Texas Women in Conservation award in 2014. In 2005, she received the Army and Sarah Emmott Conservation Award from the Citizens' Environmental Coalition. She received a Master of City Planning from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of New Hampshire. KURT READUS serves as the State Conservationist of Mississippi for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Kurt graduated from Alabama Agricultural & Mechanical University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science. He started his career with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in 1998 as a student trainee in Arizona and Alabama. In 2000, Readus later became a Soil Conservationist, and was promoted in 2005 to District Conservationist in the Avondale Field Office in Arizona. In 2007, he accepted the position of Area Conservationist for Central Mississippi, where he provided leadership and guidance to 21 field offices in addition to the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indian (MBCI) Tribal Field Office. Kurt served as Assistant State Conservationist for Programs in Mississippi from 2011 to 2013, then became the State Conservationist for Mississippi. He

17

has served on details to National Headquarters in Washington, D.C. on the National Conservation Stewardship Team and served as Acting Deputy State Conservationist for California. LESLIE REED is the Deputy Chief of Staff for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. As part of her role with the Department, Leslie oversees the Department’s Deepwater Horizon-related restoration activities, including representing Florida on the RESTORE Council and the Florida Trustee Implementation Group, or FL TIG. Leslie has worked with the Department for over two years, and previously worked for the Suwannee River Water Management District and as an attorney at Florida’s Public Service Commission. She received her Juris Doctor from Florida State University College of Law and B.S. in Environmental Policy and Planning from Virginia Tech.

ROBIN RIECHERS is the Director of Coastal Fisheries, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Robin has served in various roles within the coastal fisheries division’s and prior to being named Director served as the Science and Policy Director for 7 years. He has represented the department on various fisheries management bodies working across the Gulf. He serve as a member of the Deepwater Trustee Natural Resource Damages Trustee Council. Robin brings a wealth of institutional knowledge about the key issues and challenges facing our state’s coastal fisheries resources. He has demonstrated strong leadership skills and the ability to bring consensus among diverse stakeholder groups. SAL SALINAS is the State Conservationist of Texas for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Salvador, a native of Rio Grande City, Texas, and seventh generation landowner was raised on a Spanish Land Grant ranch in South Texas, close to the Mexico Border. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Range Science from Texas A&M University in 1977, and started his career as a range conservationist in 1978 with the Soil Conservation Service (now the NRCS). During his career, he has served in a variety of roles at NRCS -- as a Range Conservationist, District Conservationist, Deputy State Conservationist, and Assistant State Conservationist for Policy and Strategy in Texas. He was Assistant State Conservationist for Operations in Massachusetts and Texas, and was on a two-year international assignment in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Salvador has also served as Acting State Conservationist in Florida and Michigan and Acting West Regional Conservationist. He is on the National Grazing Lands Conservation Coalition State Conservationist’s Advisory Committee and is active in several non-profit and advisory roles. As the Texas State Conservationist, Salvador is responsible for carrying out an extensive portfolio of comprehensive conservation strategies, which include implementing NRCS’s conservation technical assistance and financial assistance programs on Texas private lands. BEN SCAGGS is the Executive Director of the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (RESTORE Council). Created by the RESTORE Act of 2012 and comprised of the Governors of the five Gulf Coast States and Cabinet-level officials from six federal agencies, the RESTORE Council is responsible for restoring and protecting the natural resources, ecosystems, fisheries, marine and wildlife habitats, beaches, coastal wetlands, and economy of the Gulf Coast. Prior to his current role, Scaggs served as Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Gulf of Mexico Program (GMP) from 2012- 2018, which is a non-regulatory, geographically-focused organization whose mission is to protect, restore, and maintain the health and productivity of the Gulf of Mexico and the communities that rely on this national resource. Scaggs also served as EPA’s Associate Deputy Administrator in Washington, D.C. from 2015-2016, while on a one-year detail from GMP. In that role, he oversaw a broad portfolio of EPA’s management and leadership functions in support of the overarching mission of protecting public health and the environment.

18

Scaggs joined EPA in 1991 from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and over his 25-year career at EPA, he worked in the offices of Air and Radiation and Administration and Resources Management in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina and in EPA’s Enforcement office in Atlanta, Georgia. Scaggs holds degrees in International Studies and Public Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. KARI SERVOLD is a 2015 graduate of the University of South Alabama in Mobile, where she received her master’s degree in civil engineering with an emphasis in water resources and coastal engineering. Ms. Servold is active in the American Society of Civil Engineering’s (ASCE) Coasts, Oceans, Ports, Rivers Institute (COPRI) and is Treasurer and founding board member of the Central Gulf Coast Chapter of American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA). Ms. Servold is passionate about land conservation and watershed planning and is working towards becoming a professional engineer. MATT SINGER serves as the Director of Land Conservation at the Galveston Bay Foundation. Prior to joining Galveston Bay Foundation, Matt earned his B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences from Texas A&M University in 2005 and spent 4 1/2 years as a wildlife biologist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Matt is serving as the land manager for the Foundation’s conservation properties. He is working to restore, enhance, and maintain natural habitats around Galveston Bay. STACEY SHANKLE leads The Trust for Public Lands land protection work in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Stacey’s 18 years of experience working in conservation in this region includes conservation planning, fee simple and easement acquisitions, habitat restoration, and program management. Before joining The Trust for Public Land in 2013, Stacey worked for Ducks Unlimited’s Southern Region and for The Nature Conservancy’s Mississippi Chapter.

CHRISTINE SHEPARD, Ph.D., is the director of science for the Nature Conservancy’s Gulf of Mexico program. Christine’s primary research focuses on assessing coastal hazards risk, quantifying the role coastal habitats play in reducing risk, and identifying where ecosystem-based approaches such as conservation or restoration are likely to be effective for risk reduction. In addition, Christine works to develop innovative spatial analyses and community engagement tools to help decision makers address coastal risks from climate change and coastal hazards like storms and sea-level rise. She co-authored the 2012 World Risk Report in partnership with United Nations University and was a member of the Department of Interior’s Strategic Science Working Group "Operational Group Sandy" deployed to assist the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force. Christine completed her Ph.D. in Ocean Science at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2010 and her B.S. in Zoology and Psychology at the University of Florida in 2002. MICHAEL SHARP is the director of the NFWF Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund, Director (AL, FL, MS). Mike has more than 20 years’ experience working in Washington, DC, and has been the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund (NFWF GEBF) Director for Mississippi, Alabama and Florida for four years. Prior to joining NFWF, Mike served as Legislative Director to Representative Jo Bonner (Ret). Before joining Bonner’s staff, Mike worked in the private sector and assisted a wide variety of clients navigate the political and legislative landscapes of Congress. In the private sector, Mike maintained affiliations with Sonny Callahan and Associates, LLC, and Dawson and Associates, Inc. From 1995 to 2002, Mike worked in the office of Representative Sonny Callahan (Ret)

19

and served as associate staff to the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, chaired by Mr. Callahan. ROBERT SMITH serves as the Coastal Program Coordinator for Wildlife Mississippi. Robert is a wildlife biologist with broad background in natural resource management that includes timber, game, non-game, and endangered wildlife, agriculture, outdoor recreation business, and green development. He serves as the Coastal Program Coordinator for Wildlife Mississippi and is focused on helping with wildlife-oriented private landowners optimize their management efforts. He is also a professional nature and outdoor photographer. Robert holds an undergraduate degree from Mississippi State University in Forestry/Wildlife Management and a Master of Science from the University of Georgia in Forest Ecology.

JAMES E. TILLMAN, SR. is the Regional Conservationist for the Southeast for the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. In this role he oversees NRCS conservation programs and activities for the 11 Southeast states and the Caribbean Area. James served as State Conservationist in Georgia for nine years. Prior to that, he was the Deputy State Conservationist in California and served as Assistant State Conservationist for Programs and Acting State Administrative Officer in Texas. In Illinois, James served as the Assistant State Conservationist for Resource Assessment and Technology.

In his 32-year career with NRCS, James has also held positions as Soil Conservationist, District Conservationist, Resource Conservationist, and USDA/1890 Liaison Officer. He has worked in seven states (Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Illinois, Texas, California and Georgia) and Washington, DC. James obtained a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. He and his wife, Patricia, have three grown children. BILLY VAN PELT is the Director of External Relations for the Southeast at American Farmland Trust. He grew up on his grandparents’ farm in Versailles, Kentucky. Billy graduated from Transylvania University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration. Billy also graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture. After graduation, he specialized in equine master planning, institutional and health care projects. Billy is licensed to practice landscape architecture in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. In the public sector, Billy was the Director of Lexington Kentucky’s Purchase of Development Rights farmland preservation program, where he worked from 2003-2013. During his tenure, he worked to conserve approximately 28,000 acres. In 2009, Billy completed his Master of Business Administration at Midway University. In October 2013, Billy formed his own consulting and government relations firm, Billy Van Pelt Consulting. He specialized in the equine, agriculture and health care industries; economic development and land use planning, at the local, state and federal levels of government. KELLY WATKINSON serves as the Climate Change Program Manager for the Land Trust Alliance. Kelly joined the Land Trust Alliance in May 2017 as the climate change program manager and is responsible for designing and implementing the Alliance’s new Land and Climate Program. She has over 11 years of experience working with land trusts and land managers in the Chesapeake Bay regions of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC. She previously served as Executive Director and Assistant Director of Cacapon and Lost Rivers Land Trust in West Virginia, where she worked to incorporate climate resiliency science into land protection efforts. Kelly was also the prior Senior Director of Land

20

Protection at the Potomac Conservancy, and worked for the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation as Regional Watershed Coordinator. Before settling in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, she was a Peace Corps volunteer in rural Guatemala working with indigenous Mayan communities to promote resource sustainability efforts. Kelly earned a B.S. in Environmental Policy and Management from Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs, and a Masters of Natural Resources with a focus on Leadership in Sustainability from Virginia Tech. SHANE WELLENDORF is the Conservation Coordinator with Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy. Tall Timbers is nationally known for its prescribed fire and wildlife ecology research, and its accredited Land Conservancy holds over 136,000 acres of conservation easements in South Georgia and North Florida. Since 2011, he has worked on conservation easement transactions and has overseen stewardship activities on existing conservation easements. Mr. Wellendorf holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Wildlife Biology from Iowa State University and a Master of Science Degree in Wildlife Science from North Carolina State University, and he is a Certified Wildlife Biologist with the Wildlife Society. Before working with the Land Conservancy, he worked 11 years as a Game Bird Biologist for Tall Timbers. CHRIS WELLS serves as the Director of the Office of Restoration for the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. He has been with the MDEQ since November, 2007 primarily serving as legal support for the Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Division Chris earned a Chemical Engineering degree from Mississippi State University in 1996, and is a registered professional engineer. He graduated from the Mississippi College School of Law in 1999, and served as a Law Clerk to U.S. District Court Judge William H. Barbour, Jr. He was in the private law practice with the firm Sessums, Dallas & Morrison (f/k/a Scanlon, Sessums, Parker & Dallas) in Ridgeland, MS from 2000 to 2007. He has also taught as an Adjunct Professor at the Mississippi School of Law since 2010. He is a native of Brandon, MS where he lives with his wife, Catherine and their children, Megan and Nolan. MARIA WHITEHEAD, PhD has held positions as an ornithologist, professor, and conservation professional during her professional career. She was worked for 15 years in the direct conservation of land and water and the interdisciplinary realm of climate adaptation and community resilience. As a coastal program manager for The Nature Conservancy, she worked at the land-water interface – helping to initiate a water fund program, establish oyster restoration sites, and protect tidal wetlands and wetland migration space. Today, as Senior Program Manager at Open Space Institute, she works across the eastern United States on varied conservation projects and initiatives including interpreting climate science for land-protection professionals and communities impacted by climate change. HOMER WILKES, Ph.D. is the Director of the USDA Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Team. Dr. Wilkes is a native of Port Gibson, Mississippi. He is one of the five Federal Executive Council members assigned to oversee Gulf ecosystem restoration activities after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010. Prior to this, he served as the Acting Associate Chief of USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Washington, D.C. from 2010 to 2012. During Dr. Wilkes’ tenure with USDA, he also served as State Conservationist for Mississippi, Chief Financial Officer for NRCS in Washington, DC, Deputy State Conservationist for Mississippi, Chief of Administrative Staff for the South Technical Center for NRCS in Fort Worth, Texas, and Budget Analyst and Financial Manager in Washington, DC. Previously, Dr. Wilkes served as Naval Supply Officer in the United States Navy Reserves from 1984 to 2010.

21

He received his Bachelors, M.B.A, and Ph.D. in Urban Higher Education from Jackson State University, and successfully completed the USDA Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program (SES CDP) through American University’s Key Executive Leadership Certificate in Public Policy Implementation Program. Dr. Wilkes and his wife, Kim, have three sons. He enjoys fishing and family activities.