August 6, 2015
ASBPA 2015 National Coastal Conference
“Broadening Coastal Perspectives”
UPDATED ABSTRACT – Panel Session
Submitted by:
National Wildlife Federation (NWF)
Gulf of Mexico Restoration Program
Amanda Fuller, Deputy Director, fullera@nwf.org
, (512) 610-7773
44 East Avenue, Ste. 200, Austin, TX 78701
Perspectives on comprehensive restoration in the Gulf of Mexico
The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill and its resulting sources of funding have reinvigorated the call for and the need to restore the Gulf of Mexico – for its people, wildlife, and industries. This panel showcases the restoration priorities and perspectives from professionals working on this challenge in the Gulf.
Moderator: Amanda Fuller, Deputy Director of the National Wildlife Federation’s Gulf of Mexico
Restoration Program
Panelists:

David Muth, Director of National Wildlife Federation’s Gulf of Mexico Restoration Program –
NWF is integrating sound science and prudent policy for a healthy Gulf Coast post-Deepwater
Horizon oil spill with its many across the Gulf region.

Debbie DeVore, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – With a Vision for the Gulf, the USFWS Gulf
Program is made up of a multi-disciplinary team of professionals who are working together to strategically connect with programs and partners throughout the Gulf of Mexico watershed with the objective of collaborating and leveraging Gulf restoration efforts to maximize conservation
outcomes.

TBD, Louisiana Coastal Protection Restoration Authority

Cameron Perry, HDR Engineering and ASBPA board member - Understanding the science and physical requirements associated with restoration in diverse environments across the Gulf and providing a link between environmental groups, regulatory agencies, local/state governments,
and other stakeholders.
Biographies
Amanda Fuller, National Wildlife Federation [Moderator]
Amanda joined NWF in 2013 and is the Deputy Director of the Gulf Restoration program and the team’s policy lead in Texas. Amanda grew up outside of Houston and spent much of her childhood exploring the
Texas coast. Before joining NWF, Amanda worked as an attorney for a private law practice and spent three years working on international water policy with World Wildlife Fund. Amanda received her law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law, where she focused on environmental and water law, and she received her undergraduate degree in Political Science from Texas Christian University.

August 6, 2015
Andrew Rella works as a postdoctoral associate at Stevens Institute of Technology. Andrew received a
Ph.D. in Ocean Engineering from the Center of Maritime Systems at Stevens Institute. He specializes in coastal processes, shoreline protection involving nature based features, sea level rise, and coastal sediment transport. Additionally, he is the U.S. Operations Coordinator for ECOncrete Tech, a company based in Israel, offering innovative concrete ecological solutions for marine infrastructure. Andrew is the
CEO of InterTidal Habitat Consulting, working with the New York City Economic Develop Corporation to develop oyster encasement technologies for enhancing marine piles.
Emily Vuxton is a Biologist at the Institute for Water Resources at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
(USACE). Previously, she served as a NOAA Knauss Sea Grant Fellow with the Engineer Research and
Development Center, USACE. At USACE she supports a number of coastal, watershed, environmental and navigation initiatives, primarily focusing on coastal resilience and watershed management. She previously served in policy advising and technical positions at the U.S. Forest Service and the National
Park Service.
Kelly Knee – Director of Coastal Hazard Assessment Services, RPS ASA
Ms. Knee holds an M.S in Water Resources Engineering from Tufts University and has specialized in coastal flooding and inundation issues for more than 12 years. Since joining RPS ASA in 2004, Ms. Knee has continued her work on coastal hazard studies and has performed numerous climate change related projects for both engineering and educational purposes. She has performed coastal risk assessments, including sea level rise, storm surge, wave, seiche, rainfall, and tsunami effects, for many major industrial facilities including nuclear power stations, LNG plants, and onshore coastal wind farms. She has performed inundation studies for Manhattan, Miami, Washington DC, Boston, Providence, Woods
Hole, and North Carolina.
David Muth, National Wildlife Federation [Panelist]
David is a New Orleans native who has spent a lifetime in the Mississippi River delta and on the Gulf coast, studying its geology, ecology, plants, wildlife, history and culture. He took his degree in history at
University of New Orleans and became professionally interested in the connection between culture and environment in the context of the delta. He worked for 30 years with the National Park Service at Jean
Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve in south Louisiana, eventually managing its natural and cultural resource programs. At the beginning of 2011, he joined the National Wildlife Federation and is the Director of the Gulf Restoration program.
Debbie DeVore, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [Panelist]
For the past four and a half years, Debbie has served as the Restoration Coordinator for the U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service. She is involved numerous restoration planning efforts and partnerships, including groups such as the Gulf of Mexico Alliance Project Implementation Teams, Landscape Conservation
Cooperatives, the Deepwater Horizon NRDA and RESTORE Act restoration planning and implementation.
Debbie is one of the primary conduits for Gulf habitat restoration information to Fish & Wildlife Service programs and field stations. Debbie has been with the US Fish and Wildlife Service for thirteen years and was formerly with the Coastal Program, based for 6 years in Texas and 3 years in South Florida.
Prior to coming to the Service, she was employed with NOAA’s Community-Based Restoration Program.

August 6, 2015
Debbie holds a B.S. degree in Marine Biology and Master’s degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, both from Texas A&M University.
TBD, Louisiana Coastal Protection Restoration Authority [Panelist]
Cameron Perry, HDR Engineering and ASBPA board member [Panelist]
Mr. Perry is a graduate of Texas A&M University Galveston with a B.S. in Maritime Systems Engineering.
After six years working in Florida and the Caribbean, Mr. Perry joined HDR Engineering, Inc. in Texas in
2004 as a coastal engineer designing beach nourishment, shoreline protection, and wetland restoration projects.