Faces of the Delta: Reverend Tyronne Edwards
Newer posts →Faces of the Delta: Reverend Tyronne Edwards
Next in our Faces of the Delta series, you will meet Reverend Tyronne Edwards: 5th generation resident of Phoenix, La., community leader and organizer and coastal restoration advocate. By Amanda Moore, National Wildlife Federation Name: Reverend Tyronne Edwards Location: Phoenix, Louisiana (Plaquemines Parish) Occupation: Founding executive director of Zion Travelers Cooperative Center and facility director for the YMCA of Greater New Orleans What is your connection to the Mississippi River Delta? I’m a 5th generation resident of Phoenix, Louisiana, which is the very southeast end of Louisiana …
Faces of the Delta: Captain Ryan Lambert
By Amanda Moore, National Wildlife Federation Next in our Faces of the Delta series, you will meet Captain Lambert: founder of Cajun Fishing Adventures, charter boat captain, lifetime South Louisiana resident and coastal restoration advocate. Name: Captain Ryan Lambert Location: Buras, Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana Occupation: Charter captain; Board President, Cajun Fishing Adventures; Vice President, Louisiana Charter Boat Association. Tell me about your connection to south Louisiana. I am South Louisiana! I was born here. I love the culture, the people, …
Faces of the Delta: Father Vien
By Amanda Moore, National Wildlife Federation Next in our Faces of the Delta series, you will meet Father Vien: Vietnam refugee, New Orleans priest, urban gardener and coastal restoration advocate. Name: Father Vien The Nguyen Location: New Orleans East Occupation: Chairman of the Board for Mary Queen of Viet Nam (MQVN) Community Development Corporation, former priest at Mary Queen of Vietnam Church in New Orleans Father Vien, talking about the MQVN Church: I think we are probably the most international parish in New …
Faces of the Delta: Justin Mack
By Amanda Moore, National Wildlife Federation Next in our Faces of the Delta series, you will meet Justin Mack: New Orleans native, environmental educator and restoration advocate. Name: Justin Mack Location: Lower 9th Ward, New Orleans, Louisiana Occupation: Science Coordinator at Martin Luther King, Jr. Charter School in the Lower 9th Ward Tell me about your connection to south Louisiana. I was born in New Orleans and moved to Houston as a child. I came back to New Orleans for grad school …
Faces of the Delta: John Koeferl
In the fourth installment of our Faces of the Delta series, you will meet John Koeferl: retired carpenter and environmental advocate, fighting to protect “the wetland of our nation.” By Amanda Moore, National Wildlife Federation Name: John Koeferl Location: Holy Cross/Gentilly Terrace, New Orleans, Louisiana Occupation: Retired carpenter, environmental advocate Tell me about your connection to south Louisiana. I came to New Orleans for graduate school at Tulane and stayed here from then on—loved the city. I raised my family for …
Audubon Honors 50 Influential "Women of the Gulf"
By Margo Ludmer, National Audubon Society On May 23, Audubon’s Women in Conservation program recognized 50 women for their outstanding efforts in the wake of the last summer’s BP oil disaster. Confronted with the worst spill in U.S. history, this distinguished group of women conservationists took immediate action to relieve and restore important ecosystems along the Gulf Coast. The veritable army of women leaders worked tirelessly along the front lines, making invaluable contributions to the recovery process through volunteering, grassroots outreach, …
Faces of the Delta: Alberta Lewis
In the third installment of our Faces of the Delta series, you will meet Alberta Lewis: long-time New Orleans-area resident, plantation owner, delta restoration advocate, and king cake doll creator. Name: Alberta Lewis Location: Arabi/Poydras, St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana Occupation: Retired business owner, miniature porcelain artist (designs king cake dolls for a well-known bakery), plantation owner and community activist. Tell me about your connection to south Louisiana. I was born in the 9th Ward of New Orleans in 1923 and lived in …
Faces of the Delta: Chris Dier
In the second installment of our Faces of the Delta series, you will meet Chris Dier: Wetlands restoration advocate, Chalmette resident, and Louisiana culture enthusiast. Name: Chris Dier Location: Chalmette, Louisiana Occupation: Student, University of New Orleans Tell me about your connection to south Louisiana. I was born in New Orleans East and raised in Chalmette until age 17. My family moved to East Texas after Katrina, but moved back in 2006 to live in a FEMA trailer and rebuild …
Meet Stephanie Powell
Stephanie is the field director for the joint Mississippi River Delta restoration campaign. She is responsible for running the field operations of the campaign, including writing and implementing a national field plan, contributing strategic and political analysis and working with staff to build grassroots support for restoration efforts. Before joining the campaign, Stephanie was the executive director of the Southern Energy Network, a regional organization dedicated to working with youth to combat climate change, advance renewable energy and promote a smart, …
Faces of the Delta: Mike Hymel
“Faces of the Delta” is a community profile series that shines light on the diverse and unique cultures of Southeast Louisiana. During the next few months, readers will learn what coastal Louisiana means to a fisherman on the bayou, a faith leader in the Vietnamese community of New Orleans East, a teacher in the Lower 9th Ward, and many more community leaders who know that restoring the coastal wetlands of Louisiana is key to community recovery after the catastrophes of …
Meet David Muth
David Muth joined the National Wildlife Federation at the beginning of 2011 after working for the National Park Service at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve since 1980. At Jean Lafitte, he managed the park’s natural and cultural resources, including the Barataria Preserve, a wetland in the upper basin on the outskirts of New Orleans that Congress set aside as a representative example of the delta ecosystem. A native of New Orleans, David has had a lifelong love of the …
Tribute to Dr. Gregory Stone
By Angelina Freeman, Environmental Defense Fund Dr. Greg Stone, a highly valued professor in the Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences at Louisiana State University (LSU) and director of LSU’s Coastal Studies Institute (CSI), passed away on Thursday (Feb. 17) at the age of 53. Dr. Stone was an internationally respected coastal scientist whose research interests included waves, coastal morphyodynamics, and numerical modeling of sediment transport. “His interest in the oceanic processes that drive changes in coasts of different types …
Meet Cynthia Duet
Cynthia Duet joined the National Audubon Society’s Louisiana Coastal Initiative team in November 2010. In her role as director of governmental relations, Cynthia will be interacting with government agencies and coastal stakeholders at local, state, and federal levels to advocate for next-generation, science-based coastal policy and for the design, funding, and construction of bold and effective coastal restoration projects that protect and restore this valuable ecosystem. A native of Louisiana, Cynthia has more than a decade of experience in Louisiana …
Meet Maura Wood
Maura Wood is the Coastal Louisiana Senior Outreach Coordinator for the National Wildlife Federation. In her role, she meets with various stakeholders in coastal communities to understand their concerns and differences of opinion and ensure decision makers hear their perspectives. “We are all in favor of repairing our damaged coast, but when it comes down to details, differing opinions can bring a project to a halt,” Wood said. “Working out our differences is vital to achieving comprehensive restoration, so talking …
Meet Brian Jackson
Brian is a Community Resiliency Specialist for Environmental Defense Fund’s Coastal Louisiana Restoration project. His work focuses not only on community resilience, but on nonstructural flood protection in southern Louisiana. Brian works closely with local community groups through an initiative called “How Safe, How Soon?“. He helps these communities identify and address their flood and storm risks – and future sustainability – in the vanishing Mississippi River Delta. Local partners include: the United Houma Nation, New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement …