Michael Hopkins

Coastal and Community Program Director, Pontchartrain Conservancy

Dr. Michael Hopkins is the Coastal Program Director at the Pontchartrain Conservancy (PC).  He is originally from Biloxi, MS and has lived in New Orleans for 11 years.  He holds a Bachelor of Science in geology from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Ph.D. in earth and environmental sciences from Tulane University.  He began working for PC in 2016 as a staff GIS specialist and coastal scientist and became program assistant director in 2019.  He then became program director in 2021.  At PC, he has worked on a variety of projects across a broad range of topics, including, subsidence, fluvial geomorphology, coastal environmental monitoring, and hurricane surge dynamics. He brings his extensive background and expertise to research and work with the MRD’s Science committee, helping deepen our understanding of our changing coast.