ASBPA Summit Speaker Bios

In alphabetical order:

Daniel F. Adams, P.E., is a Civil Engineer with the City of Virginia Beach Department of Public Works and serves as Program Manager for the City’s Coastal Section Capital Improvement Program.  Dan is a lifelong resident of the City of Virginia Beach and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Old Dominion University.  He holds a Professional Engineering License with the Commonwealth of Virginia and has over thirty years of experience in construction, project, and program management.

Marc Beyeler currently serves as the Deputy Executive Director of BEACON, the Beach Erosion Authority for Clean Oceans and Nourishment, a regional Joint Powers Authority (JPA) of two coastal counties and six coastal cities on the central coast of California. Marc is responsible for a range of activities at BEACON, including strategic and financial planning, and Climate and Sea Level Rise Adaptation planning.

Kristina Boburka is the Shoreline Director for the City of South Padre Island where she is continually working to protect and promote the natural resources on the Island. She manages and directs the overall functions of the Shoreline Department including the beach and bay public access points, beach nourishment, and restoration within the City. She serves on the City’s legislative team and is the Lower Texas Coast Vice President for the Texas ASBPA Chapter.

Doug Bellomo is a professional engineer and Vice President in the water business line at AECOM and is focused in the area of flood risk management and resilience.  Previously Doug served as a senior technical advisor for flood risk management at the US Army Corps of Engineers Institute for Water Resources and Director of the Risk Analysis Division within the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration at the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Michael Brain: Michael Brain serves as Professional Staff for the  Subcommittee on Energy and Water Appropriations for the U.S. House of Representatives. Prior to this role, he was Counsel to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. Michael is a graduate of the Boston College Arts and Sciences undergraduate school and of the St. Louis University School of Law, with a concentration on Land Use, Environmental Law and Urban Development.

Derek Brockbank, CCP, is the Executive Director of ASBPA. He has been an organizer and run conservation campaigns around the country and, for the past 15 years, in Washington, DC. His focus has been on climate change adaptation and restoring natural resources, most recently directing a campaign to restore the Mississippi River Delta and Coastal Louisiana through a coalition of conservation organizations including National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society and Environmental Defense Fund. He grew up in New York City and the beaches of Long Island, and ran along the Lake Michigan beach while at the University of Chicago, getting a degree in political science and environmental studies.

Samantha Brooke is the National Coastal and Marine Team Lead for the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Wildlife Refuge System. Hailing from mid-coast Maine, Samantha has spent her career working at the State and Federal level on coastal and marine conservation on topics as varied as habitat restoration, fisheries observers, bycatch, species recovery, and marine protected areas.

Katherine Brutsché, Ph.D: Program Manager of the National Regional Sediment Management Program at the USACE Engineer Research and Development Center in Vicksburg, M.S, she received her Masters and Ph.D. at the University of South Florida in 2011 and 2014, respectively.  Her Bachelor of Science degree in Geosciences was completed at Virginia Tech in 2007.  Her dissertation research focused on the sediment characteristics and morphological impacts of the nearshore placement of dredged material in Fort Myers Beach, Florida and Perdido Key, Florida.

Lynette Cardoch, Ph.D. Moffatt & Nichol’s Director of Resilience & Adaptation, she is a coastal ecologist with over 20 years of experience in regulatory & water policies, coastal restoration, and urban & coastal resiliency. With her technical qualifications and collaborative management style, her assignments include steering interdisciplinary teams of engineers, scientists, and regulators. Cardoch has also worked closely with coastal utilities and natural resource agencies on integrated planning and operationalizing resiliency, particularly for coastal protection, storm surge, and interior flooding.

Katie Carpenter is Communications Director for Resilient Enterprise Solutions, working in Florida and Virginia to advocate for, deliver home elevations, and flood proofing for properties in high flood risk areas. Previously, she worked as a writer and producer for National Geographic TV and Discovery Channel, covering climate change and ocean conservation issues.  She conducted risk perception research studies with Yale over the last decade in coastal Florida, and served on the SE Florida Climate Compact’s Shoreline Resilience Working Group as communications advisor, collaborating on outreach materials and recommendations for communicating about Living Shorelines and other adaptation strategies.

Brian Caufield, P.E., CFM: Coastal engineer for CDM Smith working as a technical and project manager for company-wide coastal studies. Caufield has over 10 years’ experience in the technical and permitting aspects of beach nourishment and other coastal projects. Caufield has worked with various stakeholders from federal agencies down to the community and individual homeowners.

Dr. Moushumi Chaudhury is the Coastal Risk and Resilience Program Manager at The Nature Conservancy. Moushumi implements and manages projects, with a focus on using insurance to protect natural assets and integrating disaster risk reduction strategies to minimize impacts of hazards among climate vulnerable people. Moushumi has worked in the field of climate change adaptation and resilience for over a decade in Africa and Asia. Prior to joining TNC, she was a technical expert on climate resilience at the World Resources Institute. She has also worked with UN agencies and CGIAR centers on a range of environment and development topics.

Shannon Cunniff: Consultant working on advancing flood resilience solutions and policy to help communities adapt to climate change impacts in environmentally friendly ways.  Formerly directed Environmental Defense Fund’s Coastal Resilience activities. She draws on her environmental advocacy, policy and planning experience in water resources engineering and coastal ecology to broaden incorporation of natural infrastructure into flood resilience planning. Shannon served as a senior executive in the Departments of the Interior and Defense, was EPA’s liaison to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Federal Emergency Management Agency, and an ecologist for the Corps Los Angeles District. She holds Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Geography and Biology, respectively, from UCLA — both emphasizing coastal systems.

Marty Durkin is the Coastal Team Lead in the Coastal/Navigation Section of the US Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, Planning Division, Plan Formulation Branch working primarily on Coastal Storm Risk Management (CSRM) feasibility studies and projects. He has worked in the Jacksonville District for 11.5 years, with 8 of those years in Planning Division, Coastal/Navigation Section and 3.5 years in Engineering Division, Coastal Design section. He has a BS degree in Ocean Engineering from Florida Institute of Technology.

Nicole Elko, Ph.D., is President of Elko Coastal Consulting based in Folly Beach, SC.  In addition to serving as Science Director for the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA), she is presently one of the three civilian members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Coastal Engineering Research Board (CERB).  Elko also serves as the Executive Director of the South Carolina Beach Advocates.  Dr. Elko has nearly 20 years of experience in coastal science and management.  She helps provide science-based guidance to Congress, Federal and State agencies, and local communities on coastal policy issues.

Cesar Espinosa is a coastal planner with the County of Los Angeles Department of Beaches and Harbors.  He works on a number of capital projects in County operated, owned and controlled beaches, and Marina del Rey.  He is also responsible for overseeing the development and management of the department’s GIS section.  Señor Espinosa holds a M.S. in Engineering Management.

Dr. Stewart Farrell is the Director of the Stockton University Coastal Research Center. Following Hurricane Gloria in 1985, the NJDEP requested assistance in quantifying the changes to the beach/dune areas in the State.  This led to the creation of the Richard Stockton College Coastal Research Center (CRC) in 1986.  The capstone was the NJ Dune Vulnerability Assessment of the entire NJ dune/beach oceanfront coastline that provided a model for a set of storm intensity levels interacting with the existing beach/dune system done between 2006 and 2009 with NOAA funding.  Hurricane Sandy provided direct confirmation of the model’s validity throughout the range of storm damages experienced between Cape May Point and Sandy Hook.

RDML Tim Gallaudet, Ph.D., USN (Ret.) is the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Deputy Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Dr. Gallaudet served for 32 years in the U.S. Navy, where his most recent assignment was Oceanographer of the Navy and Commander of the Navy Meteorology and Oceanography Command. He has experience in weather and ocean forecasting, hydrographic surveying, countering illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, and assessing the national security impacts of climate change. Dr. Gallaudet holds a bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Naval Academy and master’s and doctoral degrees from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, all in oceanography

Kate Gooderham, APR, CPRC, is a Managing Director of ASBPA.  She has been involved with coastal issues for 35 years. She is president of Gooderham & Associates, Inc., a Fort Myers, Florida consulting firm established in 1986, specializing in public participation, issues management, public information campaigns, grassroots organizing, governmental lobbying and monitoring, coastal permitting and strategic planning. A cum laude graduate of the University of South Dakota majoring in English and history, she was accredited in public relations in 1999 and became a certified public relations counselor in 2008.

Greg 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.  He has decades of experience as a project manager successfully leading multidisciplinary, multi-agency teams through the planning, design and implementation of coastal protection and 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 and infrastructure projects using CIAP funding.

Jill Hamilton is a Legislative Assistant in the office of U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, where she covers ocean, coastal, water, and wildlife policy. In 2018, Jill was awarded the prestigious Sea Grant Marine Policy Fellowship, which she completed at the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Marine Conservation. She holds a Master of Environmental Management degree from Duke University, and has worked previously at Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and Environmental Defense Fund’s Cuba Oceans program.

Jim Johannessen specializes in alternative coastal erosion control and restoration assessment, design, and monitoring in Puget Sound. He started Coastal Geologic Services in 1993. A Licensed Engineering Geologist with an MS degree in coastal geology, Jim has designed and implemented more than 175 successful soft shore protection and beach restoration projects in the region, including over 40 bulkhead removals. He has worked on issues related to coastal erosion mitigation, slope stability, beach and estuary restoration, and applied coastal management in Puget Sound. Jim has more than 30 years’ experience working with local governments, state and federal agencies, tribes, non-profits, and landowners.

Geoffrey Klug is an engineer in the Construction Division of the Jacksonville District.  His responsibilities include managing construction contracts in northeast Florida for the Army Corps.He is a licensed civil engineer, has an MS in Ocean Engineering from Florida Institute of Technology and a BS in Environmental Engineering from University of Miami. Working for the Corps since 2010, he has had the opportunity to work on numerous coastal and navigation projects throughout FL from the planning phase through construction.

Margarita Kruyff, M. ASCE is the City of Miami Beach’s Environment & Sustainability Assistant Director, where she leads the city’s habitat management, environmental permitting, and regulatory compliance programs. Ms. Kruyff is also responsible for providing technical support in the development and implementation of the city’s sea level rise adaptation and resiliency planning programs. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marine Affairs and Policy, French Literature, and International Studies, as well as a Master’s Degree in Marine Affairs and Policy from the University of Miami. Ms. Kruyff has served for four years on the Board of Directors and is currently the Chair of the Environmental and Water Resources Institute’s Miami-Dade Chapter.

Lisa Larimer leads the beach advisory, fish advisory, and fish contamination study programs in EPA’s Office of Water. At EPA she coordinates with state and tribal managers of beach and fish programs and distributes up to $10M in grants annually to states and tribes for beach monitoring and notification programs. She has worked on nutrient pollution, water quality standards and wastewater discharge limits. Ms. Larimer’s private sector experience includes the aerospace, environmental consulting, manufacturing, and publishing industries. She received degrees in environmental engineering, aerospace engineering, and English from Virginia Tech and is a licensed professional engineer in Virginia.

Mike McGarry: Beaches, Boating & Waterways Program Manager for Brevard County Florida, Mike administers coastal and estuarine management and restoration projects along 72 miles of Atlantic Ocean shoreline.  Since 2003 he has completed twelve federal and non-federal beach projects placing 138  million dollars of sand (7.9 MCY) along thirty five miles of shoreline.  McGarry holds a bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and a master’s degree in Oceanography/Coastal Zone Management from the Florida Institute of Technology.

Tucker Mahoney:  As a coastal emergency management specialist in the Risk Management Directorate of FIMA, Tucker focuses on connecting flood hazard data and risk analyses with a variety of customers including states, locals, tribes, territories and other federal agencies.  In 2019, Tucker completed a six month detail to FIMA’s Mitigation Directorate, where she led the implementation of FIMA’s thirteen provisions in the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018.  When not working to support our coastal communities, Tucker is the president of the Women’s Forum, a FEMA Employee Resource Group, where she seeks to foster a resilient, supportive and inclusive workforce.  Before joining FEMA’s Headquarters offices in 2013, she served as a coastal engineer for Region IV, overseeing coastal flood hazard analyses and mapping in the southeastern United States.

Brad Miller is a Project Manager with the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. Brad has over 20 years’ experience implementing large scale restoration projects across coastal Louisiana.  Nine of the barrier island restoration and marsh creation projects that he has led have utilized sediment from Federal Waters in the Gulf of Mexico, State Water Bottoms, and the Mississippi River for a total of 34 million cubic yards of sediment placed to restore coastal Louisiana.

Joan Pope: In 2012, Joan retired from US Army Engineer Headquarters after a career with the Corps involving a variety of practicing coastal geology and engineering, research, and management positions.  At the time of her retirement she oversaw the Corps water resource research and development Program. During her career she directed several major projects including the development of the Coastal Engineering Manual, the National Shore Erosion Demonstration Program, and Regional Sediment Management.  Since retiring she has been employed as a consultant with the Corps.

Julie Dean Rosati, PhD, P.E. is Technical Director for Civil Works R&D at the US Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research Development Center in the Coastal & Hydraulics Laboratory. In this role, she oversees basic and applied research involving coastal, watershed, navigation, and environmental assessments over short-term storm hazards and long-term evolution. Julie also serves as a Technical Director for the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association, an Associate Editor of ASCE’s “Waterways” journal, and is a one of the lead representatives for the Corps as part of the multi-organizational US Coastal Research Program.  She has BS and MS degrees in Civil Engineering, and PhD in Oceanography, and is a Professional Engineer in Mississippi.

Peter Seidle, P.E.: Coastal Engineer for Applied Technology & Management, West Palm Beach, FL, Mr. Seidle is a project manager with over 20 years of experience providing domestic and international clients with effective shoreline and inlet solutions. His expertise is in multiple shoreline (beach nourishment, groin, breakwater and jetty) and inlet (sediment budget, sand bypassing, navigation maintenance dredging) projects. He is familiar with the state-of-the-art numerical models, coastal processes analysis techniques and project management tools.  He is knowledgeable of Florida’s and federal regulations and processes.

Hilary Stockdon, Ph.D: A Research Oceanographer with the U.S. Geological Survey Coastal-Marine Hazards and Resources Program (CMHRP), Science Advisor for the CMHRP Coastal Change Hazard program, and an Executive Director for the U.S. Coastal Research Program, she works to develop and coordinate National programs for coastal research and science applications.  Her research on coastal storm impacts, modeling, and forecasting has raised public awareness about the value of scientific information in public policy and decision making. She received her B.S. in Geology from Duke University and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Oceanography from Oregon State University.

Jeff Strahan has over 20 years of experience with the Corps.  He currently serves as the economics team leader in the Office of Water Project Review.  Jeff is responsible for reviewing decision documents for policy compliance and serving as the review manager during Washington level review.  Jeff also serves as the economist on vertical teams in the SMART Planning process.  In this role he advises district PDT’s on the path forward for projects to reach the SMART Planning milestones as well as advising decision makers at Headquarters on the selection of the Tentatively Selected Plan and Agency Decision Milestone.  Jeff earned a Bachelor’s of Arts in Economics from the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama.

Bradley Watson is Coastal States Organization’s Executive Director. Spanning parts or all of four Congresses, Bradley worked for the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure under the late Chairman James L. Oberstar, as a member of the investigations team for the Senate Armed Services Committee under Senator Carl Levin, and as a senior legislative staffer for Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson. Bradley is a graduate of Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., Tulane University in New Orleans, LA, and the evening program at the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America.

Bret Webb, Ph.D., P.E., D.CE is a Professor of Coastal Engineering at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. Dr. Webb’s research focuses on the resilience of the natural and built coastal environments, and how natural shoreline stabilization directly translates to reduced vulnerability of the built environment. Dr. Webb has more than 15 years of experience in coastal engineering research and practice, is a registered Professional Engineer in Alabama and Florida, and is recognized by ACOPNE as a board certified coastal engineer.

Lee Weishar, Ph.D., PWS, Vice President for External Communications:  A Senior Scientist with the Woods Hole Group since 1989, He has more than 40 years’ experience in the fields of oceanography, coastal engineering, sediment transport, ecological restoration, environmental impact assessment, and project/program management.    Prior to joining the Woods Hole Group, he was employed by the USACE Waterways Experiment Station (now ERDC).  Dr. Weishar specializes in coastal engineering and wetland/marsh restoration and the integration of biological, ecological, and hydraulic data into wetland restoration designs to ensure that the design will meet the restoration objectives.

Ken Willson, is a client program manager for Coastal Protection Engineering.  Since 2003, he has assisted coastal clients in Massachusetts, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Louisiana and Texas on coastal restoration and inlet management projects. His broad knowledge base of coastal geology, engineering, surveying, environmental science, policy, and finance has allowed him to assist numerous clients with designing, permitting, and constructing a wide array of beach and inlet management projects. He earned a BS and MS in Geology from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and a Coastal Engineering Certification from Old Dominion University.