March 31 – April 1, 2009 Living Shorelines Training Speaker Bios

1) Karen Duhring
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Gloucester, VA
(804) 684-7159
karend@vims.edu

Karen Duhringis a Shoreline Advisory Scientist at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Because VIMS serves as the advisory agency that reviews permit requests and assesses environmental interests, Karen has experience in both the regulatory and scientific side of living shorelines. She served on the Steering Committee of the Living Shoreline Summit, and has provided numerous trainings on living shoreline techniques.

2) Rick Ayella
Chief, Tidal Wetlands Division
Maryland Department of the Environment
Washington Blvd
Baltimore, MD
(410) 537-8075 (Tidal Wetlands Division)
rayella@mde.state.md.us

Rick Ayella is the Chief of the Tidal Wetlands Division at the Maryland Department of the Environment. Rick oversees both the permitting process for general living shoreline permit applications, as well as administering two funding programs that include living shorelines. Rick was heavily involved in the passage of the living shoreline statute in 2008, and is currently drafting program regulations to govern living shoreline projects.

3) Jana Davis
Chesapeake Bay Trust
60 West St, Suite 405
Annapolis, MD 21401
(410) 974-2941
jdavis@cbtrust.org

Dr. Jana Davis is the Associate Director of the Chesapeake Bay Trust, a non-profit group that funds watershed restoration and education projects. Among other duties, Jana leads the Living Shoreline Grant Program at the Trust, a partnership with the Maryland Department of the Environment and the NOAA-Restoration Center. This program funds replacement of shoreline armor with living shorelines and/or protection of eroding shoreline with living shorelines in Maryland, Virginia, and the Distrcit of Columbia. Jana served on the Steering Committee for the Living Shoreline Summit held in December 2006, was an editor for the Summit’s Proceedings, has published work on shoreline and shallow-water ecology in peer-reviewed journals, and has given numerous scientific talks and seminars on shoreline ecology.

4) Walter Priest
NOAA Restoration Center
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Great Rd
Gloucester Point, VA, 23062
(804) 543-2744
walter.priest@noaa.gov

Walter Priest is a Restoration Scientist with the NOAA Restoration Center, based at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. As part of his current role, he provides technical assistance and design guidance for parties interested in living shoreline implementation. He serves as the Virginia manager for the NOAA-CBT-NFWF-KCF Living Shoreline Initiative Grant Program. Prior to his NOAA role, Walter was a VIMS research scientist for many years.

5) Laura Herr
Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
Division of Water Resources
89 Kings Highway
Dover, DE 19901
(302)739-9943; (302) 739-9380
Laura.Herr@state.de.us

Laura Herr is the Manager of the Department’s Wetlands and Subaqueous Lands Section with responsibility for enforcing Delaware’s laws and regulations governing projects in waters and wetlands. As such, she oversees a team of six environmental scientists who review all of the permit applications for shoreline stabilization projects within the State. Laura has over 20 years of experience reviewing, permitting and monitoring shoreline stabilization projects, and has played a key role in helping the regulatory program evolve from one which used to allow hardened shorelines and vertical bulkheads to one which now requires a Living Shorelines approach. Laura has a B.S. in biology from the University of Delaware and an M.S. in Environmental Science from Drexel University.

6) Gene Slear
Vice President, Environmental Concern
(410)745-9620 x202
construction@wetland.org

Gene Slear is the current Vice President of Environmental Concern, a not-for profit conservation organization founded in 1972. Gene heads up the construction division of EC. EC has been a leader in prescribing and constructing living shorelines to control shoreline erosion since the early 1970's. Since 1972, Environmental Concern has restored and protected over 35 miles of shoreline in Chesapeake Bay.

7) Doug Huggett
Major Permits Coordinator
NC Division of Coastal Manager
400 Commerce Ave
Morehead City, NC 28557
(252) 808-2808
Doug.Huggett@ncdenr.gov

Doug Huggett is the Major Permits and Federal Consistency Coordinator for the N.C. Division of Coastal Management with responsibilities for ensuring that major developments proposed forNorth Carolina’s coastal zone are in keeping with the Coastal Area Management Act, State Dredge and Fill Law, and other enforceable policies of the North Carolina coastal program. Doug, who has almost 20 years of experience in environmental permitting in North Carolina, has also been active in policy issues and rule development surrounding coastal shoreline regulations in North Carolina, and was the lead staff member responsible for the development of a General Permit for offshore sill structures. Doug has a B.S. degree from the Florida Institute of Technology and a M.A. degree from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.