Meet Our Staff
Gulf of Mexico Alliance
1151 Robinson Street
Ocean Springs, MS 39564
Meet the Teams
Alliance Management Team
Florida (CHAIR)
Gareth Leonard
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Carr Building
3800 Commonwealth Blvd., MS 7A5
Tallahassee, FL 32399
Gareth.Leonard@myfwc.com
Alabama
Hank Burch
Assistant Director
Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
31115 Five Rivers Blvd.
Spanish Fort, AL 36527
(251) 621-1216
Hank.Burch@dcnr.alabama.gov
Patti McCurdy
Director of State Lands
Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
64 North Union Street
Montgomery, AL 36130
(334) 242-3484
Patti.Powell@dcnr.alabama.gov
Mississippi (CHAIR-ELECT)
Joe Spraggins
Executive Director
Mississippi Department of Marine Resources
1141 Bayview Avenue
Biloxi, MS 39564
(228) 374-5000
Joe.Spraggins@dmr.ms.gov
Gary Rikard
Executive Director
Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality
P.O. Box 2261
Jackson, MS 39225
(601) 961-5000
Gary_Rikard@deq.state.ms.us
Louisiana
Chip Kline
Louisiana Governor’s Office of Coastal Activities
Baton Rouge, LA 70804
Bren Haase
Louisiana Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration
Baton Rouge, LA 70804
Texas
Toby Baker
Commissioner
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
P.O. Box 13087
Austin, TX 78711-3087
(512) 239-5515
Toby.Baker@tceq.texas.gov
Steve Schar
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
P.O. Box 13087
Austin, TX 78711-3087
Priority Issues Teams
Coastal Resilience
Rhonda Price
Mississippi Department of Marine Resources
(228) 523-4150
rhonda.price@dmr.ms.gov
TBD (Coordinator)
Data & Monitoring
Cheryl P. Clark (Co-Chair)
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Cheryl.P.Clark@floridadep.gov
Dave Reed (Co-Chair)
Gulf of Mexico Alliance
Dave.Reed@gomxa.org
Katherine Wallace (Coordinator)
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Katie.Wallace@FDACS.gov
Education & Engagement
Angela Underwood (Co-Chair)
Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
State Lands Division, Coastal Section, Weeks Bay Reserve
Angela.Underwood@dcnr.alabama.gov
Ilka Porter (Co-chair)
Mobile Baykeeper
iporter@mobilebaykeeper.org
Lee Yokel (Coordinator)
Dauphin Island Sea Lab
(251) 861-2141 ext. 7507
lyokel@disl.org
Habitat Resources
James Pahl (Co-Chair)
State of Louisiana, Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority
(225) 342-2413
james.pahl@la.gov
Syed Khalil (Co-Chair)
State of Louisiana, Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority
Syed.Khalil@La.Gov
Lauren Durr (Coordinator)
Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority
lauren.pourciau@la.gov
Water Resources
Kim Caviness
Water Quality Standards and Special Projects Branch
Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality
(601) 961-5390
kim_caviness@deq.state.ms.us
Jill Csekitz
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
Jill.csekitz@tceq.texas.gov
TBD (Coordinator)
Wildlife & Fisheries
Robin Riechers (Chair)
Texas Parks and Wildlife
Robin.Riechers@tpwd.texas.gov
Mike Smith (Coordinator)
Harte Research Institute
Mikell.Smith@tamucc.edu
Cross-Team Initiatives
Conservation, Restoration & Resilience Planning
Rhonda Price (Team Facilitator)
Mississippi Department of Marine Resources
rhonda.price@dmr.ms.gov
Jim Pahl (Team Facilitator)
Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority
james.pahl@la.gov
Ecosystem Services Assessment
Becky Allee, PhD (Team Facilitator)
Becky.Allee@noaa.gov
Marine Debris
Jennifer McGee (Chair)
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Jennifer McGee
Caitlin Wessel (Team Facilitator)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Caitlin.Wessel@noaa.gov
Doug Jacobson (Team Facilitator)
Environmental Protection Agency
Jacobson.doug@epa.gov