Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana Announces Board of Directors for 2023

The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, a statewide nonprofit dedicated to addressing coastal land loss in Louisiana, has named its board of directors and leadership for 2023. The organization, which belongs to the Restore the Mississippi River Delta campaign, recently marked its 35th anniversary. CRCL advocates for science-based coastal policy and conducts boots-on-the-ground restoration projects through its Native Plants Program and its Oyster Shell Recycling Program. The nonprofit also educates students through its Future Coastal Leaders program and hosts the biennial State of the Coast conference.

“We are fortunate to have a strong Board, one whose members are deeply knowledgeable and involved in the restoration of our coast, and who also represent the diversity of our state,” said Kim Reyher, CRCL executive director. “This is such an important time for our state, as we implement large-scale projects, and our Board is poised to help bring our dreams to fruition.”

The leaders of CRCL’s board are:

• Parker Kilgore, chairman. Kilgore is a partner in the Baton Rouge office of Jones Walker LLP. He is a commercial litigator who represents energy, construction and business clients in a wide variety of litigation matters and business transactions.
• Ashley Liuzza, vice chairwoman. Liuzza is the chief operating officer and attorney at Stag Liuzza LLC in New Orleans. Her practice centers on litigating complex environmental pollution claims, toxic exposure claims and mineral royalty disputes.
• James Wiltenmuth, treasurer. Wiltenmuth is an associate director in P&N’s Accounting and Assurance Services Group. He has worked with a wide range of clients, including nonprofit organizations, public and privately held companies, and employee benefit plans.
• Steve Chustz, secretary. Chustz has more than 30 years of experience in environmental management with the state of Louisiana. A geologist, he spent his first 20 years with the state working at the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality in surface water, groundwater and remediation programs. He then moved to the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, where he served as director of the Atchafalaya Basin Program, assistant secretary of the Office of Coastal Management and secretary of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources.

New members of the board are:

• Devyani Kar, a senior climate resilience scientist at Stantec working nationwide on climate risk and adaptation projects. Previously, at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), she was the Restore the Mississippi River Delta (MRD) coalition’s coastal projects and programs committee chair. At the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) of Louisiana, she managed all stages of natural infrastructure projects.
• Will Norman, a senior client services manager with SWCA Environmental Consultants with more than 20 years of experience in the planning, development and management of multidisciplinary water resource projects and programs. His primary area of focus has been coastal restoration and flood protection along the Gulf Coast, and more recently supporting SWCA’s energy clients as they evaluate and develop environmental sustainability and governance initiatives and consider the energy transition market.

Returning members of the board are:

• Mindy Nunez Airhart, the president and CEO of SSE Steel Fabrication, an AISC-certified structural steel fabrication contractor in St. Bernard Parish.
• Donald Brinkman, who leads the ports practice and southwest Louisiana region for CSRS Inc., an architecture and engineering firm headquartered in Baton Rouge.
• Robert Gardiner, who retired in 2002 from his position as president of Maine Public Broadcasting and went on to develop a large commercial wind power farm in western Maine.
• Sarah Giles, an environmental consultant specializing in wetlands and as a wildland firefighter with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
• Brendan Hughes, an attorney with Galloway who practices in the areas of environmental, maritime, insurance and construction law.
• Heather Layrisson, a project manager at Jacobs, where she manages large-scale coastal restoration projects and water/wastewater infrastructure projects around the state. She is also the manager of projects for Jacobs’ Louisiana infrastructure portfolio.
• Terrence Lockett, president of Axis Strategies LLC, a public and governmental affairs firm that provides strategic planning and management to candidates seeking elected office along with governmental affairs representation for a variety of entities at the state and federal level.
• Brock Piglia, the director of marketing at DonahueFavret Contractors, a regional general contractor with commercial projects throughout the Gulf South.
• John Ross, vice president of marketing at PosiGen Solar, a national residential solar company focused on serving underserved communities and headquartered in New Orleans.
• Randy Smith, principal and director of first impressions at Wingate Engineers, a New Orleans-based civil engineering and design firm.
• Kristian Sonnier, the vice president of communications and business development at Ryan Gootee General Contractors, a commercial construction company in New Orleans.

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