WASHINGTON – The Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine today announced grant awards for 13 new projects totaling $3.7 million.

Communities in the Gulf region and Alaska — many of which are disadvantaged or historically marginalized — confront numerous complex and interrelated challenges associated with climate change, including impacts from a range of events such as sea level rise, flooding, severe storms, wildfires, and erosion. Seven projects awarded grants under the Innovative Community Engagement Methods grant opportunity seek to develop and employ innovative approaches to engage communities in activities addressing the impacts of climate change on human health and community resilience.

Additionally, when confronting challenges associated with climate hazards or other disasters, local governments often struggle to make effective use of science and data in planning and decision-making processes, despite an abundance of data and decision-support tools. The GRP is supporting six projects through its Bridging Knowledge to Action grants that will facilitate the use of open and accessible data to help state, local, or tribal governments achieve better outcomes associated with climate hazards or other disasters.

“These grants will support collaborative efforts in communities across the Gulf region and Southcentral Alaska to engage with historically disadvantaged and marginalized communities to prioritize and address the potential impacts of climate change and other disasters on their health and resilience,” said Charlene Milliken, senior program manager for the GRP’s Gulf Health and Resilience Board. “Each community faces its own unique set of challenges, and innovative, locally informed approaches are key to meeting those challenges and building a healthier future.”

Innovative Community Engagement Methods
The seven projects awarded grants under this topic, listed in alphabetical order by project title, are:

Community Art Living Shorelines
Project Director (PD): Kellyn LaCour-Conant
PD Organization: Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana
Project Team: Darrah Bach; Corey Miller; James Karst; Marissa Wendte
Award: $134,571

Creation of a Community Resilience Registry: The Case for Fifth Ward and Kashmere Gardens
Project Director (PD): Rev. James Caldwell
PD Organization: Coalition of Community Organizations
Project Team: Denae King, Texas Southern University; P. Grace Tee Lewis, Environmental Defense Fund; Garett Sansom, Institute for Sustainable Communities, Texas A&M University
Award: $300,000

Engaging Community Leaders in Tampa Bay through Storytelling and Personal Experiences of Climate Change
Project Director (PD): Amanda Moore
PD Organization: National Wildlife Federation
Project Team: Jessica Bibza; Arsum Pathak; Melissa Hill
Award: $299,020

Engaging New Orleanians in Community-Based Flood Monitoring and Campaigns to Discuss Impacts and Resilience
Project Director (PD): Cynthia Sarthou
PD Organization: Healthy Gulf
Project Team: Monica Farris, University of New Orleans; Jasmine Moll, Healthy Gulf & ISeeChange; Julia Drapkin, ISeeChange; Jared Genova, ISeeChange & Umbrella Collaborative, L3C
Award: $300,000

From Resilience to Restoration: Leveraging Houses of Faith to Move the Gulf South
Project Director (PD): Rev. Michael Malcom
PD Organization: The People’s Justice Council
Project Team: Kyle Crider, The People's Justice Council; Avery Lamb, Creation Justice Ministries
Award: $300,000

Reclaiming the Narrative: Cultivating Black Innovation in Green Spaces
Project Director (PD): Oji Alexander
PD Organization: Home by Hand
Project Team: Rianda Akins-Brooks, Glory Gardens; Atianna J. Cordova, WATER BLOCK + WATER BLOCK Kids; Andrea Chen, Propeller
Award: $300,000

When the Water Lives, We Live: Cohort-Based Community Engagement and Planning in Southcentral Alaska
Project Director (PD): Willow Hetrick
PD Organization: Chugach Regional Resources Commission
Project Team: Erin Shew, Chugach Regional Resources Commission; Kristin Timm, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Award: $299,688

Bridging Knowledge to Action: Using Data to Develop Equitable Outcomes or Solutions to Climate Hazards and Other Disasters
The six projects awarded grants under this topic, listed in alphabetical order by project title, are:

Democratizing Data for Equitable Recovery
Project Director (PD): Allison Plyer
PD Organization: Nonprofit Knowledge Works (The Data Center)
Project Team: Lamar Gardere, Nonprofit Knowledge Works; William O'Dell, University of Florida; Andrea Galinski, University of Florida; Anne Ray, University of Florida; Chris Rietow, Apalachee Regional Planning Council; Ben Chandler, Apalachee Regional Planning Council; Donald Morgan, Apalachee Regional Planning Council; Caroline Smith, Apalachee Regional Planning Council
Award: $300,000

Equity Informed Climate Resilience Planning for a Texas Gulf Coastal Golden Triangle At-Risk Community
Project Director (PD): Stephanie Glenn
PD Organization: Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC)
Project Team: Margaret Cook, HARC; Michelle Smith, The Community In-Power and Development Association; John Hall, HARC; Hilton Kelly, The Community In-Power and Development Association; Jorge Brenner, Jupiter Data Factory
Award: $274,243

 Heat Vulnerability Playbook: Preparing Tampa’s At-Risk Communities for Extreme Heat
Project Director (PD): Taryn Sabia
PD Organization: University of South Florida
Project Team: Shawn Landry, University of South Florida; Theodore Green, University of South Florida; Margaret Winter, University of South Florida; Corinne LeTourneau, Resilient Cities Catalyst; Paul Nelson, Resilient Cities Catalyst; Whit Remer, City of Tampa
Award: $299,603

 Incorporating Equity and Social Vulnerability into the Design of Flood Risk Mitigation Strategies
Project Director (PD): David Johnson
PD Organization: Purdue University
Project Team: Scott Hemmerling, The Water Institute of the Gulf; Jordan Fischbach, The Water Institute of the Gulf; Audrey Grismore, The Water Institute of the Gulf
Award: $299,913

Linking Coastal-Watershed Resilience to Urban Reinvestment: Build Baton Rouge and Louisiana Watershed Initiative Region 7
Project Director (PD): Rebeca de Jesus Crespo
PD Organization: Louisiana State University (LSU)
Project Team: Thomas Douthat, LSU; Clint Wilson, LSU; Katie Spidalieri, Georgetown Climate Center; Anne Bennet, Georgetown Climate Center; Manny Patole, Consultant; Rachelle Sanderson, Capital Region Planning Commission; Gretchen Siemers, Build Baton Rouge
Award: $298,259

 Understanding and Overcoming Data Biases to Enable More Equitable and Reliable Flood Alert
Project Director (PD): Jamie Padgett
PD Organization: Rice University
Project Team: Elizabeth Roberto; Bill Fulton; Philip Bedient; Devika Subramanian
Award: $300,000

The National Academies’ Gulf Research Program is an independent, science-based program founded in 2013 as part of legal settlements with the companies involved in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. It seeks to enhance offshore energy system safety and protect human health and the environment by catalyzing advances in science, practice, and capacity to generate long-term benefits for the Gulf of Mexico region and the nation. The program has $500 million for use over 30 years to fund grants, fellowships, and other activities in the areas of research and development, education and training, and monitoring and synthesis.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, technology, and medicine. They operate under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences, signed by President Lincoln.

Contact:
Pete Nelson, Director of Communications
Gulf Research Program
PNelson@nas.edu