Greg Guannel is the director of the Caribbean Green Technology Center at the University of the Virgin Islands. He is a civil engineer by training and has a background in coastal engineering and hazard risk reduction by ecosystems such as mangroves and coral reefs. Guannel focuses on issues of infrastructure resilience, energy independence, and waste reduction. He resides on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, and his work encompasses the entire Virgin Islands region.

Dolores D. Parker was born in Bayou Goula, La. The daughter of a minister, she grew up moving around the state. She graduated from Clark High School in New Orleans then earned a B.A. degree in elementary education from Dillard. She taught in New Orleans public schools for 32 years and taught reading in an adult education program. She is the mother of four children: Raymond, Raynelle, Raynette, and Raynard. Raymond, who also contributes to this interview, is her oldest child.

Ida Belle Joshua is a native of New Orleans, La., and survivor of Hurricane Betsy. She moved to the Ninth Ward in 1949 with her husband, Isaac Joshua Sr. They have three children. Before Hurricane Betsy, she worked as a hair dresser. After the storm, she attended the University of New Orleans, Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University), and Tulane University and worked as a teacher's aide, social worker, and adjunct professor at Xavier University.

Dorothy Mackey Prevost is a New Orleans native and survivor of Hurricane Betsy. She lived in the Lower Ninth Ward her entire life, attended McCarty Elementary School and Booker T. Washington High School, and worked as a seamstress. She married Charles Prevost in 1953 and had two daughters, Tessie and Tory. Tessie was one of the first African-American students to integrate McDonogh 19 School in the 1960s.

Lucille D. Duminy moved into New Orleans' Ninth Ward around 1949. She survived Hurricane Betsy in 1965 and rebuilt her house and life there.

Scope and Content Note
Duminy discusses her childhood, living in the Ninth Ward in the 1950s and 1960s, her ordeal in surviving Hurricane Betsy, her encounters with relief agencies afterward, Hurricane Camille in 1969, and other hurricanes.

Lucy Boyer Thomas was born in 1923, grew up in the Fazendeville village near Chalmette, and attended school in New Orleans through the eleventh grade. She studied nursing at UCLA and worked as a nurse in California and Louisiana. She married Francis Thomas and they had five children. She lived in the Ninth Ward for more than fifty years, surviving Hurricane Betsy. She died in 2004 at age eighty-one.

Edgar, Alma Moran, and Jerome Felix Timmons of Harris Neck Oysters and Seafood LLC.

Darwin Gale, Jr. is a commercial fishermen based in Darien, Georgia. 

Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan is a distinguished American geologist and a former NASA astronaut. Born on October 3, 1951, in Paterson, New Jersey, she became the first American woman to walk in space on October 11, 1984, during the Space Shuttle Challenger mission STS-41-G. Sullivan's academic background includes a bachelor's degree in Earth sciences from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a Ph.D. in geology from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Clair Hebert Marceaux, born on September 9th, 1977, is a native of Cameron, Louisiana, a coastal village in Cameron Parish. She spent her early life in Cameron, before moving to Lafayette for 11 years to pursue her undergraduate and graduate studies and later work as a teacher. Marceaux holds an undergraduate degree in English from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and studied British literature in graduate school. She began her career as a teacher at the Episcopal School of Acadiana and later at St. Thomas More Catholic High School.

Charles Allen, a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, has been a lifelong advocate for coastal restoration and protection. Born on July 21, 1973, Allen spent his early years in the Gentilly neighborhood known as Voscoville, behind Dillard University. He later lived in New Orleans East before his father moved the family to the Lower Ninth Ward in 1980, where his father still resides. Allen's advocacy work began in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina when he joined the groundswell of voices calling for the closure of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO).

Blaise Daniel Pezold, born on February 15th, 1978, at East Jefferson Hospital in Metairie, Louisiana, is a passionate advocate for coastal restoration and protection in Louisiana. Although he moved away from Louisiana at a young age, he returned at the age of 18 and has lived there ever since. His early experiences with the wetlands, including fishing trips with his grandfather and working with his father, an ichthyologist, instilled in him a deep connection to the region.

Victoria Sagrera Bourque, born on December 31, 1990, in Lafayette, Louisiana, is a passionate advocate for coastal restoration in Louisiana. She grew up in Mouton Cove, a small area just south of Abbeville, Louisiana, and north of Intracoastal City, in a family with strong agricultural roots. Her childhood memories are filled with experiences on the farm, from following her grandfather around to testing the soil for salinity after storms. These experiences, coupled with her coastal upbringing, fueled her passion for coastal restoration.

Jacqueline Mary Richard, born on August 30, 1980, in Naperville, Illinois, is a prominent advocate for coastal restoration in Louisiana. She moved to New Orleans to pursue her graduate studies at the University of New Orleans, initially intending to become a vertebrate paleontologist. However, her academic journey took an unexpected turn when she took a class on coastal restoration with Denise Reed. This class inspired her to contribute to the cause of coastal restoration, leading her to volunteer and learn more about the coast.

Richie Blink, born on August 31, 1986, in New Orleans, is a native of Louisiana with a deep-rooted connection to the state's wetlands and coastal ecosystems. He spent his childhood in Empire, Louisiana, a small fishing village located about 60 miles south of New Orleans. His father, a commercial fisherman, introduced him to the intricacies of the delta ecosystem through various fishing activities such as oystering, shrimping, and crab trapping. This early exposure to the wetlands fostered a profound understanding of the delta's systems and their importance to the local community.

Corey Thomas Miller, born in 1982 in Jefferson Parish in Metairie, is a prominent advocate for coastal restoration in Louisiana. Raised in Metairie, he attended high school in New Orleans and later pursued his higher education at Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge. After his undergraduate studies, Miller decided to further his education by pursuing a master's degree in sociology at the University of New Orleans (UNO). During his time at UNO, he was fortunate to secure an assistantship with the UNO Center for Hazard Assessment, Response, and Technology (CHART).

Kellyn Lacour-Conant is a dedicated environmentalist with a deep-rooted connection to the wetlands of Louisiana. Born on April 13th, 1993 in Houston, Texas, she spent her childhood summers in Louisiana, where her family originates from. Her early experiences with the water, both in Houston, the "Bayou City", and in Louisiana, where her family engaged in fishing and hunting, instilled in her a profound appreciation for wetland ecosystems. This appreciation eventually led her to pursue a career in environmental conservation.

Brenda Dardar Robichaux, born on October 15, 1958, in New Orleans, Louisiana, is a prominent figure in the United Houma Nations, having served as the Principal Chief. She spent her childhood in the south end of Golden Meadow, below the corporation limits of the town of Golden Meadow, and has lived most of her adult life in Lafourche Parish and Raceland. Robichaux's connection to Louisiana's wetlands is deeply rooted in her family's history and traditions. Her grandfather was a trapper, hunter, and farmer who used plants from the local environment for traditional medicine.

Eddie Joseph Sapia, Jr. was born on March 27, 1934, in New Orleans, Louisiana. He spent his entire life in Lafitte, Louisiana, a small town nestled in the state's coastal wetlands. As a child, he was deeply influenced by his grandfather, who introduced him to the local fishing and trapping practices. Despite his father's insistence on formal education, Sapia found his true calling in the outdoors, particularly in the wetlands, that he grew to love. He began working on boats at an early age, driving his grandfather's vessels and learning the intricacies of the local waterways.

Yancy William Welch, born on December 9, 1965, in Lake Charles, Louisiana, is a lifelong resident of Oak Grove, a small town located approximately 40 miles away. Raised in a family deeply rooted in the rural traditions of Louisiana's wetlands, Welch's upbringing was characterized by a strong sense of community and family involvement in shared tasks, such as gardening and cattle rearing. His family's livelihood was primarily based on agriculture and hunting, with his father working as a school teacher to supplement their income.

Sherrill Sagrera is an advocate for the preservation and restoration of Louisiana's coastal wetlands. Born on November 12, 1941, in Abbeville, Louisiana, Sherrill grew up in Cheniere au Tigre, an island in South Vermillion Parish. His family's connection to this ecosystem goes back generations, as they owned and managed land that was once a thriving resort community. Sherrill witnessed the island's evolution from a bustling community with a hotel, dance hall, and school to a region grappling with wetland loss and environmental challenges.

Mr. St. Pé was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on June 15, 1950. He has lived in Southeast Louisiana his entire life. He is a biologist. He worked for Water Pollution and Control under the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and later under the Department of Environmental Quality starting in 1974. Mr. St. Pé was appointed to be on the scientific technical committee of the Estuary program and was later elected Chairman. He currently works for the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program. Mr. St.

Mrs. Lauderman was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on December 14, 1937. She grew up in Orleans and Jefferson Parishes. She attended St. Martin’s Episcopal School in Metarie, Louisiana. She worked as a social worker. She currently encourages students to get more involved in wetlands preservation through the use of oral histories.

Mrs. Green was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on October 18, 1935. Her grandfather, Jim Webb, managed her father-in-laws land for 50 years. After his passing, Mrs. Green along with her cousin, Skip Haller, took over the management of the land which spans seven parishes. Upon realizing the devastation facing the land, Mrs. Green began working with CWPPRA to restore the land. She has been a wetlands and coastal restoration advocate since then.

Scope and Content Note: 

Mr. Walton "Buddy" Daisy was born in 1944 in Houma, Louisiana, where he has lived his entire life. He began working in the oyster industry at the age of sixteen, following the death of his father when he was twelve years old. Daisy started his career in the oyster industry by working for his brother to help support his mother. Over the years, he has witnessed significant changes in the industry, particularly in terms of regulations and the shift from a focus on winter oyster harvesting to a year-round operation.

Davie Breaux is a native of South Louisiana, born and raised in Galiano, and has spent his life working in and around the coastal region. He is the Director of Operations for the Greater Lafourche Port Commission, a position he has held for 16 years, overseeing the construction and development of the port itself. Prior to this, he worked in the construction industry, gaining valuable experience as a draftsman for architects and engineers and later working for a general contractor for 14 years.

Cindy Cutrera is a lifelong resident of Morgan City, Louisiana, born in December 1956. She is married to a man who is also a lifetime resident of the city, and together they have three daughters. Two of her daughters live in the area, while the third resides in Lafayette, Louisiana. Cutrera's family has a strong connection to the local community and the natural environment, often camping at Lake End Park and participating in local gatherings.

Interview with Kim Lowther

David Kurohara has been fishing since he was twelve years old. He is an active mullet fisher in Wailoa State Park in Hilo, Hawaii. In 2017, he joined the Hawai‘i Island Leadership Council. He has worked for Hawaii Electric for twenty years and serves as the company’s Business and Community Consultant. David is a respected community leader and volunteer who donates his time to many services and non-profit boards.

Ken Graham is the Director of NOAA's National Weather Service and is the Assistant Administrator for Weather Services at NOAA. In this role, he is responsible for the day-to-day civilian weather operations for the United States, its territories, adjacent waters, and ocean areas. Prior to becoming the 17th NWS Director on June 7, 2022, he served as the director of NOAA’s National Hurricane Center, leading the nation through numerous hurricanes, including 30 named storms during the record-breaking 2020 hurricane season.

Dr. Louis W. Uccellini was the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Assistant Administrator for Weather Services, and Director of the National Weather Service (2013-2022). In this role, he was responsible for the day-to-day civilian weather operations for the United States, its territories, adjacent waters, and ocean areas.

Dr. Russell Schnell is a distinguished scientist with a remarkable career dedicated to environmental research and monitoring. His journey began as a teenager when he joined the Royal Canadian Air Cadet squadron. At the age of 18, he embarked on his first international trip as part of the inaugural Air Cadet exchange program with Israel. During his first year of graduate studies in 1968, Dr. Schnell made a groundbreaking discovery of biological ice nuclei, which has now become a distinct and actively researched field.

Interview with Mr. Dave Sargent, Retired Herring Warden and Shellfish Constable for the Town of Gloucester

Lakemariam Worku is a 33-year-old atmospheric science PhD student from Ethiopia. He attended A&T State University in Greensboro, North Carolina, and is currently working on his research. His interest in meteorology began in his childhood when he would visit a meteorology station with his friend whose father was a meteorology observer. This fascination led him to join the meteorology department at Arba Minch University in Ethiopia. After graduation, he worked for the national meteorology agency of Ethiopia for seven years before moving to the United States.