Speakers
Bryan Piazza
Director, Freshwater and Marine Science, The Nature Conservancy (TNC)
Dr. Bryan Piazza, director of freshwater and marine science for The Nature Conservancy in Louisiana, provides scientific support and strategic guidance for freshwater and coastal conservation and restoration projects in Louisiana, the Gulf of Mexico coast and the Mississippi River basin. He has published on a number of conservation and restoration topics and is the author of a book titled The Atchafalaya River Basin – History and Ecology of an American Wetland.
Bryan leads multi-agency and university science partnerships that support water policy development, water management in agricultural landscapes, and integrated river management in Louisiana and across the Mississippi River Basin. His current projects include 1) the Atchafalaya River Basin Initiative – conservation and restoration of America’s largest river swamp; 2) development and expansion of The Freshwater Network – an online decision support network for freshwater resources; 3) using science to support robust statewide watershed management planning and policy development in Louisiana; 4) using current and future river flows to assist in planning oyster habitat restoration across the northern Gulf of Mexico; 5) understanding the role of habitat and hydrologic restoration in nutrient cycling; and 6) using market-based approaches to incentivize conservation.
Bryan also serves as an adjunct assistant professor at Louisiana State University, Nicholls State University, Southern Illinois University, and the University of Southern Mississippi. He holds a B.S. from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, and a M.S. and Ph.D. from Louisiana State University.
Bryan lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with his wife and two gregarious sons and is most happy when he’s in a boat or tromping through a wetland.