BATON ROUGE, La. (October 1, 2024) – The Water Institute announced the hiring of nonprofit leader Jennifer Winstead as its Vice President of Mission Advancement. This newly established position comes at a pivotal moment for the Institute as it continues to expand its mission to advance science and develop innovative methods to address complex environmental and societal challenges.
“The creation of the Mission Advancement role reflects The Water Institute’s continued growth and readiness to scale our impact to the communities we serve, and we are pleased Jennifer Winstead is bringing her proven expertise to lead this effort,” said Beaux Jones, President and CEO of The Water Institute. "Jennifer’s deep connections within Louisiana’s philanthropic and business communities combined with her experience advancing research-driven organizations will be critical in this next phase of The Water Institute’s development."
The Water Institute was founded in 2011 in the aftermath of devastating hurricanes and oil spills and has since become a hub of innovation and collaboration providing the best available science, technology and decision-making support to support communities in Louisiana, the Gulf Coast and beyond. As Vice President of Mission Advancement, Winstead will spearhead efforts to cultivate strategic partnerships, elevate the Institute’s profile and create philanthropic opportunities to increase the Institute’s capacity to innovate and maximize its impact.
"I had the privilege of working with Jennifer Winstead during her tenure as President and CEO at the Pennington Biomedical Research Foundation where her leadership played a pivotal role in the foundation’s success,” said Jerry Jolly, Secretary and Treasurer of The Water Institute Board of Directors. “Jennifer initiated significant fundraising efforts, expanded capacity, and broadened the exposure of Pennington Biomedical, and I am confident that she will be a great asset to The Water Institute and their mission to support our communities living and working with water."
Winstead brings more than two decades of experience advancing organizations through strategic capacity building and fundraising. As the President and CEO of the Pennington Biomedical Research Foundation, which supports LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center, she strengthened the organization’s ability to secure resources and increase their footprint during her 10-year tenure. She conceptualized and led comprehensive philanthropic efforts generating millions of dollars in support; engaged extensively with the research team and launched key initiatives and programs to meet their critical needs; and spearheaded efforts to create a public/private funding that created a new dementia research effort.
She has held leadership positions across a range of nonprofits, including the American Heart Association Virginia Affiliate, where she launched her career, and the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation at University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Beyond her professional roles, Winstead is actively engaged in the community, including having served as President of the Baton Rouge Rotary Club and Vice President of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. She received her Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from Texas Tech University.
"I am thrilled to join The Water Institute at this exciting moment,” said Winstead. "As a Louisiana native, I feel a deep connection to the Institute’s work to help solve the issues facing our coastal and river communities, and I look forward to working with this purpose-driven team by expanding resources and philanthropic investments to help drive solutions that benefit even more people and environments."
Since its founding, The Water Institute has led or been involved in the development of large-scale, integrated research, assessment, modeling, planning, prioritization, and decision making used in: Louisiana’s 2017 and 2023 Coastal Master Plans; the state’s visionary Louisiana Watershed Initiative designed to cross political boundaries in order to address water management on a regional scale; working with Louisiana state government to quantify carbon sequestration potential of coastal restoration projects in the state; and coordinating the formation of a model repository for the state. These successful efforts led to similar work for Houston, Charleston, Mobile and Jacksonville. Most recently the Institute was an instrumental partner in garnering $56 million in federal grant funding for the United Houma Nation to implement their comprehensive tribal resilience plan.
The Institute’s experts have also pioneered cutting-edge techniques and technologies advancing climate resilience, water and sediment management, flood risk management, sustainable and efficient navigation, and more. One example is Louisiana FloodID, which is in use this hurricane season to support a wide range of emergency management functions and decision makers in preparation for and response to storms.
About The Water Institute
The Water Institute is an independent, nonprofit applied research organization driven by the mission to advance science and develop integrated methods to solve complex environmental and societal challenges across Louisiana, the Gulf Coast and beyond. A hub of innovation and collaboration, the Institute’s work transcends boundaries, engaging across government, private industry, academia, and communities. The Institute’s experts work across disciplines to pioneer groundbreaking tools, solutions and decision-making support for coastal, river and deltaic communities. The Water Institute’s vision is resilient and equitable communities, sustainable environments, and thriving economies.