Laura Talbert, coordination associate with the Gulf Center for Equitable Climate Resilience at The Water Institute, brings extensive experience in environmental conservation and public policy to the Institute’s Gulf Center for Equitable Climate Resilience.

Talbert has brought her passion for combining natural science and social science for better community engagement and scientific outcome. Her work has taken her around the world, and now she is applying lessons learned to challenges in the United States and specifically the northern Gulf of Mexico region.

Laura received her bachelor’s degree in biology with international studies minor at the University of Kentucky. Laura received her first master’s degree in conservation & rural development from the University of Kent, where she conducted a mixed methods study on predator deterrents in the Indian Himalayas with the Snow Leopard Conservancy – India Trust. She completed her second master’s degree in governance, development, & public policy at the Institute of Development Studies, where she conducted a state policy analysis for her dissertation. Laura previously worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for two years in the National Wildlife Refuge System as a Natural Resources Planner where she co-managed the region’s effort to complete all habitat management plans for National Wildlife Refuges.