Alyssa has more than 20 years of experience working in hydrology and science to support decision-making. She led strategic planning efforts for the Louisiana Governor’s Climate Task Force as well as for the Capital Area Groundwater Conservation Commission in the greater Baton Rouge area utilizing structured decision making.
She began her career as a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Florida in 2000 after completing her B.S. at Tulane University and her M.S. at the University of New Orleans. She received her Ph.D. from Florida International University in 2008 while working with the USGS. During her years in Florida, she focused on numerical modeling and water availability in both the Floridan and Biscayne aquifers, as well as model independent parameter estimation and uncertainty analysis. This work led her to teach all over the world, including India, Portugal, and Mexico.
In 2011, she moved back to the northern Gulf to work on coastal restoration after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. She was staffed to the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force and was a senior representative to the U.S. Department of the Interior to support both the RESTORE Council and restoration monitoring for the Natural Resource Damage Assessment process. In addition to serving as the Institute’s Senior Vice President and Chief Scientist, Dr. Dausman serves as the Chief Scientist of the RESTORE Act Center of Excellence for Louisiana. She also is an adjunct professor at LSU in geology.
Alyssa previously served as the Science Director for the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council, an independent federal agency created by the RESTORE Act in 2012. She focused on Gulf restoration and science for the council, comprised of the governors of the five Gulf states and cabinet-level officials from six federal agencies. At the council, Alyssa led the consensus-based development of the Initial Funded Priorities List—a $156 million suite of projects containing on-the-ground restoration activities. Alyssa also served as the senior scientist in drafting the council’s 2016 Comprehensive Plan.