Each year, the Gulf of Mexico Climate and Resilience Community of Practice (COP), an organization advancing the study of climate science and the ways cities can adapt to these challenges, gives an award recognizing an individual who has done an exemplary job of communicating climate challenges in the Gulf of Mexico.
This year, the Climate and Resilience COP announced that the 2022 Spirit of Community individual award winner is Rhonda Price, director of the office of restoration and resilience for the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. Price accepted the award at the group’s 2023 annual meeting earlier this year in Sarasota, Florida.
For over 25 years, Price has been the leading voice for coastal resilience at the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. She also has served as the chair of the Gulf of Mexico Alliance Coastal Community Resilience Team for over 15 years.
This wealth of experience has made her a go-to resource for community resilience and stakeholder engagement. In the course of her work, she has collaborated with state agencies in each of the five Gulf states and has served as a valuable resource for elected officials (local, state and federal) on topics important to resilience, such as flood insurance and planning for changing climate conditions.
Price also has served a valuable role in advancing important resilience projects and communication initiatives. Relevant examples include her work with the non-profit Smart Home America, where her input and collaboration were critical in the creation of a community post-disaster housing guide. Her work with Gulf TREE, the Clean and Resilient Marinas Guidebook and the Homeowners Handbook to Prepare for Natural Disasters has been instrumental in connecting coastal stakeholders to the tools and resources they need to make informed decisions.
She also helped improve communication around climate science by serving as a key member on the Resilience to Future Flooding Project that developed a series of videos explaining sea level rise science and highlighting community case studies in environmental resilience.
The number of projects Price has played a key role in over the years, the communities served and people reached are too numerous to list. Her work has not been critical only to advancing the mission of the Gulf of Mexico Climate and Resilience COP, but to the cause of environmental resilience in the whole Gulf of Mexico region. Much of the resilience work in the Gulf of Mexico has benefited from Price’s valuable input and technical expertise.
More Information about the Climate and Resilience Community of Practice.