Simone’s primary role as campaign director of the coalition, Restore the Mississippi River Delta, is to support the staff’s daily work towards achieving a future Mississippi River Delta that includes a just, climate-resilient coast where people and nature thrive. Simone’s work centers around implementing the coalition’s goals, which include advancing priority projects, protecting and pursuing critical coastal funding, and working/laying the foundation to secure an equitable, safe and flourishing future coast.

Simone brings 20 years of experience in organizational leadership, coastal advocacy, policy work, and outreach to Restore the Mississippi Delta (MRD) after previously serving as the executive director for Restore or Retreat — a partner organization and nonprofit coastal advocacy group working to identify and expedite the implementation of aggressive, large-scale restoration projects. Through that partnership, she has been directly embedded and working alongside the MRD for more than a decade. In 2017, she was awarded the Coastal Stewardship Award by the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana in recognition of her impact on addressing our coastal crisis. Simone has also been the co-host of the MRD’s Delta Dispatches podcast, where she has interviewed thought leaders on coastal issues in more than 170 episodes since 2016. In 2023, Simone was named one of Louisiana Life Magazine’s Louisianians of the Year, and she has also been a part of Biz New Orleans feature the “New Orleans 500.”

A Houma native and Jefferson Parish resident, Simone is a leading expert on coastal restoration efforts. Appointed to serve on the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Coastal Protection, Restoration and Conservation, she is also a member of the state’s Coastal Advisory Team working on the 2029 Coastal Master Plan. She never says no to a field trip, loves Mardi Gras (just another Tuesday everywhere else), and has a loving family that allows her to put her potato salad IN her gumbo.