Staff

Mark Davis
Director    

Mark Davis is a Senior Research Fellow at Tulane University Law School and Director of the Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy at the Law School. He comes to the Institute after 14 years as the Executive Director of the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana where he was extensively involved in shaping laws, policies and programs at the state and federal level dealing the restoration and stewardship of coastal ecosystems. Prior to that time he practiced law in Washington DC and Chicago. He has also been an adjunct professor at IIT Chicago Kent School of Law and Indiana University's School of Business in Indianapolis. He has a JD, with honors, from Indiana University and an MLT from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Mr. Davis has written and lectured widely on matters related to coastal and water resource management and has testified before White House and Congressional panels on numerous occasions. He has been recognized for his work with a Louisiana Legend Award from the Louisiana Environmental Action Network and an Environmental Hero award from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Contact: msdavis@tulane.edu

Ann Yoachim
Program Manager   

Ann Yoachim joined the Institute in January 2008. She has experience managing non-profit programs, facilitating community capacity building, and conducting social science research in New Orleans and abroad.  As Assistant Director of the Center for Environmental Communication at Loyola University, Ann worked in conjunction with the Tulane/Xavier Center for Bioenvironmental Research and the Center for Sustainable Engagement on projects focused on the sustainable redevelopment of the Holy Cross neighborhood/Lower 9th Ward.

She has worked on issues at the intersection of water, health, and livelihoods at household, community, and regional levels.  Working with ITDG-East Africa, she developed and led the implementation of a UNDP funded baseline household survey on water and sanitation access of urban settlements in Nairobi.  In spring 2007, she conducted field research on fish frame recycling on the shores of Lake Victoria. This work focused broadly on understanding the political economy and fish frame markets of the Lake through women's cooperatives working and living in Homa Bay. 

Ann has a MPH in International Health and Development from Tulane's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and a BA in Environmental Studies and Political Science from Dickinson College. Prior to receiving her MPH, she worked as a fundraiser and environmental educator in the New Orleans area.

Contact: ayoachim@tulane.edu