Shannon Estenoz,

Vice President of

Policy & Public Affairs /

Chief Operating Officer,

The Everglades Foundation

Shannon Estenoz’s Everglades career spans 23 years in leadership roles including Executive Director of the Environmental and Land Use Law Center, Everglades Program Director for the World Wildlife Fund, and Sun Coast Regional Director for the National Parks Conservation Association. She also served three terms as the National

Co-Chair of the Everglades Coalition, including during the authorization of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). Estenoz served on Gov. Lawton Chiles’ Commission for a Sustainable South Florida, and Gov. Jeb Bush’s Commission for the Everglades. In 2007, Gov. Charlie Crist appointed her to represent Broward County on the Governing Board of the South Florida Water Management District, where she served as Vice Chair of the Board, Chair

of the Water Resources Advisory Commission, founding Chair of the Broward Water Resources Task Force, and a member of the Broward County Water Advisory Board. In 2010, Estenoz was appointed by the U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar as the Department’s Director of Everglades Restoration Initiatives, and Executive Director of the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force. She played a key role in the initiation and completion of the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP), and led the effort to secure a $90 million partnership with Gov. Rick Scott for the construction of a 2.6-mile bridge on Tamiami Trail (U.S. Highway 41) to allow water to flow into Everglades National Park.

Estenoz regularly delivers public addresses, testimony and presentations about the Everglades to elected officials, civic and professional organizations, foreign dignitaries and visitors. She also has extensive experience briefing decision-makers on Everglades policy, including two Governors, three Interior Secretaries, numerous members of Congress, and the Vice President and President of the U.S. Estenoz’s contributions to the Everglades have been recognized with the 2016 Ecological Society of America Regional Policy Award, the 2010 Marjory Stoneman Douglas Environmental Award from Friends of the Everglades, the 2010 Champion of the Everglades Award from Audubon of Florida, the 2009 George Barley Conservationist of the Year Award from the Everglades Coalition, the 2003

Conservationist of the Year Award from the Florida Wildlife Federation, and the National Wetland Award from the Environmental Law Institute in 2000. Estenoz is a fifth-generation native of Key West, Florida. She holds degrees in

International Affairs and Civil Engineering from Florida State University. She and her husband, Richard Grosso, have lived in Broward County for 24 years, and have two sons.

Robert (Bob) Johnson, 

Supervisory Hydrologist and Director South Florida Natural Resources Center (SFNRC), 

Everglades National Park

Robert (Bob) Johnson began working as a hydrologist for the Everglades National Park Service in November 1983, and was named Director of the SFNRC in 1995. 

Johnson oversees the natural resources management programs for Dry Tortugas and Everglades National Parks,

as well as the broader National Park Services’ engagement in Everglades restoration projects for the National Park 

Service/Department of the Interior. He also chairs the Science Coordination Group, the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, and is the Designated Institutional Official liaison with the National Academy of Sciences 

external peer review of Everglades restoration progress. 

Bob has spent the majority of his professional career studying the impacts of water management on the Everglades, and recommending actions to restore the natural ecosystems. Bob plans to retire from the National Park Service in December 2020, but will continue to work as a science advisor within the Department of the Interior Office of Everglades Restoration Initiatives.

Dennis R. Duke, 

Senior Civil Engineer,

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Dennis Duke currently works part-time as a Senior Civil Engineer in the Planning Division of the Jacksonville District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, assisting in the Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual update effort and other South Florida restoration projects.

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Previously, he served over 10 years as Senior Program Manager and Advisor on Everglades restoration in the Office of Everglades Restoration Initiatives of the U.S. Department of the Interior, coordinating activities within DOI on special projects. He also worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, South Florida Water Management District, State of Florida, and other federal, state, and local agencies, as well as special interest groups and stakeholders to advance restoration activities.  

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In the early ‘90s, as the Corps’ role in environmental restoration grew, he became involved with the Kissimmee River Restoration Project and other projects.  With the passage of the Water Resources Development Act of 2000, and the authorization of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), Duke was tapped to lead the overall restoration efforts for South Florida at Jacksonville, and was responsible for the overall startup and execution of the program for CERP, working closely with Corps Headquarters and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works on CERP startup and overall restoration policies. Duke retired from the Corps of Engineers in 2007, after 34 years in project management, planning, construction, and emergency response.

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Duke holds a bachelor's and master's degree in Civil Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, with a specialty in Water Resources Engineering. He and his wife have two children and three grandchildren.

Stu Appelbaum, 

Technical Expert, Water Management, Arcadis

Stu Appelbaum is currently a national technical expert in the water management practice for Arcadis, a global natural and built asset design and consultancy firm. Mr. Appelbaum came to Arcadis after a distinguished 35-year career with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in water resources planning and policy, ecosystem restoration, adaptive management, and program management. 

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During his USACE career, Appelbaum led the interagency, interdisciplinary team of federal, state, tribal, and local agencies in developing the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) that was authorized by Congress in the Water Resources Development Act of 2000. He also led the development and federal rule-making process for the programmatic regulations that guide the implementation of CERP. 

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Appelbaum later served as the USACE program manager for Everglades restoration,  with responsibility for the implementation of CERP projects, as well as the Kissimmee River Restoration and Modified Water Deliveries to Everglades National Park projects. He also led the RECOVER group, with responsibility for implementing the adaptive management program for CERP. Additionally, he served as Chief of the USACE Jacksonville District Planning and Policy Division, providing executive leadership and strategic direction for the District’s water resources planning program in the State of Florida, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands. 

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Appelbaum received numerous awards from USACE, including the meritorious Civilian Service Award, the Bronze Order of the de Fleury Medal, and induction into the Gallery of Distinguished Civilian Employees. He also has received awards for his work on Everglades restoration, including the Palladium Medal, a joint award from the American Academy of Engineering Societies and the National Audubon Society, and a special achievement award from the Everglades Coalition.

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Appelbaum was born and raised in New York City. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of New York, and a Master of Science degree in Water Resources Engineering from George Washington University. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Water Resources Association, the Society of American Military Engineers, the Army Engineer Association, and the civil engineering honor fraternity Chi Epsilon.