The Everglades Foundation has added new Chief Operating Officer/Vice President for Policy & Programs Shannon Estenoz and new Communications Director Rebeca Rose. The organization is a non-profit dedicated to leading efforts to restore and protect the greater Everglades ecosystem.

“We could not have found a more qualified person to lead the Foundation’s operations, policy and programs than Shannon Estenoz,” said the Foundation’s CEO, Eric Eikenberg, who noted that Estenoz has spent 21 years in environmental policy and advocacy, most recently at the U.S. Department of the Interior, where she served since 2010 as director of the Office of Everglades Restoration Initiatives and the executive director of the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force.

Shannon Estenoz

A former member of the South Florida Water Management District Board of Governors, representing Broward County, Estenoz also served as executive director of the Everglades Law Center before directing the World Wildlife Fund’s Everglades Program, and the Suncoast Regional Program of the National Parks Conservation Association.

Rebecca Rose

At the Interior Department, Shannon was instrumental in building a partnership between the federal government and the State of Florida to construct a 2.6-mile bridge on the Tamiami Trail to increase the flow of fresh water south through the Everglades. Shannon also advised several Secretaries of the Interior on Everglades policy and legislation, including the Central Everglades Plan.

Rebecca Rose, the organization’s new communications director, is a veteran Washington-based communications professional whose work has spanned federal agencies including the Navy, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Energy and, most recently, the Export-Import Bank, where she served as vice president of communications.

“I know that Shannon Estenoz and Rebecca Rose will help the Everglades Foundation reach the next level of growth and accomplishment,” said Eikenberg. “Considering that much of our advocacy in the days ahead will focus on the implementation of restoration projects like the EAA Reservoir, their combined experience of over 30 years in Everglades policy and in the nation’s capital will be invaluable.”