Margaret A. Davidson (March 2, 1950 – May 23, 2017) embodied both approaches.

Through her engaging demeanor, her uncanny ability to read a room and act accordingly, and       sharp wit that wasn’t afraid to call it as she saw it, Margaret’s tremendous impact was felt every time she walked into a room. At the same time, she was a master strategist, effective and patient, building unimaginable coalitions designed to empower and protect coastal communities, economies, and natural resources. Throughout her career, Margaret was recognized as a trail blazer for good reason.

Margaret started her career in coastal science and management in 1978 with a Juris Doctor from Louisiana State University. She briefly served as special counsel and assistant attorney for the Louisiana Department of Justice, and later earned her master’s degree from the University of Rhode Island in marine policy and resource economics. Following this, she joined the South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium where she worked for 16 years, eventually becoming executive director for 13 of those years.

In 1995, she joined NOAA as the founding director of NOAA’s Coastal Services Center, bringing together a multidisciplinary team devoted to bridging the gap between providers of coastal science and those who need to apply it in managing the nation’s coasts. She served as the acting assistant administrator for the NOAA National Ocean Service 2000–2002. From April 2012 to May 2014, she was acting director of the agency’s Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, eventually overseeing the merger of this office with the Coastal Services Center to become what is now NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management. In 2014, Margaret became NOAA’s first Senior Scientific Advisor on Coastal Inundation and Resilience, where she evaluated all NOAA efforts focused on coastal inundation and guided needed growth of the agency’s technical work and partnerships to tackle the most pressing coastal flooding challenges.

Margaret was one of the first in the federal government to recognize the persistent and diverse obstacles between science and local decision-making, and to understand that the disconnect was hampering risk reduction and climate adaptation efforts. She recognized that local political offices were often focused on short-term storm risk as opposed to preparing for the seemingly long-term threat of sea level rise. This conviction, and her tireless efforts to address the problem, was one of the reasons she was so effective in her roles leading NOAA’s Coastal Services Center and guiding its evolution to the Office for Coastal Management, an office designed to act as a go-between for NOAA- and other agency-produced data and technology and a particular end user community — local governments who aren’t always equipped to take advantage of what is being offered.

Along the way, Margaret served on numerous local, state, and federal committees and provided leadership for national professional societies. She used these convenings to enlist her peers and influential leaders inside and outside of government to align efforts and meet the needs of on-the-ground coastal practitioners. Margaret always encouraged local, state and federal agencies to work together to manage flood risk and our coasts.  Her famous quote was “We are all short of funds, so we must rub our nickels together to achieve success”.

Her professional work continued to be focused on environmentally sustainable coastal development practices, the reduction of risk associated with extreme events, and climate adaptation.

Davidson was an avid supporter of ASFPM and its mission, and worked to establish and nurture a strong partnership between all parts of NOAA and ASFPM.  She spoke at countless ASFPM events and encouraged her staff to attend ASFPM conferences and engage in its committees so that they could better understand the needs of the floodplain management community. ASFPM’s Margaret A. Davidson Award for Excellence in Climate Change Adaptation, an award that recognizes significant achievements in advancing climate resilience, was created to honor her legacy and encourage others to follow the path she blazed.