ASFPM Creates New Award to Honor Margaret A. Davidson, Recognize Climate Resilience

When ASFPM opens the nomination process for the 2023 ASFPM Awards later this year, there will be an entirely new award. The Margaret A. Davidson Award for Excellence in Climate Change Adaptation is named in honor of this coastal management pioneer and true visionary in the field.

The proposal for the new award, put forth by the Social Justice Task Force, Coastal Issues Committee, NAI Committee, and Watershed POD, was unanimously approved by the board during the 2022 ASFPM Annual Conference in Orlando.

Margaret Davidson spent most of her career working at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), taking leadership roles that drew from her expertise in climate adaptation, sustainable coastal development, and mitigating risk associated with extreme weather events.  Among these roles, Davidson served as senior leader on coastal inundation and resilience for NOAA. With an uncanny ability to see trends 10-20 years into the future, Davidson was one of the first leaders in the federal government to draw a continued focus on climate change and the impacts it would have on communities, especially coastal communities.

Davidson was also an advocate of advancing, often unlikely and diverse, coalitions to help address complex issues. As such, she was an avid supporter of ASFPM and its mission and worked to establish a strong partnership between NOAA and ASFPM. She spoke at countless ASFPM conferences and was known to encourage her staff to attend ASFPM conferences to understand the needs of the floodplain community.

Davidson passed away in 2017.  The Margaret A. Davidson Award for Excellence in Climate Change Adaptation serves to recognize significant achievements in advancing climate resilience. Nominees should demonstrate excellence in one or more of these areas:  

• Address complex environmental challenges, including adapting to impacts from climate change
• Have influence on floodplain management policy that allows for increased flood resilience, especially for vulnerable populations
• Advance floodplain policy by developing partnerships to address perceived shortcomings or needs
• Conduct significant research or lead / participate in studies that advances knowledge of innovative solutions for coastal, arid or riverine issues
• Lead community engagement of communities to develop and strengthen their long-term resilience to flooding, particularly among underserved communities who are disproportionally impacted by flooding
• Promote and support the professional development and mentoring of people of color and women in the field of floodplain management and work to develop the next generation of leaders
• Develop unlikely partnerships and promote innovation that supports inclusiveness in government and floodplain management and/or coastal floodplain management
• Think outside of the box, challenge the status quo, and foster inclusiveness of all disciplines and all people to “get the job done” to solve today’s problems and reduce tomorrow’s risks from floods and climate change

The Call for Nominations for all ASFPM Awards will be issued in November. It’s not too early to begin thinking about worthy people, projects, or organizations who deserve recognition.