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Executive Leadership Team
Michael Hare
Executive Director
Michael Hare serves as Executive Director of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA). He brings nearly two decades of experience in government affairs, coastal restoration, environmental markets, and strategic communications to the role.
Before joining CPRA, Hare founded WILDHARE Solutions, a consulting firm supporting clients in the environmental markets industry with a focus on compensatory mitigation and coastal restoration opportunities. He also served as Director of Government Affairs and Business Development for Resource Environmental Solutions, LLC (RES), a national leader in ecological restoration. At RES, he led government affairs initiatives at the federal and state level, managed teams of consultants and lobbyists, developed strategic communications, and supported growth opportunities in coastal restoration.
Earlier in his career, Hare spent over a decade working for Congressman Charles Boustany. He served as a senior legislative assistant in Washington, D.C., focusing on agriculture, defense, trade, and infrastructure, and later as Deputy District Director in Lafayette, LA, addressing coastal, wetlands, and infrastructure issues across southwest Louisiana. He also managed major congressional and senatorial campaigns and served as Vice President for Policy at One Acadiana, where he advanced education, transportation, and workforce policies for the region.
Hare is the current board president of the Alliance for Environmental Markets and Investment (AEMI) and serves on the board of directors for the Coast Builders Coalition. He is the immediate past president of the Ecological Restoration Business Association (ERBA), a national trade association representing more than 65 companies in the restoration industry.
He earned dual undergraduate degrees in political science and economics from Louisiana State University (LSU), a master’s degree in U.S. foreign policy from American University, and an Executive MBA from LSU.
He and his wife, Jamie, live in Lafayette with their three children, William, Carter, and Gavin.
Rudy Simoneaux
Deputy Executive Director
With nearly 23 years of experience in coastal and ecosystem restoration, Rudy Simoneaux serves as Chief of Engineering for the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA). Since joining CPRA in 2004, Rudy has played a key role in the planning, design, and construction of numerous ecosystem restoration projects across coastal Louisiana.
Rudy has served as Engineer of Record for multiple large-scale shoreline protection, earthen ridge, and marsh creation projects and has managed the design of some of the State’s largest diversion and barrier island restoration projects. He also serves as Contract Manager for CPRA’s Professional Services contracts, overseeing engineering, surveying, and geotechnical services.
An active member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) since 2005, Rudy has held numerous leadership positions, including President of the ASCE Baton Rouge Branch and President of the ASCE Louisiana Section. In 2020, he was elected ASCE Region 5 Governor and completed his three-year term in 2023. He is also a founding member and Past Chair of the Louisiana Chapter of ASCE’s Coasts, Oceans, Ports, and Rivers Institute (COPRI) and has been an affiliate member of the Western Dredging Association (WEDA) since 2009.
Rudy earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Louisiana State University in 2004 and is a Registered Professional Engineer in Louisiana. He and his wife, Claire, have been married for 19 years and have three children, Anna Claire, Joseph, and Mary Grace.