Nicole Elko, Ph.D., is the Science Director for the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA), Executive Director of the South Carolina Beach Advocates, an Executive Director of the U.S. Coastal Research Program (USCRP), and President of Elko Coastal Consulting based in Folly Beach, SC. She serves as one of the three civilian members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Coastal Engineering Research Board (CERB) and also on NOAA’s Hydrographic Services Review Panel (HSRP). Dr. Elko has 25 years of experience in coastal management and has managed or assisted with numerous coastal resilience projects along the U.S. Southeast and Gulf coasts. As ASBPA's Science Director, Dr. Elko helps provide science-based guidance to Congress, federal and state agencies, and local communities on national coastal resilience challenges. She is also a founder and co-Executive Director of the grass-roots US Coastal Research Program. Regionally, Dr. Elko serves on Governor McMaster’s Floodwater Commission, as well as on the Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (SECOORA) Science Committee. In her role as Executive Director of the South Carolina Beach advocates, she serves a board of directors made up of the mayors and administrators of the state’s beach communities. At the local level, her business provides coastal research and advocacy services, including hydrographic surveying and beach monitoring, sea level rise adaptation, and beach/dune and marshfront management planning.