Zach Schang
After an 18-year professional journey with Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) which started while Zach was in the Environmental Studies Program at the University of West Florida, Zach has joined the Estuary Program team in the role of Project Coordinator. Zach is responsible for leading restoration projects such as our Pensacola Bay Oyster Restoration Initiative and Carpenter Creek Restoration.
While at FDEP, Zach managed Northwest Florida Aquatic Preserves in FDEP’s Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection and spent much of his career heavily focused on living shoreline planning, design, permitting, installation and monitoring. He worked closely with state and federal regulatory agencies in Northwest Florida to guide best management practices and facilitate living shoreline work with public and private entities. Zach has been involved with over 50 individual small, medium and large-scale projects, serves on the steering committee for the Panhandle Estuarine Restoration Team (PERT), contributes to work being done on www.FloridaLivingShorelines.com, and has served as an instructor for Florida Sea Grant’s Living Shoreline Marine Contractor Training Course.
For over 30 years, Zach has been involved in the local soccer scene first as a player, then as a league administrator, and for the last 12 years as the varsity assistant coach and junior varsity head coach for Washington High School boys’ soccer program. He has also coached at the youth club level for Pensacola Futbol Club for 10 years and spent four seasons as a volunteer coach for Pensacola Youth Soccer.
As a Pensacola area native, Zach has enjoyed growing up connected to our local waters via fishing, watersports, snorkeling, scuba diving, and enjoys marine adjacent activities such as hiking, camping and of course, disc golfing!
However, currently the most important thing in Zach’s life is his wife Alisha, their 8-year-old son Rex and of course their 11-year-old dog child, Bruneau their chocolate labrador rescued from Violet, Louisiana. When he isn’t working or coaching, Zach is helping Rex raise his four backyard chickens (hens for friends), baking sourdough bread, eating tacos from El Asador, or taking the family on road trips to soak up any bit of the rich, cultural history they can get their hands on throughout the Southeast and beyond.
Zach can be reached at (850)595-0796, or click on one of the options below.
