Dinah Maygarden is a research associate and science education program director at UNO’s Pontchartrain Institute for Environmental Sciences.

University of New Orleans researcher and science educator Dinah Maygarden has been named one of The Urban Conservancy’s 2023 Urban Heroes. The annual award recognizes individuals for their role in creating a more vibrant and resilient New Orleans.

Maygarden, research associate and science education program director at UNO’s Pontchartrain Institute for Environmental Sciences, will be honored and celebrated during an 11:30 a.m. awards luncheon on Oct. 6 at the Lakefront Airport’s Walnut Room. She will be joined by two other honorees.

The Urban Conservancy’s Urban Heroes Celebration aims to highlight the progress as a community to promote equitable access to New Orleans’ and the region’s rich economic, environmental and cultural assets.

Since 1997, Maygarden has worked at UNO implementing educational projects for K-12 and adult audiences in New Orleans to connect students to the coastal zone in which they live. She brings real-world relevant science problems to teachers, students and adult learners.

Maygarden hosts field-based workshops for these audiences at UNO’s Shea Penland Coastal Education and Research Facility (CERF) and elsewhere. She also develops partnerships with many community organizations to enhance the impact of and fund these programs.