Vanessa Taylor currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer for the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (RESTORE Council). Created by the RESTORE Act of 2012 and comprised of the Governors of the five Gulf Coast States and Cabinet-level officials from six federal agencies, the Council is responsible for restoring and protecting the natural resources, ecosystems, fisheries, marine and wildlife habitats, beaches, coastal wetlands, and economy of the Gulf Coast.
Taylor has more than 30 years experience in federal financial management. She has been with the RESTORE Council since 2015 and previously served as the Financial Manager, responsible for overseeing the many finance, grant and financial administrative functions of the organization, to include budget, finance, and accounting, as well as development and implementation of these areas for financial strategies.
Prior to joining the Council, Taylor served as the Chief of Accounting and Systems Branch for the 5th Signal Command in Wiesbaden, Germany. In this position, she oversaw the Command's day to day financial systems operation and was the principal advisor to the Command’s G8. Taylor also served as a Financial Management Specialist at the George C. Marshall Center for Strategic Studies, a German- American partnership in Garmisch-Paterkirchen Germany, which funds security and defense studies for over 14,000 dignitaries from more than 157 countries. As a Financial Management Specialist, Taylor was responsible for organizational travel and debt management.
Prior to federal civilian service, she was a Department of Defense contractor embedded with Eighth US Army in Seoul, Korea as a subject matter expert on finance systems for the Installation Management Command. Taylor also served on active duty as a Financial Accounting Specialist and retired after 22 years of honorable military service.
Taylor holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theology from Colorado Christian University and is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration in Finance with Columbia Southern University. Taylor and her husband, pastor a church in Slidell, LA, and enjoy traveling and spending time with family.