The official website of the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council

Council Staff - Kathryn Sweet Keating, PhD

Kathryn Sweet Keating, PhD, LMSW
Social Science Analyst


Dr. Keating currently serves as a Social Science Analyst 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 RESTORE 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. Prior to this position, Keating served the RESTORE Council as a U.S. Office of Personnel Management Pathways Intern and as a Science Policy Fellow with the Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

Prior to her federal government service, Keating completed a B.A. in Sociology and B.S.W from Indiana University, M.S.W from Portland State University, and M.A. in Sociology from Louisiana State University (LSU). She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from LSU, where her research employed mixed methods to better understand disaster resilience in the years following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, with a focus on child and family health. She is a Licensed Master Social Worker in the state of Louisiana with a clinical background in integrated behavioral health and work with rural communities. A Hoosier at heart, Keating has called southeast Louisiana home since 2016.