David Rooke

David is employed by the Environment Agency as Head of Flood and Coastal Risk Management for England and Wales.

David graduated in civil engineering from the University of Nottingham and is a Fellow of both the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM).

David's experience spans more than 30 years in flood and environmental management. He has worked in three Regions of the Agency and its predecessors - North West, North East and Midlands. He took up his current Head Office post in October 2002.

David was heavily involved in the autumn 2000 floods emergency response in Yorkshire and the North East of England and subsequently was awarded the MBE for services to flood defence and the environment in June 2002.

David is a member of the British Dam Society and is a Supervising Engineer under the Reservoirs Act. David was an appointed member of the Scottish Executive’s Flooding Issues Advisory Committee from 2005 to 2007 and prior to that he served on the Scottish Executive’s National Technical Advisory Group on Flooding Issues from 2003.

David is a member of the CIWEM Tyne and Humber Branch and CIWEM Rivers and Coastal Group. David was elected a member of the Committee of the Rivers and Coastal Group in 1994 and served for eight years including holding the posts of Treasurer and  Vice-Chairman and then Chairman of the Group in 2001/02. David is President of CIWEM for 2007/08.

David has chosen arts and the environment as his Presidential theme to:

• Raise awareness of art in the environment
• Celebrate the contribution art makes to the environmental debate
• Inspire artists and scientists to work together for environmental benefit