Michigan LCV Staff
I love Michigan because people who have never been here don't believe that it could possibly be this beautiful or that that Lakes could be so vast. I love Michigan because once you've been here and experienced the sugar-sand beaches and sand dunes, the forests, the rocky shores of Lake Superior and the incredible beauty of the Keewenaw Peninsula, the endless and perfect expanse of Lake Michigan while the sun is setting, you wonder why you've ever been anywhere else. And, I love Michigan because I always believed, as a kid growing up in the Mediterranean, that all seas were salty. Not this one.
Lisa comes to the Michigan League of Conservation Voters with a long history in both the environmental and political worlds. Between 1996 and 2005, Lisa served as the Great Lakes Regional Director for the national League of Conservation Voters, overseeing programs and projects in Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio and Wisconsin, with an enormous focus on keeping the Great Lakes Congressional caucus in check. Prior to that, Lisa cut her teeth on Lana Pollack's1994 heart-wrenching U.S. Senate campaign and on Alma Wheeler Smith's successful campaign for state Senate. Bitten by the political bug, Lisa was destined to deal with Michigan's current political challenges AKA fiasco, which includes the world of term limits, reapportionment, and a bi-partisan log-jam.
Lisa is adept at working with a broad array of people and organizations and brings a strategic vantage point to almost any discussion. Although she may deny her expertise (and the years behind her), Lisa is thought of as a key leader within the conservation community in Michigan. With degrees in French and History of Art, Education and Social Work--all from the University of Michigan--Lisa's strong interdisciplinary background clearly influences Michigan LCV's approach to problem solving, collaborative campaigns, and political change.
Many may consider Lisa an extravert, but a deep, dark secret is that Lisa recharges by being alone! Give her a good book, time to tend to the garden or do yoga, a run with her dog, and Lisa is good to go.... peaceful, calm, measured, attentive. And, meshed between the politics and the garden is Lisa's beautiful family: husband Kenny, hip young sons Zachariah and Benjamin, and lovely dog, Santosha.
Lisa serves on the board of a number of local, state and national organizations, including the Advisory Board of Growing Hope, the Normal Park Neighborhood Association , the Michigan Environmental Council, and the national League of Conservation Voters Education Fund.
I love Michigan. It’s that simple. I can’t explain why, I just do.
Pam’s official title is Director of Operations, but we’ve been thinking about changing it. So far, we’ve come up with “point guard,” “master juggler,” “production director,” “life manager,” “IT specialist,” or “Pam of all trades.” If it weren’t for Pam, we’d need a larger office to host more staff. It’s safe to say while you are reading this, she is probably busy trying to find a way to help our organization run more efficiently and effectively. Her duties include managing the Michigan LCV newsletter and assisting in all facets of our programs, development, and administration.
Since childhood, Pam has always loved the outdoors, whether playing soccer or camping with her family. Eventually, her deep appreciation for nature –combined with her skills on the soccer field – led her to Aquinas College (a school known for its beautiful forested campus). There she earned degrees in Geography and Sociology, and was awarded Geographer of the Year and Academic All-American honors on the soccer field. Upon completing her studies, Pam worked as a City Year Detroit Americorps member and as an Associate Financial Representative with Northwestern Mutual Financial Network before being recruited to join the Michigan LCV team. We’re happy to say, she’s ours now.
A hard-core vegetarian, Pam lives in Ypsilanti with her husband, Tim, an environmental consultant with AKT Peerless Environmental & Energy Services ,and her two cats, Harley and Tanqueray (currently both cats are unemployed). When she’s not daydreaming about riding motorcycles, Pam enjoys spending time outdoors experiencing nature through the lens of her camera. In her free time, she also assists KMS Photography LLC in Dearborn.
Since childhood, Pam has always loved the outdoors, whether playing soccer or camping with her family. Eventually, her deep appreciation for nature –combined with her skills on the soccer field – led her to Aquinas College (a school known for its beautiful forested campus). There she earned degrees in Geography and Sociology, and was awarded Geographer of the Year and Academic All-American honors on the soccer field. Upon completing her studies, Pam worked as a City Year Detroit Americorps member and as an Associate Financial Representative with Northwestern Mutual Financial Network before being recruited to join the Michigan LCV team. We’re happy to say, she’s ours now.
A hard-core vegetarian, Pam lives in Ypsilanti with her husband, Tim, an environmental consultant with AKT Peerless Environmental & Energy Services ,and her two cats, Harley and Tanqueray (currently both cats are unemployed). When she’s not daydreaming about riding motorcycles, Pam enjoys spending time outdoors experiencing nature through the lens of her camera. In her free time, she also assists KMS Photography LLC in Dearborn.
Jeff is one of the newer people around Michigan LCV. He landed here after spending 14 years as a journalist for The Bay City Times. He spent the last half of those years covering the environmental beat in the Saginaw Bay watershed, Michigan's largest. His title is Online Communications Director, which means he's the guy who helps keep our two websites, for Michigan LCV and Michigan LCV Education Fund, filled with fresh copy. Jeff's also the one who keeps our Twitter and Facebook feeds updated ... and makes sure the trains run on time.
He also has other irons in the fire, namely writing for TreeHugger.com and PlanetGreen.com, two arms of the Discovery network. He also does work for OnEarth Magazine, Got2BeGreen.com and other outlets. His forte, you might say, is social networking and connecting people with science and public policy. So that seems to fit in nicely with the work being done here at Michigan LCV.
When he's not busy writing or networking, you can find him pursuing an environmental science degree via the University of Illinois-Springfield. He could be done as soon as next year, fingers crossed. The good folks at the White Pine Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America named him journalist of the year for 2009, and he's won a number of other awards for writing and reporting. Jeff's also a fellow of the Metcalf Institute, the Great Waters Institute, the Institutes for Journalism and Natural Resources, and the Scripps Howard Institute. In other words, he's been trained by the best, and he's a big thinker.
Jeff lives in lovely Bay City, Michigan, and is married to Suzanne, a marketing genius for the Learning Resources Network. They have two daughters, a dog and cat. In his free time, he enjoys camping, stories that go viral, long walks on the beach and tunes from the 1980s, when music peaked.
Ryan has lived in seven different cities and five different states and, while he can’t exactly call himself a Michigan native, he certainly does call Michigan home. As a kid, he would look forward to summertime when he would head off to participate in, and years later ultimately lead, wilderness trips that would take him rock climbing, mountain biking, canoeing, or simply hiking in Northern Wisconsin (or just south of the UP, as he would more likely say now).
Ryan’s early exposure to the beauty of the Great Lakes region led him to remain deeply interested not only enjoying the outdoors, but protecting it, as well. Immediately out of college, Ryan was fortunate enough to work and learn from one of America’s greatest conservationists, Congressman John Dingell, who passed the majority of America’s landmark environmental legislation over the past fifty years. In Rep. Dingell’s Michigan office, Ryan was responsible for operating across all political levels and for translating the debate in Washington into tangible assistance for the constituents of the area.
Ryan’s greatest passion during his time in the Congressman’s office, however, was the opportunity to work many exciting hours guiding and growing the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. For those of you have not yet had the chance to visit one of the most remarkable urban refuges in North America, and the only international one, please stop reading this bio immediately and head toward the Detroit River now.
Before diving headfirst into Michigan politics and conservation, Ryan was well occupied as a student at the University of Michigan. On campus, he founded The Michigan Independent – a progressive monthly magazine that, within three months, attained a circulation of over 5000 students. Ryan also was also responsible for the communications and policy work for the largest College Democrats chapter in the country. Forecasting the future, his place of employment his senior year was the Michigan League of Conservation Voters. While in Ann Arbor, he also picked up his degree in Political Science.
Ryan’s current role at Michigan LCV as Political Director involves managing the annual Scorecard, endorsement and PAC recommendations to the Board, and overseeing the overall political operations of the organization.
Outside of work, Ryan can generally be found drinking an Oberon on his back porch or running around the region’s many expansive parks in funny shoes. On the weekends, odds are he is either at Eastern Market, cooking something up that he bought there, or otherwise boosting Michigan’s economy by eating at any number of the state’s incredible restaurants.
I love Michigan because I learned to ski here, went to college here, learned to brew beer here, and met my wife in Michigan.
Although born in Texas and raised in Toledo, Ohio, Mark has always felt like more of a Michigander than a Buckeye. One could say it’s because Toledo is so close to the border, but we here at Michigan LCV know it’s because Michigan is just that cool.
During Mark’s childhood, his family spent their summers with relatives, either at high altitudes in the Colorado Rockies or in the Odenwald of Southern Germany, which spurred his love of outdoor recreation and his taste for wild mushrooms. Boletus edulus and Cantharellus cibarius, to be precise. And if you’re willing to share your knowledge of any good places to forage morels, please contact him!
It was in high school at Maumee Valley Country Day School that Mark was first schooled in environmental education by an admittedly ex-hippy teaching faculty member and passionately took up the “cause.” His earliest recollection of environmental activism can be traced back to a can collection drive he was forced to run as punishment for not following the rules. Later, he attended the Model United Nations in The Hague, where he was the representative for policy on ozone layer depletion for the delegation from Barbados. After graduation, Mark spent a year in the wilds of woolly Wales, foregoing his scholarship studies at Llandovery College to play rugby, backpack the Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia, and sample the local ales.
Upon returning home, he confirmed his appreciation for the Mitten State and attended Albion College, where he majored in political science and pre-medical studies. His fondest memory of college was when he put Nature Conservancy stickers on his dorm room door, to which one of his hall mates retorted: “My mother has a toothbrush made out of whale bone.”
Having tasted the fine beverages in Europe, and finding none comparable – with the notable exception of Kalamazoo-based Bell’s Solsun Ale – Mark began brewing his own. He briefly considered the brewing industry as a career, but instead he chose to attend the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, N.Y., where as an extern he had the pleasure of cooking for Princess Diana at The Connaught Hotel in London.
But, after successfully surviving a decade as a dedicated ski bum/professional chef in Colorado, Mark’s career goals shifted to focus on environmental law, policy and administration, which led him back to Michigan. After working in the state Senate as a policy intern, he joined Michigan LCV in July 2008. He currently manages the national League of Conservation Voter’s federal global warming project, The Heat Is On, in Michigan, which seeks to enact comprehensive climate and energy legislation.
Mark is engaged to marry his fiancée, Gretchen, in November 2009, and meanwhile dotes on her two cats, Charlie and Cloudy. In his spare time, Mark is pursuing a Master of Public Administration at Eastern Michigan University and serves on the East Lansing Zoning Board of Appeals and the Glencairn Neighborhood Association. He also finds time to still brew his own beer, which the Michigan LCV staff is always ready to test!
Brianna Gerard, Events Director, brianna@michiganlcv.org
Bio coming soon!
