EPA Announces Membership of Great Lakes Advisory Board

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced on behalf of 16 federal agencies the membership of the first advisory board to support implementation of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

“Protecting the Great Lakes -- the largest surface freshwater system on Earth -- is important for the health and well being of millions of people," said EPA Acting Administrator and Acting Interagency Task Force Chair Bob Perciasepe. "Today I’m pleased to announce the membership of the first-ever Great Lakes Advisory Board. The scientists, business leaders, public servants, and representatives of non-profit organizations who make up the Advisory Board will help us build upon the success we've already seen and move forward into the next phases of Great Lakes restoration and protection.”

The Great Lakes Advisory Board will provide advice and recommendations to the EPA Administrator, who serves as chair of the federal Interagency Task Force. EPA considered candidates from a broad range of interests including business, agriculture, foundations, environmental justice groups, youth organizations, environmental groups, academia and state, local and tribal representatives.

The first two-year appointments to the advisory board are:

- J. David Allen, Professor – University of Michigan.
- Patricia Birkholz, Founder – Great Lakes Legislative Caucus.
- Kathryn Buckner, President – Council of Great Lakes Industries.
- Naomi Davis, President – Blacks in Green.
- Molly Flanagan, Program Officer – The Joyce Foundation.
- Steve Galarneau, Director – Office of the Great Lakes, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
- Jennifer Hill, Field Manager – National Wildlife Federation and Healing Our Waters - Great Lakes Coalition.
- Roger Germann, Executive Vice President – John G. Shedd Aquarium.
- Bill Hafs, Director of Environmental Programs – Green Bay Metropolitan Sewerage District.
- Michael Isham, Tribal Councilman – Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Government and Chair of the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission.
- Simone Lightfoot, Manager of Conservation & Sustainability – NAACP Detroit Branch.
- Joy Mulinex, Director – Public Policy and Great Lakes Land Conservancy Coalition Director – Western Reserve Land Conservancy.
- Jim Ridgway, Vice President – Environmental Consulting and Technology, Inc.
- Joan Rose, Professor – Michigan State University.
- Richard Stewart, Co-Director – Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute.
- Matt Thompson, Environmental Resources Coordinator – Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe.
- David Ullrich, Executive Director – Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative.
- Jim Wagner, City Administrator – Trenton, Michigan.

The Interagency Task Force is in the process of scheduling next steps for the Great Lakes Advisory Board in the spring.
The Great Lakes provide more than 30 million Americans with drinking water and underpin a multi-billion dollar economy. In February 2009, President Obama proposed the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the largest investment in the Great Lakes in two decades. GLRI funds are being used to accelerate cleanup work in the 29 remaining AOCs identified by the U.S. and Canada under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. (EPA)

More information on the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative