Big Changes in the Great Lakes:
A Virtual Institute for Journalists

May + June, 2021

(Itinerary displayed in reverse chronological order: June 10, June 3, May 20, May 13)


Thursday, June 10: Restoration

Noon - 1:15 p.m. - Overview of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

Cameron Davis Vice President, GEI Consultants

Cameron Davis
Vice President, GEI Consultants

 

1:00 - 1:30 p.m. - Break

1:30 - 3:00 p.m. - Success in Muskegon: How an Area of Concern got Delisted

Marc Tuchman Great Lakes Remediation and Restoration Branch Chief, Great Lakes National Program Office, U.S. EPA

Marc Tuchman
Great Lakes Remediation and Restoration Branch Chief, Great Lakes National Program Office, U.S. EPA

Kathy Evans Environment Program Manager, West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission

Kathy Evans
Environment Program Manager, West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission

Alan Steinman Professor/Director, Annis Water Resources Institute, Grand Valley State University

Alan Steinman
Professor/Director, Annis Water Resources Institute, Grand Valley State University

 

3:00 - 3:30 p.m. - Break

3:30 - 4:30 - Success story? Who benefits from a cleaned-up Muskegon Lake

Kelly Parker Professor, Philosophy, Environmental and Sustainability Studies, Gran Valley State University

Kelly Parker
Professor, Philosophy, Environmental and Sustainability Studies, Gran Valley State University

Mary Cooper Member, Muskegon Lake Watershed Partnership

Mary Cooper
Member, Muskegon Lake Watershed Partnership

 

4:30 - 5:00 p.m. - A Conversation with the Great Lakes National Program Office

Chris Korleski Director, Great Lakes National Program Office, U.S. EPA

Chris Korleski
Director, Great Lakes National Program Office, U.S. EPA

Todd Nettesheim Deputy Director, Great Lakes National Program Office, U.S. EPA

Todd Nettesheim
Deputy Director, Great Lakes National Program Office, U.S. EPA

 

5:00 p.m. - Institute adjourns


Thursday, June 3: Fisheries

Noon - 1:15 p.m. - Bottom up, top down: How human activity has altered an ecosystem

Annie Scofield Life Scientist, EPA Great Lakes National Program Office

Annie Scofield
Life Scientist, EPA Great Lakes National Program Office

Dan O’Keefe Senior Extension Coordinator, Southwest District, Michigan Sea Grant

Dan O’Keefe
Senior Extension Coordinator, Southwest District, Michigan Sea Grant

 

1:15 - 1:30 p.m. - Break

1:30 - 3:00 p.m. - Moving target: Managing a dynamic (and challenged) resource

Randy Claramunt Lake Huron Basin Coordinator, Michigan Department of Natural Resources

Randy Claramunt
Lake Huron Basin Coordinator, Michigan Department of Natural Resources

Kelly Robinson Assistant Professor, Michigan State University Department of Fisheries and Wildlife

Kelly Robinson
Assistant Professor, Michigan State University Department of Fisheries and Wildlife

Lauren Jescovitch Extension Educator, Western Upper Peninsula, Michigan Sea Grant

Lauren Jescovitch
Extension Educator, Western Upper Peninsula, Michigan Sea Grant

 

3:00 - 3:30 p.m. - Break

3:30 - 5:00 p.m. - Here's the catch: How user groups adapt to a shifting fishery

Bill Mattes Great Lakes Section Leader, Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission

Bill Mattes
Great Lakes Section Leader, Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission

Matt Hehn Charter Fisherman

Matt Hehn
Charter Fisherman

Ali Shakoor Aquatic Ecologist/PhD Candidate, Wayne State University

Ali Shakoor
Aquatic Ecologist/PhD Candidate, Wayne State University

 

5:00 p.m. - Institute adjourns for the day.


Thursday, May 20: Clean Water

Noon - 1:00 p.m. - Clean Waters: 50 Years Later, How Close Are We to "Fishable, Swimmable, Drinkable?"

Oday Salim Staff Attorney, Great Lakes Regional Center/Director, Environmental Law & Sustainability Clinic, National Wildlife Federation/University of Michigan Law School

Oday Salim
Staff Attorney, Great Lakes Regional Center/Director, Environmental Law & Sustainability Clinic, National Wildlife Federation/University of Michigan Law School

 

1:00 - 1:30 p.m. - Break

1:30 - 3:00 p.m. - Murky Waters: Agricultural Runoff, Algae Blooms and Human Health Concerns

Jeff Reuter Former Director, Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Lab

Jeff Reuter
Former Director, Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Lab

Alicia Smith Director of Community Programming & Associate Director of Policy, Freshwater Future

Alicia Smith
Director of Community Programming & Associate Director of Policy, Freshwater Future

Jiyoung Lee Professor, College of Public Health Division of Environmental Health Sciences, The Ohio State University

Jiyoung Lee
Professor, College of Public Health Division of Environmental Health Sciences, The Ohio State University

 

3:00 - 3:30 p.m. - Break

3:30 - 5:00 p.m. - Troubled Waters: Emerging Contaminants and What They Mean for the Great Lakes

Edith Leoso Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

Edith Leoso
Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

Marta Venier Assistant Professor, O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University

Marta Venier
Assistant Professor, O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University

Sherri “Sam” Mason Sustainability Coordinator, Penn State Behrend

Sherri “Sam” Mason
Sustainability Coordinator, Penn State Behrend

 

5:00 p.m. - Institute adjourns for the day.


Thursday, may 13: Climate

11:30 a.m. - noon - Journalists meet-and-greet

Noon - 1 p.m. (Central!) - Great Lakes 101: What Warming Waters Mean for the Great Lakes

Sapna Sharma
Associate professor, Department of Biology, York University

 

1:00 - 1:30 p.m. - Break

1:30 - 3:00 p.m. - Bloom Boom? Algae Outbreaks Mar Lake Superior's Crystal Clear Reputation

Bob Sterner
Large Lakes Observatory, University of Minnesota-Duluth

Brenda LaFrancois
Regional Aquatic Ecologist, National Park Service

 

3:00 - 3:30 p.m. - Break

3:30 - 5:00 p.m. - Waterlogged: New Precipitation Trends Challenge Aging Infrastructure

Omar Gates
Climatologist/Climate Integration Associate, Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments, NOAA

Scott Bernstein
Founder/Former Director, Center for Neighborhood Technology

Mark Ogden
Technical Specialist, Association of State Dam Safety Officials

 

5:00 p.m. - Institute adjourns for the day.