GLIN==> Great Lakes Commission moving to new offices

[Kirk Haverkamp <kirkh@glc.org>]

Adding new staff, responsibilities

Great Lakes Commission moving to new offices

Ann Arbor, Mich. — The Great Lakes Commission is getting a new home.

The Commission, a binational agency established to promote the informed use,
management and protection of Great Lakes water resources, will consolidate
its operations by moving to new offices on Oct. 21, 2002.

The move, to the Eisenhower Corporate Park in Ann Arbor, Mich., will double
the Commission’s current office space and bring its entire professional staff
together under one roof. The Commission currently maintains operations at
two adjacent buildings near downtown Ann Arbor.

“The Commission has grown substantially in recent years as we’ve added staff
to meet the needs of our state and provincial members,” said Nat Robinson,
chairman of the board. “This move will enhance our operating efficiency by
bringing everyone together in one place and providing room to grow as we
take on new projects and responsibilities.”

Founded in 1955 by the Great Lakes states to “promote the orderly, integrated
and comprehensive development, use and conservation of the water resources
of the Great Lakes basin,” the Commission was originally based in a few offices
in the Rackham Building on the University of Michigan Central Campus. For
most of the past decade it has been based in the university’s Argus I and
Argus II buildings in Ann Arbor.

Effective Oct. 21, 2002, the Commission’s new address and telephone numbers
will be:

Great Lakes Commission
Eisenhower Corporate Park
2805 South Industrial Highway., Suite 100
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-6791
Phone: 734-971-9135            
Fax: 734-971-9150 

In announcing the move, the Great Lakes Commission also welcomes four new
members to its professional staff and the return of another. 

Tom Rayburn is rejoining the Commission as a senior project manager in the
Environmental Quality Program, where he will support efforts to develop Remedial
Action Plans for Great Lakes Areas of Concern, as well as work on toxic spill
response and Lake St. Clair restoration. Rayburn returns after nearly a year
as an environmental protection specialist with the U.S. Coast Guard Ninth
District in Cleveland, Ohio. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Purdue
University, where he also pursued graduate studies in environmental engineering.

Anne Sturm has joined the Commission’s Environmental Quality Program as a
geographic information system (GIS) and data specialist. Sturm will be working
on the Commission’s Great Lakes and  Lake St. Clair monitoring inventories
and with the Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands Consortium to develop a long-term
monitoring program for Great Lakes coastal wetlands. Previously employed
with the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries as a GIS analyst, Sturm
has a master’s degree in environmental management from Duke University and
a bachelor’s degree in biology from Albion College in Albion, Mich.

Christian Guenther has joined the Commission as a program specialist overseeing
computer systems support for all staff. He will also assist with maintenance
and development of the Great Lakes Information Network (GLIN). He holds a
bachelor’s degree in English from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and
most recently worked as a production and information technology manager at
Economic & Planning Systems, Inc. in Sacramento, Calif.

Laura Kaminski will join the Commission in November as a program specialist
in Resource Managment, where she will work on the Commission’s Tributary
Modeling project and assist in the development of the Great Lakes Upland
Testing and Evaluation for Beneficial Use Manual. Kaminski previously worked
as an environmental consultant for the Traverse Group in Ann Arbor, Mich.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental geology from the University
of Michigan.

Devra Polack, former webmaster at Michigan Sea Grant, will join the Commission
on a contractual basis in late October to enhance marketing efforts and web
site presence for the Great Lakes Basin Program on Soil Erosion and Sediment
Control. Polack will also assist with development of GLIN and associated
applications. She has a master's degree in creative writing from Mills College
in Oakland, Calif., and a bachelor’s degree from UC San Diego. 

“Commission growth over the past year has been targeted at where our services
are most needed,” said Mike Donahue, Commission president/CEO. “These include
communications technology, environmental monitoring, decision support, policy
research and advocacy.”  

Contact: Mike Donahue
Phone: 734-665-9135
E-mail: mdonahue@glc.org

###

The Great Lakes Commission, chaired by Nathaniel E. Robinson (Wisconsin), 
is a nonpartisan, binational compact agency created by state and U.S. federal 
law and dedicated to promoting a strong economy, healthy environment and high
quality of life for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region and its residents.  
The Commission consists of state legislators, agency officials and governors’ 
appointees from its eight member states.  Associate membership for Ontario 
and Québec was established through the signing of a “Declaration of Partnership.”  
The Commission maintains a formal Observer program involving U.S. and Canadian 
federal agencies, tribal authorities, binational agencies and other regional 
interests.  The Commission offices are located in Ann Arbor, Michigan.