Staff Bios

Gail Gruenwald
Executive Director/Staff Attorney/acting as Watershed Protection Director

May 14, 2006 celebrated Gail's 22nd anniversary at the Watershed Council. She has served on a variety of state and local policy making boards and commissions along with several boards of directors of related non-profit organizations. Her organizational management advice is sought after from non-profits across the region. Gail received her Bachelor of Science from Central Michigan University and a Law Degree from University of Oregon. She is a member of Michigan and Washington State Bar Associations.

Gail lives in Harbor Springs with her husband Wil Cwikiel and their two daughters Kate and Sadie. She loves and enjoys the region's waters and beaches whenever her busy summer schedule allows. The winter season finds her in the woods on skis or snowshoes.

Lynn D. Buffington
Business Manager

Lindy owned and operated her own public accounting service, LDB & Associates, from 1981 to 2002 and provided services to many non-profit and for-profit businesses in northern Michigan. Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council became one of her clients in 1984 when Gail Gruenwald hired her to take on the accounting work of the organization. In 2003, she joined on as a full time employee at the Watershed Council as Business Manager.

She has taught Personal Finance and Computer Accounting classes at North Central Michigan College. She often gives assistance on Peachtree software to other non-profit organizations.

Sandra Schreck
Office Manager

Originally from Ohio, Sandy Schreck has lived in Petoskey since November 1984 and feels like she can call herself a native of this area. She has one son Daniel, who is 21 years old and goes to school and lives in Boston, MA. Sandy has worked for the Watershed Council since 2000.

Growing up around Lake Erie, the pristine lakes of Northern Michigan were a welcome surprise to her. Working for the Watershed Council helps Sandy feel that she is in some small way not only helping to make people aware of their beautiful natural surroundings, but also helping to preserve them.

In the summer, you will find Sandy and her partner, Carson, enjoying the outdoors. Whether it's camping in one of our many state forest campgrounds, enjoying the beach, fishing, cruising on one of our beautiful lakes or watching Carson do his "magic" with photography, one thing is sure - you won't find them home very much. When not outside enjoying the wonders of Northern Michigan, Sandy is an avid hockey fan and tries to take in a Red Wing game every year, hopefully during playoff season in their "quest for the cup".

Friends mean a lot to Sandy and hold a special place in her life. She values the time she spends with them. She also has a passion for animals, especially her two dogs - Buddy and Ginny, and one very old cat - Cupcake. If you have a dog, they know Sandy, and come to see her whenever they visit the office for their "treats". A box is always handy for the four-legged visitors.

Kevin Cronk
Monitoring and Research Coordinator

Kevin coordinates the Watershed Council's water quality monitoring programs, performs a variety of technical services (shore surveys, aquatic plant surveys, etc.), creates maps and performs spatial analyses in a GIS, and assists with development and implementation of watershed management plans. Prior to coming on board at the Watershed Council, Kevin had got his feet wet throughout the region and world, working for the American Samoa Coastal Management Program, the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Institute for Fisheries Research, the University of Michigan, and as a volunteer for the United States Peace Corps in Honduras. Kevin received a B.A. in International Studies from Michigan State University in 1989 and completed an M.S. in Aquatic Ecology from the University of Michigan in 2002.

Jennifer Gelb
Restoration Ecologist

Jen joined the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council in 2003 shortly after moving to Northern Michigan. As the restoration ecologist with the Watershed Protection Team, she works on shoreline, streambank and wetland restoration projects among other "Restoration Remedies" services. Her education and professional experience have been valuable to her role with the Watershed Council. After earning her Bachelors of Science in Natural Resources from the University of Michigan, she assisted with research projects in forest ecology with the University of Michigan and later as an aquatic ecologist with the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor. In 1999, she earned her Masters of Landscape Architecture from the Ohio State University. Following graduate school, Jen spent three years in Columbus working for both a landscape architecture firm and a restoration ecologist.

In July of 2006, Jen and her husband, Brian, became parents to Simon! Simon joins canine siblings, Zip and Milo. Jen can't wait until the whole family can go on their first of many outdoor adventures together.

Valerie Olinik-Damstra
Watershed Coordinator

Valerie Olinik-Damstra joined the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council as the Watershed Coordinator in August 2005. Valerie works on various aspects of watershed management, such as developing watershed management plans, education and outreach, and building partnerships with other environmental groups, local, state and federal government officials, lake associations, and various other watershed stakeholders. She also coordinates many of the watershed Advisory Committees associated with the watershed management plans developed by or in partnership with the Watershed Council. Due to her knowledge of and love for aquatic insects, she also assists with the coordination of the Volunteer Stream Monitoring program. Valerie attended Lake Superior State University for her Bachelors of Science in Fisheries and Wildlife Management, and the University of Illinois for her Masters of Science in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences. She has also worked for various organizations such as the Michigan Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, Clean Water Action, Bay Mills Indian Community, and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Valerie lives in Harbor Springs with her husband Rick Damstra, and their precocious Gordon setter, Ivy.

Policy Team

Grenetta Thomassey, PhD
Policy Director

During school years, Grenetta spent her childhood living on "Three Rivers": the Allegheny River and Monongahela River, which meet to form the Ohio River in Pittsburgh, PA. She spent her childhood summers in the Florida Keys. As a result, she fell in love with water and it ultimately became the focus of her life's work. As an adult, Grenetta has lived all over the US, including New York City; Denver, CO; San Diego, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, CA; Flagstaff, AZ; and Duluth, MN. She has also traveled extensively in the US, Mexico, and Europe.

Grenetta is a gigantic sports fan; a rabid Steeler fan; queen of the NCAA college basketball brackets; and will actually watch golf on TV if the choice is to watch no sports, at all. She is a news and political junkie and is usually caught up on current events. She loves to hike, ride bikes, dance, and listen to all kinds of music, especially live jazz.

Grenetta is happy to have discovered beautiful Northern Michigan and looks forward to spending many years among the lakes, rivers, and wetlands with her dog, Minnie. Her father still lives in Pittsburgh and she has 2 brothers in Florida. Her mom also lives in Florida, but plans to spend summers in Northern Michigan visiting Minnie.

Although Grenetta considers that her greatest accomplishment was to earn a PhD in 2003, she is most proud of her true contribution and gift to the world: her beautiful and talented daughter who lives and works in San Francisco.

Jennifer McKay
Policy Specialist

Jennifer McKay was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio but "grew up" spending nearly every summer on Walloon Lake. She graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Studies and Political Science. Working for both the Michigan Senate and House of Representatives and PIRGIM (Public Interest Research Group in Michigan), she is able to blend her experience to fit perfectly into the position of Policy Specialist at Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council.

Development & Communications

Leslie Burk
Communications and Development Director

Leslie joined the Watershed Council in the spring of 2004. She holds a Bachelor's degree from Purdue University in Liberal Arts with a major in English and minors in Art and Design and History. Leslie feels very fortunate to have worked for many non-profit organizations located in Northern Michigan including Scenic Michigan, U.S. Inc., Bay View Association, and even the Petoskey Regional Chamber of Commerce. She has worked as a freelance researcher, writer, editor, and marketing coordinator for both non-profit and private business sectors focusing on environmental and industrial issues.

During her teenage years and early twenties (not that long ago!), Leslie would make the trek north from Indiana with her family for summer and winter weekends in Harbor Springs and at their farm in Bliss. While Leslie loved coming up to spend time playing on the water and beaches, her parents had other motives including helping them weed their gardens and pick bushels of apples. Leslie permanently relocated to Harbor Springs about eight years ago and has enjoyed every minute of it. She met her husband Dan who introduced her to his passion for northern Michigan sports and the great outdoors. They spend time diving in the very cold Great Lakes (Well, he does, Leslie dives only occasionally but would rather wait atop in the warm sun.), boating, canoeing, mountain biking, all winter sports, and a lot of camping, hiking, and stargazing. Favorite northern lower Michigan and Upper Peninsula haunts include: anywhere in Harbor Springs, Wilderness Park, and Grand Island in Lake Superior. Now Leslie and Dan have a daughter Summer Iris and two black labs named Rowdie and Hoss to join in the fun.

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