Meet the Staff
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Gail Gruenwald
Executive Director and Staff Attorney In 2014, Gail celebrated her 30th 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 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. |
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Natalie Walts
Office Manager Natalie joined Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council in August of 2019 after relocating from southeast Michigan. As Office Manager, Natalie is responsible for ensuring that the office and building are running smoothly, and will provide support to the Watershed Council’s outreach and education programs. Prior to joining the Watershed Council, she was a middle school science teacher for 11 years. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from Western Michigan University and a Master’s degree in the Art of Teaching from Marygrove College. She grew up in Plymouth, MI and spent many summers at her family cottage on Munro Lake. Natalie loves most outdoor activities including skiing, backpacking, kayaking and hiking. |
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Molly Voorheis
Business Manager Molly joined Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council in 2020. She is originally from Petoskey, where she enjoyed her summers on and near Lake Michigan and Walloon Lake. She graduated from Calvin College with a secondary education degree and taught in the Forest Hills Public School System for ten years. She also obtained her master’s degree in Holocaust and genocide studies from The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. After moving back to the area to be closer to family, she worked as the office manager at Cutler’s before joining the team here. As someone who is always fighting for the causes in which she believes, it was her life-long dream to work for a nonprofit organization, and she is excited to pursue that dream at the Watershed Council. As business manager, Molly handles the finances here. Molly has a love for all animals, especially dogs. In her spare time, you will find Molly enjoying a concert, befriending a dog, or fighting for the underdog. |
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Lynn D. Buffington
Financial and Operations Director Lindy owned and operated her own public accounting service, LDB & Associates, from 1981 to 2002 and provided services to many nonprofit 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. |
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Grenetta Thomassey, PhD
Watershed Policy Director Dr. Grenetta Thomassey joined Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council in June 2005. She works on matters related to implementing the Great Lakes Compact and statewide water use policy; Great Lakes Restoration; and a variety of local issues in our four-county service area. Prior to this, she taught Political Science and Environmental Policy at the University of Minnesota Duluth. She also taught at Northern Arizona University, where she earned her doctorate in 2003. Dr. Thomassey’s research is focused on state and local government policy; specifically interest groups and fresh water concerns. She has worked on issues related to the expansion of locks on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers, as well as the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Program. Her dissertation was a unique examination of groundwater management policies across the entire US, called “A Comparative Analysis of US Groundwater Management Regimes: Testing an Ideal Type.” She has published several articles and book chapters, and is the primary author and researcher for a book called Fresh Water Issues, published in 2003. The book has companion articles that are regularly updated and included in an online database of Contemporary World Issues. She is also developing a new book on Chesapeake Bay, Everglades, and Great Lakes Restoration policy processes. |
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Jennifer McKay
Policy Director Jennifer McKay joined Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council in May of 2005. As Policy Director, Jennifer is responsible for federal, Great Lakes Basin wide, state, and local policy and advocacy to improve the level of protection for our water resources. She has been appointed to the Great Lakes Commission and the Michigan Underground Storage Tank Authority by Governor Gretchen Whitmer. She previously served on the Michigan Pipeline Safety Advisory Board, being appointed by former Governor Rick Snyder. She also serves on many local boards and committees including the Emmet County Local Emergency Planning Committee and the Northern Michigan Area Committee, as well as Vice Chair for the Michigan Environmental Council Board of Directors. Before joining the Watershed Council, she worked for the Public Interest Research Group in Michigan and the State of Michigan Senate and House of Representatives. She graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Studies and Political Science. |
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Jennifer Buchanan
Watershed Protection Director Jen joined the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council in 2004 shortly after moving to Northern Michigan. As Watershed Protection Director, she leads shoreline and streambank restoration efforts, implements green infrastructure initiatives, develops watershed management plans, and works closely with lake associations and other resource groups to protect our lakes, streams, wetlands, and groundwater. 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. |
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Caroline Keson
Monitoring Programs Coordinator Caroline joined Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council in 2018 as the Water Resource Specialist. Originally from Manistee, MI, she began her love of water playing in streams, ponds, and swamps at her family’s centennial farm. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Studies and Agriscience at Michigan State University in 2011. After working on surface water quality for the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians for seven years, Caroline is ready to apply her knowledge to restoration and education at the Watershed Council. Her projects include Watershed Action Volunteer Experience (WAVE), Avian Botulism Monitoring, Phragmites Surveys, and various habitat and water quality assessments. A local since 2011, Caroline is excited to continue living along Lake Michigan, enjoying skiing, biking, boating, fishing, gardening, and making pies. |
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Ashley Soltysiak
Watershed Policy and Program Coordinator Ashley joined Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council as Watershed Policy and Program Coordinator in January of 2020. A native of lower Michigan, she graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in Environmental Biology and Zoology. She earned her MPA from Cornell University in Environmental Policy. Ashley has led international and domestic research teams and for five years she directed policy campaigns in Utah focused on public lands, water, energy, and air quality for HEAL Utah and the Utah Sierra Club. When she isn't working to protect Michigan’s watersheds, you can find Ashley snowboarding, backpacking, or exploring the north country with her trusty dog, Jim Bridger. |
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Eli Baker
Water Resources Education Coordinator Eli joined the Watershed Council in 2016 after serving as a volunteer through the Huron Pines AmeriCorps program. Eli's primarily responsible for working on the Watershed Academy project, the Michigan Shoreland Stewards project, and other educational and outreach opportunities within our service area. Eli went to Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan where he graduated with a degree in Elementary Education. He then interned at the AuSable Institute of Environmental Studies where he taught natural history as well as Michigan history. He grew up in Grand Haven, Michigan where he spent his summers working on his family’s blueberry farm. He loves fishing of any kind, but fly fishing in Northern Michigan’s waters is his favorite pastime. |
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Jen DeMoss
Communications Director Jen joined the Watershed Council in January 2020. As the Communications Director, Jen is responsible for public communications about Watershed Council initiatives. Her job involves creating press releases, educational and promotional tools, and other materials that highlight the Watershed Council’s work with monitoring, policy, and education. Jen became interested in science communication during her time as a doctoral student in the Anthropology and Integrative Conservation programs at the University of Georgia, where she graduated in fall 2019. She also participated in the American Association for the Advancement of Science Mass Media Fellowship in summer 2019. She spent many happy years as an undergraduate at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and lived in Traverse City for a few years during dissertation fieldwork. She is very happy to participate in conversations about the Northern Michigan waters she loves so dearly. |
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Kate Cwikiel
Communications Coordinator Kate grew up in Harbor Springs, MI and has spent every summer swimming, boating, sailing, and kayaking on small inland lakes and Lake Michigan. Kate joined the Watershed Council staff in 2015 after completing her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Michigan. Kate now works with both the Development and the Communications teams updating the membership database, planning events, and learning the ins and outs of photography and videography. During her time in school, Kate was able to participate in two study abroad programs which fueled her love of travel. Kate now works remotely from Idaho, spending her free time biking, hiking, and skiing. |
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Debbie Esposito
Data and Membership Specialist Debbie joined the team in January 2014. Debbie’s primary focus is to catalog all of the information that is collected through our water quality surveys and other fieldwork into one comprehensive database. She also puts her data analytical skills to work updating membership database so that all of our information on file is as recent as possible. Outside of the Watershed Council, Debbie and her husband, Michael have two daughters. Her hobbies include trail running with her dog Solo, spending time outdoors, and keeping up to date on the latest baseball and soccer games and statistics. Debbie’s favorite water related activities are boating, fishing and swimming. |
