Nature-Based Climate Solutions and Local Conservation Work

Rosina M. Bierbaum received an early introduction to pollution issues, growing up in smoggy Bethlehem, PA. Reading Rachel Carson’s The Sea Around Us at age 11 hooked her on a career to preserve the environment. Dr. Bierbaum is a Professor and Dean Emerita at the University of Michigan with a primary appointment in the School for Environment and Sustainability, and courtesy appointments in the School of Public Health and the College of Engineering. She is also the Roy F. Weston Chair of Natural Economics in the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland. Her experience extends from climate science to foreign relations and international development. She chairs the Scientific and Advisory Panel of the Global Environment Facility, served on President Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, was an Adaptation Fellow at the World Bank, and a lead author of the U.S. National Climate Assessment. Rosina served for two decades in both the legislative and executive branches of the U.S. Government, including serving as the Acting Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). She has lectured on every continent.  Bierbaum is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Ecological Society of America, and Sigma Xi. Rosina has lectured on every continent.  She earned a BA (English), a BS (biology), and a Ph.D. in Evolutionary Ecology.

Dr. Missy Stults is the Sustainability and Innovations Director for the City of Ann Arbor. In this role, she works with all city operations, residents, businesses, the University of Michigan, nonprofits, and others to make Ann Arbor one of the most sustainable and equitable cities in America and to implement the A²ZERO Carbon Neutrality Plan. Prior to joining the City, Missy worked with cities and tribal communities around the nation to advance their climate and sustainability goals, including during her time as the Climate Director at ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability and as a consultant to philanthropic organizations. Missy has a PhD in urban resilience from the University of Michigan, a Masters in Climate and Society from Columbia University, and undergraduate degrees in Marine Biology and Environmental Science from the University of New England.

Liesl Eichler Clark has served as Director of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) since January 2019. She oversees a $500 million budget that supports a 1,200-person team dedicated to protecting Michigan’s environment and public health.  Nestled in the heart of the world’s greatest freshwater ecosystem, Michigan EGLE has a unique regulatory role in ensuring the Great Lakes and their connecting waters remain the vital cultural, recreational, and economic engines of the region. The agency also regulates air quality, waste management, drinking water, groundwater, oil and gas extraction, and contaminated site remediation.   Clark led a reorganization which elevated Michigan’s commitment to Environmental Justice, climate mitigation and resilience, clean drinking water, and the Great Lakes. The newly-created offices of Environmental Justice Public Advocate, Clean Water Public Advocate, and Climate and Energy—as well as the longstanding Office of the Great Lakes—are now housed in the EGLE executive office with Clark and her deputies.  Expanding and improving EGLE’s internal and external communications is a major focus for Clark as she strives to support and inspire the EGLE team, engage stakeholders, meet communities where they are, and better share EGLE’s work with Michigan’s 10 million residents – whom she refers to as her “10 million bosses.”  Clark chairs the UP Energy Task Force and the Council on Climate Solutions and serves on the Council on Future Mobility, the Michigan Advisory Council on Environmental Justice, the Michigan Dam Safety Task Force, and the Michigan Poverty Task Force, among others.  Clark received a B.A. in Political Economy and International Relations from James Madison College at Michigan State University and a Master of Public Administration from Michigan State University.  She lives in Livingston County with her husband, their two sons, and Bella the Polish Lowland Sheepdog who is fond of interrupting video meetings. She is working to hike every trail within a 50-mile radius of home, to see more of Michigan’s natural treasures and to spend more time “in the field” with her 1,200 colleagues when circumstances allow.