People

The Right Honourable Herb Gray was born in Windsor, Ontario, on May 25^th, 1931, the son of the late Harry and Fannie Gray. After graduating from Victoria School and Kennedy Collegiate in Windsor, he graduated from the School of Commerce of McGill University (Montreal) and Osgoode Hall Law School (Toronto). He is a member of the Ontario Bar.

He was first elected to Parliament on June 18, 1962 in his initial attempt at gaining public office for what is now called Windsor West, a riding which takes in a large part of the City of Windsor. He was re-elected in all twelve subsequent federal elections as a Liberal. This constitutes an unequalled record for continuous days of service in the House of Commons 39 years, six months and 26 days, as well as an unequalled record of 13 consecutive victories in the same riding.

Prior to September 1984, Mr. Gray served as Chair of the House of Commons Committee on Finance, Trade and Economic Affairs, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance, Minister without Portfolio working with the Minister of Finance, Minister of National Revenue, Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs, Critic on Finance for the Official Opposition, Minister of Industry, Trade and Commerce, Minister of Regional Economic Expansion and President of the Treasury Board.

From September 1984 to February 1990, he served as Opposition House Leader. From January, 1989 to February 1990, he was also Deputy Leader of the Opposition. From February 6, 1990 to December 21, 1990, he was Leader of the Opposition. From January 1991 to November 1993, he served again as Finance Critic for the Official Opposition.

On November 4^th, 1993, he was appointed Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Solicitor General of Canada which meant he was responsible for federal law enforcement activities. He was also named Political Minister for Ontario. On June 11^th, 1997, he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister, the first to occupy that position as a full time cabinet post.

On September 24^th, 1997, in addition, he was assigned responsibility for development of the Government of Canada's activities to mark the new millennium. Then on March 12, 1998, he was designated as the Minister responsible for the Millennium Bureau of Canada. On September 11^th, 2000, he was appointed by the Prime Minister as special representative to deal with the longstanding issue of Indian residential schools. He was then designated Minister responsible for the Office of Indian Residential Schools Resolution of Canada which was created in June 2001.

Mr. Gray ceased to be Deputy Prime Minister and resigned from the House of Commons on January 14, 2002 to become the full-time Canadian Chair of the International Joint Commission – an autonomous international organization created by the Boundary Waters Treaty between Canada and the United States dealing with transboundary issues concerning water and air.

On January 15, 2002 the Governor General bestowed on Mr. Gray the title "Right Honourable". He is now one of only three Canadians currently to hold the title in addition to the fifteen present and former Prime Ministers, Governors General, and Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Mr. Gray was appointed Chancellor of Carleton University, located in Ottawa, Ontario on November 28, 2008.

When Mr. Gray was first appointed a Minister in 1969, it was the first time in Canadian History that someone of the Jewish faith was appointed to the Federal Cabinet.

Mr. Gray worked extensively as a Minister and as an M.P. in the fields of parliamentary affairs, economic and industrial development, foreign investment, finance, consumer protection, competition, international trade, federal law enforcement, the environment and climate change, and Canada-US border issues.

Mr. Gray, who is bilingual, took part in the work of a number of community organizations in the Windsor area prior to his election to Parliament, including the Jaycees (Windsor President 1961-62), B'nai Brith and the Club Richelieu. He is a member of the Machzikei Hadas Synagogue in Ottawa.

On July 23, 1967, he married Sharon Sholzberg, a lawyer (B.Sc. and B.C.L. - McGill), originally from Ville St. Laurent (Montreal), Quebec. They have two children and four grandchildren.

Mr. Gray is a Companion of the Order of Canada B the highest designation of the Order of Canada–bestowed by the Governor General on up to only 165 outstanding Canadians recognizing their special contribution to Canada.

Among the honours Mr. Gray has received are:

• Designation as "The Right Honourable"
• LL.D. (Hon.), University of Windsor
• LL.D. (Hon.), Assumption University (Windsor)
• Doctor (Hon.), Catholic University of Lublin (Poland)
• LL.D. (Hon.), McGill University
• Doctor (Hon.), University of Ottawa
• B'nai Brith Award of Merit
• Negev Dinner honouree (Windsor & Ottawa)
• Ordre de la Pléiade (Officier)
• C.C., Companion of the Order of Canada
• P.C., Privy Councillor
• Q.C., Queens Counsel

Other Honours include:

• Honourary Graduate - St. Clair College, Windsor
• Centennial Medal
• Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal
• Canada 125 Medal
• Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal
• The first John Fraser Award for Environmental Achievement presented by The Sierra Club of Canada
• Hon. Member Rotary Club of Windsor (1918)
• Hon. Member Royal Canadian Legion Balfour Branch #362
• Hon. Colonel 21 (Windsor) Service Battalion 2004–2008

Mr. Gray resides in Ottawa, where the Canadian Headquarters of the IJC is located.

Irene B. Brooks was appointed as Commissioner to the U.S. Section, International Joint Commission, by President George W. Bush and assumed office on December 3, 2002. She was selected by the President to serve as the U.S. Section Chair, effective March 9, 2008.

In an era of unique challenges, Irene Brooks has carefully and thoughtfully tread an impressive path as administrator, negotiator and leader. She was appointed by Governor Tom Ridge to represent Pennsylvania on all interstate river basin commissions of which the Commonwealth is a member. Ms. Brooks served as Pennsylvania Commissioner and Executive Director, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Office for River Basin Cooperation from 1995-2002. She coordinated with the Secretary of the Department and the Governor's Office on a variety of interstate issues, including the development of long-range plans and adoption of policies, as well as regulations affecting the water of millions of citizens within fifteen states and two Canadian Provinces. She served as Chair of the Great Lakes Commission from 1998-2000 and Vice Chair from 1996-1998.

In 1989 she was appointed by President George Bush to serve as the United States Commissioner to the Delaware River Basin Commission, a five-member regulatory and quasi-judicial agency managing the water resources within the 13,000-square-mile Delaware River Basin. She helped formulate federal policy, coordinating a consensus among all federal agencies and working with Congressional committees, individual Congressmen and staff members plus state and federal representatives.

Previously, Ms. Brooks was appointed by unanimous vote of the Court of Common Pleas to complete a term as Chester County Commissioner and was subsequently elected to that position. She developed and implemented a comprehensive countywide plan to help protect and preserve the environment, farmland and open spaces, the first of its kind in Pennsylvania. The Chester County Open Space Program has been adopted by other counties across the country and has won several Presidential Awards.

Ms. Brooks graduated cum laude with a Bachelor's degree in political science/public administration from West Chester University. She has received the Mary H. Marsh Medal from the American Water Resources Association, the Stewardship Award from the Delaware River Basin Commission, recognition for her outstanding service from the Great Lakes Commission, the Leadership Award from the Interstate Council on Water Policy and the Outstanding Service to Conservation Award from The Nature Conservancy, among others. She enjoys fly fishing, tennis and exploring the ebbs and flows of notable American tributaries.

Allen I. Olson was appointed as Commissioner to the U.S. Section, International Joint Commission, by President George W. Bush and assumed office on December 3, 2002.

In joining the International Joint Commission, Mr. Olson comes from a distinguished career in public service and private practice. He served as the President and CEO of the Independent Community Bankers of Minnesota (1988-2003). He worked as a full-time consultant for the Physicians Health Plan of Minnesota and affiliated companies, and in private law practice in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Mr. Olson served as Governor of North Dakota (1980-1984) and as Attorney General of North Dakota (1972-1980). Previously, he was Senior Partner of a law firm in Bismarck, North Dakota, and Assistant Director of the North Dakota Legislative Council. He served in the U.S. Army as Appellate and Trial Counsel in the Judge Advocate General's Corps (1963-1967) and as Chief of Military Justice in Munich, Germany (1967).

Mr. Olson earned a J.D. degree at the University of North Dakota College of Law, a B.S. and B.A. at the University of North Dakota College of Business and Public Administration, and attended the U.S. Army Judge Advocate Generals School at the University of Virginia.

Mr. Olson has served in many other capacities including as a member of the International Flood Mitigation Initiative for the Red River Basin, Chairman of the Board for the Red River Trade Council Inc., and Trustee for the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. He is a member of the Citizens League, an organization that provides forums to involve citizens in public policy formation, the Center of the American Experiment and the Christ Presbyterian Church in Edina, Minnesota. He and his wife, Barbara Benner, have three children and six grandchildren.

Pierre Trépanier has been a member of the Labour and Employment Group of the law firm of Heenan Blaikie where he was a partner since 1975.

He has considerable and extensive experience in labour relations as a legal advisor to national and international corporations, particularly in the negotiation of collective agreements. He represents clients before all courts as well as administrative and quasi-judicial tribunals, at both the provincial and federal levels.

Acknowledged for his expertise, Mr. Trépanier has spoken at many conferences and participated in numerous seminars on labour relations. He was an instructor of occupational health and safety seminars at the McGill University Management Institute from 1983 to 1990.

From 1993 to 1995, Mr. Trépanier was chairman of the Board of Magnétotheque, an audio book production centre for the visually challenged; he was a member of the board of Berlitz Canada from 1991 to 2001, and of Berltiz GlobalNet Canada until 2001. He has served on the advisory board of Care Canada for several years.

Mr. Trépanier has been awarded Martindale-Hubbell´s highest rating (“AV’) for his skills and sense of ethics.

During 2008, Dr. Sam Speck was appointed by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate as one of the three U.S. members of the International Joint Commission (IJC).

Previously Dr. Speck had served for eight years as Ohio's Director of Natural Resources. Prior to that he had been president of Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio for over a decade. He also served as an associate director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency under President Ronald Reagan and as a member of the Ohio House and Senate for 13 years while on the Muskingum College faculty.

While in office as Ohio's Director of Natural Resources, Dr. Speck served as a member and chair of the Ohio Lake Erie Commission and Great Lakes Commission. He also served as chair of the Council of Great Lakes Governors and Premiers’ Water Management Working Group, which developed the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact and Agreement. In July 2004, he was one of three state officials in the United States to receive the National Governors Association's Annual Award for Distinguished Service in State Government. Reared on a farm in northeastern Ohio, Dr. Speck is a graduate of Muskingum College and earned master's and doctoral degrees in government from Harvard University. He and his wife, Sharon, have two sons and three grandchildren.

Lyall Knott is a senior partner at Clark Wilson LLP, a Vancouver-based law firm. His area of practice is corporate and commercial real estate law and public-private partnerships.

Born and raised in Vancouver, Mr. Knott earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1971, and Bachelor of Laws degree in 1972, both from the University of British Columbia. He earned a Master of Laws from the University of London, England, in 1973, and in 1985 he was appointed to the rank of Queen's Counsel.

Mr. Knott is the Honorary Captain of the Canadian Fleet Pacific and is an honorary member of the Naval Officers Association of British Columbia. Among his many awards, he was the recipient in 2000 of the Blythe Eagles Volunteer Service Award; in 2002 of the Commonwealth Medal for the Queen's Golden Jubilee; and in 2003 the Medal of Merit Award of the Lions International.

Lyall Knott serves on the Boards of Directors of several charitable organizations. He is Chair of the Rick Hansen Foundation, Board Secretary to S.U.C.C.E.S.S., and Former Chair of the UBC Foundation. He is the Honorary Consul for The Republic of Tunisia and a member of the British Columbia Consular Corps. Mr. Knott was appointed to the Royal Roads University Fellows Council. He is an active member of the Vancouver Board of Trade and is a member of the Law Society of British Columbia.

In addition to having a broad base of experience with both public and private corporations, Mr. Knott has an extensive background and understanding of the workings of government.

Dr. Karen E. Vigmostad, Ph.D., is the director of the International Joint Commission’s Great Lakes Regional Office in Windsor, Ontario. The Commission is an independent international governmental organization established by the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty between Canada and the United States. The purpose of the Commission is to help prevent and resolve disputes relating to the use and quality of boundary waters, and to advise Canada and the United States on related questions. The Great Lakes Regional Office was established in 1972 by the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement to assist the two federal governments implement and assess progress under the Agreement. The two principle functions of the Great Lakes Regional Office are to support the Water Quality and Science Advisory boards—the principle advisors to the Commission under the Agreement—and provide public information on Great Lakes issues. The Agreement was amended in 1978 and 1987, and the two federal governments are currently determining whether to amend or replace the Agreement thus bringing it fully into the 21st Century.

Dr. Vigmostad came to this position in 2005 with 20 years Great Lakes policy experience. She specializes in Great Lakes ecosystem restoration, water quality management, and coastal policy, and she leads a binational collaborative for the conservation of Great Lakes islands. Most recently, she was Great Lakes policy analyst with the Northeast-Midwest Institute in Washington, D.C. Previously she held similar positions with the Michigan Office of the Great Lakes and Michigan Sea Grant. She holds a doctorate from Michigan State University and a Master of Science from the University of Michigan in environmental policy, and her publications include the State of the Great Lakes Islands and Large-scale Ecosystem Restoration: Lessons for Existing and Emerging Initiatives.

She was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and came to love the Great Lakes by boating with her family on Lake St. Clair. She views her role as finding creative, innovative ways to foster peace between nature and culture.

Lori Boughton was appointed Director of Pennsylvania's Office of the Great Lakes in November 2002. She is part of the Department of Environmental Protection and is responsible for overseeing, coordinating, and implementing all of Pennsylvania's environmental activities in the Great Lakes. She represents Pennsylvania on numerous international and national Commissions and Boards within the Basin, including the International Joint Commission’s Great Lakes Water Quality Board. Locally, she is focused on protecting Presque Isle Bay and the Lake Erie watershed. Prior to this appointment, Ms. Boughton worked on watershed and strategic planning issues for DEP while on a one year loan from the Federal Environmental Protection Agency. Ms. Boughton was with EPA for twelve years and worked in various programs dealing with hazardous waste investigation, regulation, cleanup, and property reuse.

Eric Boysen has been the Director of the Ministry of Natural Resources' Great Lakes Branch since 2007. The Branch is responsible for the management of aquaculture, commercial and recreational fisheries on all of Ontario's Great Lakes, including monitoring and reporting on ecosystem impacts caused by invasive species and climate change. The Provincial Fish Culture program is also a key responsibility, supplying close to 8 million fish for stocking purposes annually. The Branch is the Ministry lead for the Canada-Ontario Agreement respecting the Great Lakes Ecosystem, which funds many local habitat and species restoration initiatives. Eric has been a member of the Water Quality Board since 2008.

In Jim Bruce’s early professional life, he established the flood warning system for Province of Ontario and undertook research and teaching at the University of Toronto in Hydrometeorology. He was appointed in 1967 as first Director of the Canada Centre for Inland Waters, and subsequently Director General, Inland Waters Directorate for Canada. He was part of the Canadian team which negotiated the 1972 and 1978 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreements (Canada-U.S.A.) and served as Canadian co-chair of the Science Advisory Board and later the Great Lakes Water Quality Board of the International Joint Commission. He also chaired the Prairie Provinces Water Board and the Mackenzie River Basin Committees. Jim Bruce moved in 1980 to the position of Assistant Deputy Minister of the Atmospheric Environment Service. After leaving the federal government, he served as Director of Technical Cooperation and Acting Deputy Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization, Geneva. He is author of several books and numerous papers and presentations on climate, water, natural disasters and related issues and has been awarded honorary doctorates from McMaster and Waterloo Universities.

John Carey is Director General of Environment Canada’s Water Science and Technology Directorate (WSTD), the largest freshwater science group in Canada. WSTD has 760 full-time staff located in 13 locations throughout Canada. The Directorate conducts research and monitoring in aquatic sciences, providing scientific knowledge that supports the development of government policies and programs and public decisions concerning freshwater ecosystems. As Director General, Dr. Carey is responsible for overseeing the management of the research and monitoring, establishing program directions, ensuring that the directorate’s science capacity is appropriate to meet the department’s needs and its science well respected.

Dr. Carey has been involved in environmental research since obtaining a Ph.D. in Inorganic Photochemistry in 1973. His research interests include toxicology and ecosystem dynamics of environmental contaminants. Photochemical processes in the aquatic environment, and photochemical methods of wastewater treatment and disinfection. Highlights of his research studies include: ecosystem dynamics of the lampricide TFM in the Great Lakes and Niagara River contaminants in the Niagara River and Lake Ontario; the transport, fate and effects of chlorophenolics in Canadian river systems; identification of contaminants in the St. Clair River ‘Blob’; and the use of semi-conductors as photcatalysts in wastewater treatment. John is currently serving as Canadian Co-Chair of the Great Lakes Science Advisory Board of the International Joint Commission, Canadian Co-Chair of the Canada-Germany Science & Technology Cooperation Agreement and member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Water Network.

Dr. David Carpenter is a Professor at the Environmental Health and Toxicology Division, School of Public Health at the University of Albany in New York. Dr. Carpenter is currently an editorial advisor of the Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology and a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice and International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health. He is the host of a 30-minute public health information show called "The Public Radio Health Show", which is carried on more than 170 stations nationwide including the Armed Forces Radio Network and Voice of America. Prior to joining the University at Albany, Dr. Carpenter was a Research Physician at the Wadsworth Center for Laboratories and Research.

Cameron Davis is Senior Advisor to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator. In that capacity he provides counsel to Administrator Lisa Jackson on the Obama Administration’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. His job includes coordinating Great Lakes policy and funding initiatives with more than a dozen federal agencies and with state, municipal, tribal, business and civic stakeholders. The focus of this work involves restoring habitat, reducing pollution, cleaning up toxic hotspots, preventing the introduction of invasive species, reducing runoff and enhancing coastal health for people, fish and wildlife.

For more than two decades, Mr. Davis has worked to develop and implement water quality and quantity policy. Starting as a volunteer, he served as a litigating attorney and law teacher at the University of Michigan Law School before serving as CEO of the Alliance for the Great Lakes. He earned his law degree, including certification in environmental and energy law, from the Kent College of Law and a B.A. from Boston University in International Relations.

While working in Chicago, Washington, D.C. and throughout the eight Great Lakes states, Cam lives across the street from Lake Michigan with his wife Katelyn, a child psychologist, and young son, where they try to swim in the lake several times a week, but only when it’s warm enough.

Dr. Michael J. Donahue is corporate Vice President with URS Corporation, a global consulting firm specializing in planning, engineering, architectural and design services. Donahue focuses on water resources and environmental services for national and international clients and, among others, is leading ecosystem and coastal restoration initiatives in the binational Great Lakes region and the Gulf Coast. He has 25 years of public and private sector experience in all aspects of program and project design, development and management and implementation. Areas of special expertise include water resources planning, management and policy; organizational design, operations and leadership; and government, industry and community relations.

Dr. Donahue’s experience includes executive leadership positions in the public sector, where he served for 17 years as President/ Chief Executive Officer of the Great Lakes Commission, a binational agency specializing in planning, policy, technical services and project management. Dr. Donahue holds appointments on a number of national and international advisory and policy boards, serving as Vice Chairman of the Chief of Engineer’s Environmental Advisory Board and U.S. Chairman of the Science Advisory Board, International Joint Commission. He presently holds adjunct faculty appointments at the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, where he is actively engaged in teaching, research, writing and consulting on a range of water resources and related environmental topics. Dr. Donahue is a three time graduate of the University of Michigan, with an undergraduate degree in Resource Policy and Management, a master’s degree in Public Policy, and a doctorate in Urban, Technological and Environmental Planning.

Dr. Peter H. Gleick, Ph.D. is co-founder and president of the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security in Oakland, California. His research and writing address the critical connections between water and human health, the hydrologic impacts of climate change, sustainable water use, privatization and globalization, and international conflicts over water resources.

Dr. Gleick is an internationally recognized water expert and was named a MacArthur Fellow in October 2003 for his work. In 2001, Gleick was dubbed a "visionary on the environment" by the British Broadcasting Corporation. In 1999, Gleick was elected an Academician of the International Water Academy, in Oslo, Norway and in 2006, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C.

Gleick received a B.S. from Yale University and an M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. He serves on the boards of numerous journals and organizations, and is the author of many scientific papers and six books, including the biennial water report, The World's Water, published by Island Press (Washington, D.C.).

Gary Gulezian is the Director of the Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO) in the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) office in Chicago. He has served in this position since September of 1997.

GLNPO is charged with the responsibility to lead and coordinate U.S. efforts in implementing the goals and objectives of the Canada - U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. GLNPO brings together Federal, state, tribal and local partners in an integrated, ecosystem approach to protect, maintain, and restore the chemical, biological, and physical integrity of the Great Lakes. The program monitors Lake ecosystem indicators; manages and provides public access to Great Lakes data; helps communities address contaminated sediments in their harbors; supports local protection and restoration of important habitats; promotes pollution prevention through activities and projects such as the Canada - U.S. Binational Toxics Strategy (BNS).

Prior to becoming GLNPO's Director, Mr. Gulezian was the Chief of the Air Toxics and Radiation Branch in the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Region 5 office in Chicago. In this capacity, Mr. Gulezian was responsible for coordinating the implementation of the Regional Office's programs which dealt with hazardous air pollutants and radiation. Additionally, Mr. Gulezian had the overall responsibility for directing Federal air pollution control efforts in the States of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin including regulation development, enforcement and grants management.

Mr. Gulezian joined USEPA in 1977. During his tenure with the Agency he has worked with programs involving the control of mobile sources, Federal rule making on State Implementation Plans, cleanup of radioactively-contaminated sites, radiological emergency response, and the control of indoor radon.

Mr. Gulezian holds a Baccalaureate degree from Dartmouth College where he specialized in aquatic biology and a Masters degree from the Harvard University School of Public Health in the field of Environmental Health Sciences.

Mr. Gulezian lives in Oak Park, Illinois, with his wife, Greta, and their three children.

Suzanne Hanson is the Regional Manager of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's Duluth office which covers seven counties in Northeast Minnesota. Five of the counties share waters with Canada. Ms. Hanson has been a member of the IJC Water Quality Board and the Lake Superior Task Force since 1996. She joined the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency in 1995. During her tenure with the agency she has worked on compliance and enforcement, permitting, remediation, impaired waters, watershed management, continuous improvement and a variety of Great Lakes issues.

Ms. Hanson holds a B.S. from the University of Minnesota and a Masters Degree in Business Administration from St. Thomas University.

As one of the largest chemical companies in the United States, Dow makes chemicals that are used in everything from plastic to paint and glue, to shampoo. Dr. Gary Klecka, one of the senior scientists in its environmental research lab, is responsible for supporting these products from an environmental perspective. His job is to understand how chemicals need to be handled when they are being transported, how to store them safely, and how to clean them up should they enter the environment. As a lab, we work on the issues the company is facing at the time. In the mid-1980s, we were very concerned with groundwater issues and developing remediation processes for groundwater. Recently, he says, the lab has been focusing on the fate of chlorinated solvents in groundwater, studying how microorganisms degrade chemical contaminants. Fifteen years ago, we believed these chemicals were persistent in the environment. But now, we believe that they do degrade through various mechanisms. We use these conclusions to support a wide range of chlorinated solvent products used in metal finishing, paint removal, and dry cleaning solutions, and to help us develop entirely new strategies for their remediation.

Dr. Joseph F. Koonce is a Professor of Biology at Case Western Reserve University with a secondary appointment as Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer and Science. He received his B.A. Degree from Dartmouth College and M.S. and Ph.D. Degrees from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in Zoology. Dr. Koonce has broad research interests in aquatic systems ecology. He has served on a number of Boards and advisory committees for the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, the International Joint Commission, National Research Council, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He served as the Ecosystem Partnership Coordinator for the Great Lakes Fishery Commission (1992-1993) and as U.S. Co-chair of the Habitat Advisory Board of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission (1997-1999). Currently, Dr. Koonce is the leader of the Lake Erie Ecological Modelling Project a co-director of the Center for the Environment of Case Western Reserve University.

Dr. Hugh MacIsaac received his BSc degree at University of Windsor, his MSc degree at University of Toronto and his Ph.D. at Dartmouth College. He is a professor and Fisheries and Oceans Invasive Species research chair at Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research at the University of Windsor. He is also director of the Canadian Aquatic Invasive Species Network, a consortium of about faculty from 19 universities, federal laboratories and industry partners. Dr. MacIsaac's interests lie in the field of vector biology. Much of the work in his lab is devoted to assessments of vectors that bring invasive species to Canadian lakes and estuaries, and patterns of human-mediated spread from points of original invasion to other localities.

Peter Meerveld joined the Ontario Public Service in 1972 with the Ministry of Natural Resources holding a variety of positions in the environmental and resources field. For the past 8 years, he has held a number of senior positions with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and has been instrumental in establishing a regulated nutrient management program for the Ministry. The key objective of this program is to support the government’s clean water strategy.

Along with a number of other government organizations, Peter assisted in the establishment of the Lake Simcoe Protection Act, designed to protect and restore the ecological health of one of Ontario’s largest coldwater lakes using a watershed approach – a first of its kind in Ontario and a potential model for the Great Lakes.

He is currently the Director of the Food Safety and Environmental Policy Division and is responsible for a variety of policy issues including the Great Lakes, animal health, organics, legislative reform, climate change, and green energy.

Until recently, Peter was OMAFRA’s Director Champion of research in the area of Environmental Sustainability.

Dr. Donna Mergler is a Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Quebec at Montreal. Her interests are in the biological interactions between health and the environment and her research specialty is concerned with the neurophysiological and neurophyschological effects of exposures to neurotoxic substances. She is a member of the IJC's Science Advisory Board and of the Workgroup on Ecosystem Health.

Ted Smith has worked for EPA for 20 years, and has served as the Great Lakes National Program Office Pollution Prevention and Toxics team leader for the past nine years. Prior to coming to the Agency, Ted worked in the petrochemical industry as a design engineer for several years. Ted has a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois Champaign - Urbana, and a Masters Degree in Environmental Chemistry from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

David Ullrich is the Executive Director of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative. His responsibilities include working with U.S. and Canadian mayors from across the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Basin to advance the restoration and protection of the resource. The Initiative leads many efforts to accelerate the work to become a more sustainable region by integrating the environmental, economic, and social activities to improve the quality of life and well being of its people.

Prior to assuming his current position, Mr. Ullrich served for thirty years at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Great Lakes regional office in Chicago, working on environmental issues in the six states of the upper Midwest. He worked in many capacities over the years, including Acting Regional Administrator, Deputy Regional Administrator, Waste Management Division Director, Deputy Regional Counsel, Air Enforcement Chief, and Water Enforcement Attorney. For six years, he was the U.S. Chair of the Water Quality Board for the International Joint Commission, and was a founding member and chair of the Midwest Natural Resources Group. He continues to serve on the Water Quality Board, and in 2006 was appointed by the President to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. In 1986, he completed a six month executive exchange assignment with the German Interior Ministry. U.S. EPA recognized Mr. Ullrich for a number of his accomplishments during his public service career.

Mr. Ullrich graduated from Dartmouth College in 1970 with a degree in English and received his law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1973, with an emphasis in environmental law. He is a runner and outdoor sportsman. He is married to Polly Ullrich, an art critic, curator, and ceramic artist, and their son Eric is a student at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.

In June 2007, Mr. Jim Vollmershausen was appointed Regional Director General for the Ontario Region of Environment Canada. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Vollmershausen served as Regional Director General for the Prairie and Northern Region of Environment Canada, a post he took up in August of 1993.

After graduating from the University of Western Ontario in 1969, Mr. Vollmershausen spent seventeen years with Parks Canada, serving in Nova Scotia’s Kejimkujik National Park, and subsequently as Superintendent of Gros Morne and Cape Breton Highlands National Parks, the Trent-Severn Waterway and Banff National Park.

He also occupied the position of Director General, Conservation and Protection for the Atlantic Region and Director General, Corporate Programs in Ottawa, where he was responsible for the management of a number of Corporate Policy and Funding Programs. During this period, Mr. Vollmershausen was also involved in a major transition exercise in the department, when he was heavily engaged in the co-ordination of Regional and Departmental Integration efforts.

In Mr. Vollmershausen’s current capacity, he is Environment Canada’s senior manager in Ontario. His responsibilities include serving as Canadian co-chair of the Great Lakes Binational Executive Committee, setting priorities for Canadian and U.S. efforts to restore and maintain the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem. He is also Chair of the Great Lakes Executive Committee, providing leadership for coordinating the efforts of eight federal departments with mandates in the Great Lakes; and Co-Chair of the Canada-Ontario Agreement Management Committee, providing leadership for decision-making on joint federal-provincial activities in the Great Lakes to support the Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem (COA). Mr. Vollmershausen is also the Canadian Co-Chair of the International Joint Commission’s Great Lakes Water Quality Board, providing critical policy advice and analysis to the Commission on Great Lakes issues.

As Environment Canada’s senior manager in Ontario, Mr. Vollmershausen serves on a number of executive boards within the Department, helping to set overall priorities and direction, providing strategic guidance, and planning for the integrated management of activities to deliver on objectives and results.

He is Environment Canada’s regional ambassador, serving as chief negotiator in discussions with stakeholders and provincial representatives. He is also a member of the Ontario Federal Council, made up of the regional heads of federal departments and agencies in Ontario, that seeks to strengthen collaboration and cooperation across the federal government in Ontario.