Board of Directors

Retired from a successful career in communications as a writer, photographer and editor, Chris has published several hundred articles in online and print news sources. Her nature photos have been published in magazines, calendars, books and online, and today she writes about and photographs wildlife for naturebychris.com. She is a certified Michigan Master Naturalist and has completed conservation field work in Costa Rica, Suriname, Guyana, Michigan and Georgia.

Background in environmental law.

A seasoned fundraising professional with more than fifteen years of experience, Kelsey is a Development Officer at the Arbor Day Foundation, where she manages a portfolio of major and principal level donors. Before that she worked in fundraising and operations at Global Conservation, and earlier at Re:wild, Tompkins Conservation and The Nature Conservancy’s North America Region.

Director of Growing Pontiac, a nonprofit that supports urban agriculture and conservation in Oakland County, and co-farmer at Mucha Fruta Farm in Pontiac, Emily joined the board to support the diverse species and ecosystems that call Oakland County home, and to make sure they keep enriching all of our lives for generations.

The owner of Michiganense Natives, a retail native plant nursery in Plymouth, Adam works to make native plants affordable and easier to find. He spent 18 years in supply chain and manufacturing leadership before an unexpected career change in 2023 gave him the chance to follow his passion. A 2021 graduate of the Michigan Conservation Stewards Program, he teaches in the Michigan Natural Shoreline Partnership’s Certified Natural Shoreline Professional Program. He is a self-taught ecologist who loves connecting people with native plants and helping communities make environmentally responsible landscape choices.