My priorities focus on what needs doing to protect the Heartlands for the next 50-100 years:

1. Acquisition & Access: Secure grants to purchase the land from The Nature Conservancy while permanently protecting all traditional uses and access (including ORVs).

2.Financial Independence: Ensure the Authority pays a 'property-tax equivalent' to fund county roads and emergency services without raising local taxes.

3. Boundary Vigilance: Protect the perimeter from industrial development and other uses that may interfere with public access and threaten the sense of place.

I will accomplish this by applying my principles of good governance and leveraging my experience as a project manager and engineer.

As a professional engineer, educator, and researcher with a decade of industry experience, my daily work involves managing large budgets, aligning stakeholders, solving complex problems, and facilitating productive meetings. Crucially, my background includes writing the competitive grants needed to complete the Heartlands purchase from The Nature Conservancy and ensure long-term financial viability.

The job of the board is to develop and execute 5, 10, and 30-year plans. This is a project management problem and one I am uniquely qualified to execute with your support. Success here will also require competent, non-personal leadership; in a word, “good governance.” That is my pledge to the voters of Keweenaw County.

Candidate has not yet responded.

Candidate has not yet responded.

My priorities will be listening to our community and ensuring that the authority is positioned in the best way possible to manage the lands consistent with the community’s long-term goals. Since 2022, I have represented the Calumet Keweenaw Sportsmen’s Club on the Keweenaw Heartland Community Advisory Committee. As the club’s advocate, I pushed for continued and/or improved public access to the lands. I also worked with the committee to create a Blueprint for the Keweenaw Heartlands. It would be my position that the guiding principles of the Blueprint and continued community input should dictate how the Authority manages the lands under its control. Decisions should be based upon what is in the best interest of the tax payers.

During my years of government service, I took multiple projects from concept to reality and laid the groundwork for the continued success of these initiatives. Combining this experience with having worked with the Keweenaw Heartlands Community Advisory Committee since 2022, I believe that I am uniquely qualified to set up the Authority Board for long term success. The work product and decisions of the initial board that is elected by the community will have a direct impact on the success (failure) of this board and the Keweenaw Heartlands. As an active member of many of the sub-committees that created template documents for the authority, I have a knowledge base that will allow me to be productive from day one on the board.

I am committed to the successful management of public access to the Keweenaw Heartlands Community Forest. My goals are to ensure ecological sustainability, provide a place for outdoor recreation of all types, and sustain the resources that drive recreation, tourism and promote local economies. Through years of listening, working together, being open-minded, and finding common purposes, the proposed project became a first-of-its-kind success and I am committed to building on that success.

Raised in Copper Harbor and a lifelong resident of the Keweenaw, I was fortunate to grow up experiencing all that our peninsula has to offer. I witnessed my parents struggle to preserve what is now Estivant Pines Nature Sanctuary, and I’ve learned that unless we speak up and advocate for protection of these wild places, they could be taken away from us. This is an early example of successfully advocating for conservation and public access in the Keweenaw. If elected, I look forward to helping us find ways to successfully fund management of this land. It’s important that this work is done by people who understand the interests and needs of Keweenaw residents. I’m one of those people who can be trusted to listen to and represent you.

Candidate has not yet responded.

Candidate has not yet responded.

My priorities are protecting the long-term health of the Heartlands, maintaining responsible public access, and building strong partnerships across the Keweenaw. I believe healthy forests, sustainable recreation, and strong communities are interconnected. Accomplishing these goals requires science-based decision making, thoughtful planning, and collaboration with the DNR, local governments, conservation organizations, and trail clubs. As a board member, I would focus on listening to stakeholders, using data to guide decisions, and ensuring the Heartlands are managed as part of a larger, connected landscape that benefits both residents and visitors for generations to come.

I hold a degree in Forestry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and conducted ecological research in Yellowstone National Park and northern Wisconsin, where I studied forest and wildlife interactions. Professionally, I worked as a product manager at Trek Bicycle Corporation, coordinating complex projects and bringing together people with different priorities to achieve shared goals. Locally, I volunteer with the Copper Harbor Trails Club, KORC, and the Eagle Harbor ski trail system. My background combines science, outdoor recreation, stewardship, and collaborative leadership, all of which are directly relevant to helping guide the future of the Keweenaw Heartlands.

My priority is responsible stewardship of the Keweenaw Heartlands while maintaining public access for recreation, conservation and sustainable forest management. I want decisions based on facts, science, public input, and long-term thinking. We should protect sensitive habitat and waterways while providing appropriate opportunities for recreation like hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, skiing, snowmobiling, ORV use, sailing, paddling, and more. I will work to strengthen cooperation among the Authority, DNR, local governments, landowners, conservation groups and recreational organizations so we manage the Heartlands as part of one connected Keweenaw landscape.

I bring experience in local government, business, nonprofit leadership, environmental work and outdoor recreation. I have served as Houghton Township Supervisor, founding member/Executive Director KORC, founding member Keweenaw Water Trail. My professional background includes management and research at MTU, VP of Environmental company, USCG, Presiding Partner investment firm Executive Director Kew Community Foundation, and more. Just as important, I have spent decades skiing, biking, hiking, swimming, diving, hunting, fishing, paddling, snowmobiling, foraging, sailing, and exploring the Keweenaw.My career has required leadership, strategic planning, financial management, environmental stewardship, problem-solving, and sound decision-making