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Office of Great Waters Staff Contacts

Staff in the DNR’s Office of Great Waters collaborate with federal, state and local agencies; tribes; businesses; citizen-led organizations and community members to protect and improve the environmental quality of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River. This includes state involvement in regional and international Great Lakes and Mississippi River management, policy, grants programs, monitoring and restoration and protection efforts.

Key responsibilities include:

  • Collaborate with and engage partners to restore and protect healthy waters in the Great Lakes and Upper Mississippi River Basins.
  • Implement the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, including removing impairments from Great Lakes Areas of Concern.
  • Implement lake-wide action and management plans to assess, restore, protect and monitor ecosystem health of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior.
  • Implement the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program, including long-term resource monitoring and projects to restore fish and wildlife habitats.
  • Support Great Lakes beach health monitoring, assessments and advisories.
     

Central Office contacts

Wade Strickland
Director

Kendra Axness
AOC and LAMP policy coordinator

Lori Buckley
Grants specialist

Vacant
Quality assurance and funding coordinator

Jim Killian
Water and sediment resources management specialist

Melissa Lake
Program specialist

Madeline Magee
Monitoring and resiliency coordinator

Diane Packett
Wisconsin Beach Program manager and OGW data specialist

Susan Tesarik
Communications and outreach specialist

Region contacts

Lake Michigan Basin

Vacant
Lake Michigan basin supervisor

Jessica Brandt
Lake Michigan Area of Concern project management specialist

Brennan Dow
Milwaukee Estuary AOC coordinator
Sheboygan River AOC coordinator

Rae-Ann Eifert
Lake Michigan monitoring and sediment coordinator

Kelly Hayden
Lake Michigan Area of Concern project management specialist

Stacy Hron
Lake Michigan Program Coordinator

Brie Kupsky
Green Bay Program Coordinator

Brooke Lotto
Northeast Region AIS Specialist

Mandy Sharkey
Lake Michigan Area of Concern project management specialist

Patrick Siwula
Aquatic invasive species response and pathway specialist for southern Lake Michigan basin

Amanda Smith
Aquatic invasive species response and pathway specialist for northern Lake Michigan basin

Lake Superior Basin

Cherie Hagen
Lake Superior basin supervisor

Matt Boehlke
Lake Superior AIS Specialist

Ellen Coffman
Lake Superior monitoring and sediment coordinator

Dara Fillmore
Lake Superior water resources management specialist

Vacant
St. Louis River wild rice and habitat coordinator

Val Damstra
Lake Superior program coordinator
Binational program coordinator

Vacant
Aquatic invasive species response and pathway specialist for Lake Superior basin

Matt Steiger
St. Louis River AOC coordinator

Upper Mississippi River Basin

Upper Mississippi River Team Organization and Contacts