Tom Darnton
Tom is a practicing attorney based in Charlevoix and focused on condominium and property law, with a particular interest in waterfront property issues. Tom enjoys living on Lake Charlevoix and volunteers for the Watershed Council’s lake monitoring program. Tom is a past board member of the Inland Seas Education Association and a present board member of the Lake Charlevoix Association and Charlevoix Historical Society. Additionally, Tom is the chair of the Hayes Township Zoning Board of Appeals and serves as secretary of the township’s Parks and Recreation Committee. He co-chairs the LCA work team that oversees the Boyne City Demonstration Garden Project. Tom joined the Watershed Council board looking for ways to productively work towards the preservation and improvement of the conditions in the Watershed for all forms of life. He has a strong belief in collaboration and thoughtful planning.
Scott Davis
Scott worked for The Nature Conservancy for 23 years; serving as a State Director, Divisional Director of Conservation Programs, and as a Senior Conservation Advisor for the North American Region. In 2017 Scott left TNC to work with the US Forest Service and the US Endowment for Forests and Communities to create a 13-state, 245-million-acre private forest conservation initiative known as Keeping Forests. In 2021 Scott retired, moved to northern Michigan and now works as the part-time Executive Director of the Mackinac Straits Raptor Watch. Scott’s formal training includes the areas of aquatic ecology, sustainable resource use and ecosystem management. He has degrees in aquatic ecology from Miami University and Texas A&M University, and early in his career spent 13 years working in South America and SE Asia on a variety of fishery, aquaculture and coastal management projects.
Perry Irish Hodgson
Perry Irish Hodgson grew up in Harbor Springs, where she developed a love for Northern Michigan’s lakes, woods, and open vistas. She left to attend the University of Michigan, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Business Administration degrees. After a career as a professional fundraiser for the University of Michigan, Stanford University, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Perry returned to Northern Michigan full time, settling in Charlevoix in 2009 with her husband Rich Hodgson, and two sons now ages 12 and 14. Perry currently serves as Chair of the Shade Tree and Parks Commission in Charlevoix, where she has facilitated the planting of over 500 shade trees along city streets since 2015. Perry is also a board member of Housing Yes Charlevoix and recently served on the Charlevoix Community Foundation. She follows many local issues closely and occasionally attends city and county meetings. Her environmental interests include forestry, invasive species, and responsible shoreline landscaping.
Linda Adams
Linda started her career with Michigan State University doing outreach education, then directed an art society, then did development work for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Along the way, she realized she wanted to continue working in lifelong education and became a reference and programming librarian. Then went on to be the director of the Charlevoix Public Library. She is currently director of the Northland Library Cooperative. Linda’s family has lived in Petoskey for 33 years enjoying the trails and waters of Northern Michigan.
John Gannon
Brian Hayes
Brian first started coming to northern Michigan in 1972 when his family bought a cottage on Torch lake. He has always loved the water and enjoys kayaking, canoeing, sailing and most water sports. He worked for General Motors for 39 years, the last 10 as a Regional Manager responsible for quality and reliability. Brian covered vehicle assembly plants in Atlanta, St Louis, and Kansas City, before retiring in 2018. Brian is a current board member of Three Lakes Association and serves on the water quality committee. In addition, he is a member of the Torch Lake Protection Alliance. He joined the board at the Watershed Council because he loves northern Michigan and all of its lakes and waterways. He sees this as an opportunity to better understand the threats to our watershed and to help preserve and protect it for future generations.
Michael Hayes
Michael was introduced to Northern Michigan as a child. He purchased a home on Walloon Lake when he started a family of his own. A lover of the outdoors, Michael enjoys swimming, cycling and skiing. He has been involved with the WLAC serving on the water quality committee. He is committed to ensuring that Northern Michigan water quality is maintained for future generations. Michael is an entrepreneur with a focus on alternative energy.
Jerry Huey
Jerry studied in a multidisciplinary math and science program (Lyman Briggs College) with an emphasis on biology at Michigan State University. He went on to a 37-year career with the American Red Cross, retiring in 2014 and moving to Douglas Lake. During his tenure at the Red Cross, he worked at every level of the organization, from service provider to executive leader. “I have been in, on, and near the water all my life. In addition to teaching swimming and lifeguarding, I have led outdoor education teachers into the wilderness, river canoeing, and sea kayaking. I am an avid sailor, have been to the North Channel more than 20 times, raced in 11 Mackinac races, and race regularly on Lake Charlevoix and Little Traverse Bay. I also fish on Douglas Lake and other local lakes, rivers, and streams. Clean water is necessary for my future.”
Bob Kingon
Bob and his wife Karen have been residents on Elk Lake since 1998. That year Bob began serving as a Board member of Elk-Skegemog Lakes Association and served as President for three years. Prior to retirement, Bob worked for the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention and then continued consulting with numerous public health organizations. Bob first joined the TOMWC Board of Directors in 2014 and was President from 2020 to 2021. Bob looks forward to again serving the TOMWC and its members by supporting the outstanding services provided by the organization. Bob has also been active in Milton Township activities as a member of the Planning Commission, Zoning Board of Appeals and the Parks and Recreation Committee.
Chuck Kneese
Chuck’s passion for Northern Michigan and its waters began over 60 years ago when his father brought his family from Indiana to see the (then new) marvel of engineering known as the Mackinac Bridge. He never forgot the area. As an Eagle Scout, his interest and love for the thoughtful stewardship of Nature and Natural Resources continue to grow to this day. Chuck and his wife Cristy have been full-time residents living on Crooked Lake since 2009. He is a pharmacist and a retired executive with 50 years of experience in community pharmacy and the Pharmacy Benefit Management Industry. He served on the American Cancer Society Board for the Elkhart Indiana Chapter. Chuck feels honored and excited for the opportunity to serve the Watershed Council in this critical role as a member of its Board of Directors.
Ana Schwab
Ana Schwab is a water and wastewater infrastructure and environmental attorney with a deep background shaping public policy. Ana has extensive experience working with the United States Congress, White House, and executive agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to design and implement regulatory risk and compliance. Ana is an officer on the Water Law Committee of the International Bar Association where she focused her practice on shaping geopolitical policies and regulation around water quality and infrastructure. As Director of Government Affairs and Of Counsel at Best Best and Krieger, Ana’s law and government practice represents corporate clients as well as cities, counties, and special water districts helping them build infrastructure and navigate an all-of-government strategy.
Ana and her husband Oliver call northern Michigan home. They share over a century-deep Schwab family commitment to protecting northern Michigan and as an environmental treasure. Ana and Oliver both volunteer as Tip of the Mitt water quality monitors on Crooked Lake. Ana also serves on the Board of Directors of the Pickerel-Crooked Lake Association.
Karie Slavik
As the Associate Director of the University of Michigan Biological Station, Karie splits her time between the field station in Pellston and the Ann Arbor campus. After graduating with a master’s in biology, studying stream fish, she spent the next seven summers in Arctic Alaska managing stream research project for the Ecosystem Center of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. For 30 years Karie has spent her summers at research field stations, as a student, researcher, and manager. She has served on the City of Ann Arbor Environmental Commission and the executive boards of the Organization of Biological Field Stations and Little Traverse Conservancy. She also works closely with the Douglas Lake and Burt Lake associations on water and land projects. Her other long-term service activities include stream monitoring for the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council and street tree pruning for the City of Ann Arbor. Karie is happiest in the water and forests. Karie is particularly interested in strengthening the UM Biological Station – Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council partnership and providing more opportunities for students to work on common projects.
Greg Walz
Greg is a Petoskey resident and graduate of Western Michigan University with BA and MA degrees in Anthropology and has worked for 30 years as a cultural resource management archaeologist. Affiliated with the University of Illinois, he works throughout the Midwest conducting investigations to assist clients in meeting their State and Federally mandated historic preservation obligations. Greg is currently representing Michigan Trout Unlimited on the TU National Leadership Council and is Chair of the NLC Great Lakes Workgroup which is focused on implementing the TU strategic plan through conservation, advocacy and educational efforts. He also represents Michigan TU on the Pigeon River Country Advisory Council and has previously served as Michigan TU Chair and Vice Chair, President of the Miller-Van Winkle Chapter, and is a current Miller-Van Winkle Board member. An avid angler and outdoor enthusiast, Greg is looking forward to working with the Tip of the Mitt staff and board to continue their longstanding efforts at preserving and enhancing our tremendous and irreplaceable northern Michigan aquatic habitats.
Amanda Weinert
Amanda Weinert is a curriculum specialist with the Little Traverse Bay Bands Niigaandiwin Education Department in Harbor Springs, where she creates and evaluates curricula from an Anishinaabe/Odawa/Indigenous perspective. She also provides services to tribal citizens and local educators (formal & informal), collaborate with local school districts, State of Michigan Departments, other tribes, and other LTBB departments (NRD/Hatchery Nme (Lake Sturgeon) Teachings curricular unit). She serves on the K-4th Grade Michigan Social Studies Standards Task Force, Michigan Teacher Preparation Standards Stakeholder and Steering Committee (re-writing/re-design), Steering Committee and Curriculum Council for Harbor Springs Public Schools, Petoskey Crooked Tree Arts Center exhibition review committee, and the North East Michigan Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative (NEMIGLSI) Leadership team. Prior to her current position with LTBB, she worked for the East Jordan Public Schools and the Title VI/Indian Education Director. She volunteers for the TOMWC as a stream monitor and the Sturgeon Guard on Black River.
