Mike Shriberg
Director
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The November elections and additions to
our staff ensure that 2007 will be a year
of newfound enthusiasm and energy for
Environment Michigan.
Environment Michigan grows
Kim Pargoff joined our team as our Lansing-based environmental advocate. We’re
particularly excited to have Kim because
of her experience as a renewable energy
market analyst in California and Michigan.
Kim did her undergraduate work at the
University of Michigan, completed her
MBA at UCLA, and obtained a Certificate
in Environmental Management from UC Santa
Barbara.
Please contact Kim with questions or insights
on renewable energy or the political
scene in Lansing.
While Daniel Leland is not a new face to
Environment Michigan, he is moving into
an important new role. Leland is now our
energy field organizer and membership
development director, based in Lansing.
Before taking this position, he directed our
door-to-door citizen outreach campaigns.
Originally from Minnesota, Leland graduated
in 1998 from Gustavus Adolphus
College in St. Peter, Minnesota, with a
B.A. in History and Psychology.
Please welcome Leland to his new role . . .
you may hear from him directly soon!
New faces in the Legislature
Of course, our new colleagues are going to
meet a lot of new faces in Lansing, with
32 first-term House members and five new
senators taking their seats in 2007.
In a somewhat unexpected twist, last year’s
elections turned the Michigan House from
Republican to Democratic control.
With the Senate remaining in Republican
control and Gov. Jennifer Granholm
returning for a second and final term, the
political landscape in our state Capitol
is different and, we hope and assume, conducive for advancing progressive environmental
policy.
As you read on the front page, 33 of the
members coming to the state Legislature —some on both sides of the aisle—are
committed to our far-reaching vision for a
new energy future, a good sign for all our
priority issues.
Champions for the environment?
While it’s nearly impossible to predict
how a new Legislature and re-elected governor
will react to our issues and policy
proposals, I’m optimistic that we’re in a
better position today than we have been
for many years.
So far, politicians on both sides of the
aisle are making the right statements and
positioning themselves as environmental
champions.
One great lesson from the elections and
bitterly partisan battles of 2006 is that all
Michiganders want clean water, clean air
and open spaces.
It doesn’t matter if you are from Grand
Rapids, metro Detroit or the U.P., Michigan’s
citizens stand up for the environment
not just for their own good but also for
future generations.
Our role will be, as always, to make sure
that they listen to the citizens of Michigan,
not the special interests that typically rule
Lansing.
So, while we may have a long way to go
before the public support can outweigh
the access and influence of special interest
lobbyists in Lansing, your continued
involvement and support is critical to
making a difference.
We’ll continue to show politicians that
Michiganders want strong environmental
policies, and that we expect them to do
the right thing on behalf of constituents
like you and me.
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Mike Shriberg
Director
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