Dane Moeggenberg is currently a student at Indiana University studying Freshwater Resource Management, Underwater Resource Management, and Geography. He will finish up his degree in December. Dane enjoys playing bass guitar, cooking great food and chatting with whomever about whatever. He plans to move to Chicago this fall to help stop the Asian Carp as [...]
Category Archives: Our Staff
Leslie Mertz, GTSI Program Coordinator
March 1, 2010 – 2:48 pm
Leslie Mertz joined the staff of the GTCD in February 2010 as the program coordinator of the Grand Traverse Stewardship Iniative. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication, and a master’s of science and Ph.D. in biological sciences. She has done population surveys of amphibians and reptiles in Michigan, has been part of a scientific [...]
Jon Prins, Outreach Specialist
February 11, 2009 – 4:19 pm
Jon joined the Grand Traverse Conservation District as an AmeriCorps member in 2009. He graduated from Grand Valley State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Economics and Marketing. Upon graduation he began a career in marketing and is continuing his work here at the Conservation District. He loves nature and [...]
Colleen Masterson-Bzdok, Education Director
August 28, 2008 – 10:22 am
Colleen Masterson joined the team at the Grand Traverse Conservation District as the Education Director in August, 2008. Colleen brings a strong background in science education to the District, with experience in the development of education programs for students of all ages. She began her career in research, and has served as the Education Director [...]
Lew Coulter, Executive Director
February 12, 2008 – 11:48 am
Lew Coulter began as the District's Executive Director in 1988. He has a B.S. in Resource Development and post-graduate studies in Forest Hydrology from Michigan State University. He and his wife, Virginia, farm 35 acres of cherries in Peninsula Township, and are occasionally assisted by their four children.
Click to email Lew Coulter
Direct Line: 231.941.0960
Cindy Retherford Education Specialist
February 12, 2008 – 11:46 am
Cindy is originally from Traverse City, attended NMC for two years and received her Bachelor's Degree from WMU with Secondary Teaching Certification. She has been coordinating the Discovery Hikes Program at the District for eight years and is currently developing programming for the Boardman River Nature Center. Cindy enjoys fishing, volleyball, boating and hiking in her spare time.
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Steve Largent, Land Management Services Director
February 12, 2008 – 11:44 am
Steve is originally from Traverse City and worked for 10 years after graduation from high school for a local construction firm before returning to school. He attended college at the University of Montana in Missoula, MT., where he received his BS in Wildlife Biology in 1990 [...]
Dan Busby, Groundwater Program Coordinator
February 12, 2008 – 11:41 am
Dan graduated from Oscoda High School in 1990 and received a B.S. in Conservation Ecology from Northern Michigan University in Marquette, MI in 1996. Experience in Watershed Management with land use planning emphasis was gained working on the Chocolay Watershed Project in 1995-1996.
Post-graduate work includes working on [...]
Kath Zatorski, Administrative Assistant
February 12, 2008 – 11:39 am
Kath moved to Suttons Bay in 1993 after spending many summers at the family cottage on Crystal Lake in Beulah. She attended Central Michigan University in the Elementary Education curriculum and most recently attended NMC in Business Administration. Kath has two sons and enjoys reading, hiking with her husband Thomas, and landscaping their home together.
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Rebecca Teahen, Development Coordinator
February 12, 2008 – 11:37 am
Rebecca has been with the District since 1997. She began as a summer intern in '97 and '99. After graduating from Michigan State University with a B.S. degree in Zoology and Aquarium Sciences with a Specialization in Environmental Studies in 2001, Rebecca returned to the District as the Boardman River Watershed Technician. In 2003, Rebecca [...]
Ben Purdy, Land Management Specialist
February 12, 2008 – 11:35 am
In 2002 Ben received his Bachelor of Science degree in Resource Development with a specialization in environmental economics from Michigan State University. Since that time he has held a number of positions at the District. In his current roll as a Land Management Specialist Ben works with paid and volunteer field crews to help manage [...]
Robin Christensen, Land Management Specialist
February 12, 2008 – 11:33 am
Robin graduated from Pine River Area High School in 1999 and received her B.S. in Natural Resource Management from Grand Valley State University in 2002. After a year of research in the Florida Everglades, she returned to Michigan to obtain her M.S. in Applied Ecology from Michigan Tech University in 2006.
Robin is an avid outdoor [...]