Vice Chair, SEAS external advisory board

Laura Rubin has spent more than 25 years working on environmental protection, policy, and conservation issues. She serves as Director of the Healing Out Waters—Great Lakes Coalition, which has been harnessing the collective power of more than 170 groups representing millions of people, whose common goal is to restore and protect the Great Lakes. The Coalition has earned a well-deserved reputation as a national leader in securing federal investment in regional ecosystem restoration efforts.

Previously, she worked as executive director of the Huron River Watershed Council (HRWC), where she oversaw a staff of 15 professionals and more than 500 volunteers dedicated to protecting and restoring the river for healthy and vibrant communities.

Rubin has served as a board member or advisor to local, state, and national organizations including the Michigan Environmental Council, the Alliance for the Great Lakes, the Great Lakes Integrated Science and Assessment Center, the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources Alumnae Committee, the City of Ann Arbor’s Greenbelt Commission, and others. For her national leadership in river protection, she received the River Network’s 2013 River Hero Award.

Prior to leading HRWC, Rubin worked with small and medium sized manufacturers on pollution prevention efforts, consulted on economic development strategy with the Navajo Nation, and served as a Program Director at Greenpeace, where she cut her teeth on policy development, community organizing, and environmental advocacy. 

Originally from the Chicago area, Rubin grew up a block from Lake Michigan and learned to love and appreciate the beautiful waters, recreational opportunities, and rich ecology of the Great Lakes.

Rubin earned Master’s degrees in Business Administration and Natural Resource Policy at the University of Michigan’s Erb Institute, and a Bachelor of Arts in business economics from Colorado College.