Mike Shriberg (MS ’00, PhD ’02), a faculty member in the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) and Interim Director at Michigan Sea Grant, has joined the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR) as its new Director for Engagement, where he will lead the development and implementation of a vision and strategy to expand CIGLR’s Engagement, Career Training and Outreach (ECO) program.

Before joining the U-M faculty, Shriberg served as the Great Lakes Regional Executive Director for the National Wildlife Federation and as the Education Director at U-M's Graham Sustainability Institute. His MS and PhD from SEAS are in Resource Policy and Behavior. Shriberg’s expertise and experience are in water quality and access as well as environmental leadership, climate resiliency and youth education. He is an experienced advocate and communicator of Great Lakes issues at the state, regional, and federal levels. Shriberg served as a Trustee of the Great Lakes Fisheries Trust and co-chaired the Healing Our Waters–Great Lakes Coalition, which leads the effort to secure over $4 billion in funding through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, recently securing more than $1 billion for cleaning up toxic hot spots. Prior to joining the CIGLR leadership team, Shriberg enthusiastically engaged with CIGLR as a member of the Council of Fellows, a collaborator in CIGLR’s partner programs such as fellowships and summits, an advisor in SEAS master's projects, and a session facilitator at CIGLR’s All Partners Meeting.

“I’m thrilled to be joining the talented team at CIGLR,” said Shriberg. “CIGLR is uniquely positioned to be an effective voice for the Great Lakes due to the deep scientific knowledge and strong network of relationships. I am excited to accelerate CIGLR’s engagement and outreach initiatives.”

As the new Director for Engagement, Shriberg joins a team of talented and dedicated ECO specialists, including CIGLR’s research engagement team led by Riley Ravery. His leadership and expertise will provide strategic guidance to increase the impact of CIGLR’s research and programs, including collaborating with research scientists to align their work with key policy needs, coordinating research engagement efforts around the Regional Consortium, and identifying new funding opportunities to support CIGLR’s outreach and engagement work. In his role as Director for Engagement, Shriberg will expand CIGLR’s networks and connections across the Great Lakes region and more broadly, thus amplifying CIGLR’s societal impact.

This article originally appeared on the CIGLR website.