External Advisory Board

External Advisory Board (EAB) members, who come from a variety of sectors, are charged with the task of identifying sustainability challenges and multidisciplinary research opportunities to help the Graham Institute to achieve its goal of U-M leadership in the sustainability field.

Current Members

Dean Adler
CEO & Co-Founder
Lubert-Adler
In addition to his CEO duties,Dean is Head of the Investment Committee and is responsible for leading the strategic direction of the team. One of Lubert-Adler’s focus areas is master planning and redevelopment of large, urban brown-field sites into mixed use communities – and he is working with the Graham Institute to expand U-M’s sustainability academic offering by developing a brown-field development course.

David Baxter
Senior Executive Administrator for Research & Development, Toyota
Dave is responsible for the planning and R&D operations in Ann Arbor and the coordination of technical planning with Toyota Motor Company in Japan. In line with Toyota’s philosophy focused on contribution towards sustainable development‚ Dave’s environmental interests include the Great Lakes natural ecosystem, global warming, and environmental awareness and education especially for business.

Mark Bonnema
Professional Engineer, Senior Design for Environmental Engineering
Haworth
Mark is responsible for the development of corporate-wide product environmental goals and positions – providing guidance to product development and management teams worldwide. Guidance includes establishing corporate policy on environmental issues related to products, evaluating existing and new materials, integrating the supply chain into corporate sustainability, and providing sustainability training including life-cycle analysis.

Mary Buzby
Director of Environmental Technology, Safety & the Environment
Merck & Co., Inc.
Mary provides technical support to Merck facilities worldwide related to water quality management, product stewardship and resource conservation. Specifically, she directs evaluation, selection and operation of technologies for wastewater treatment and water supply, leads pharmaceutical industry initiatives related to pharmaceuticals in the environment and maintains responsibility for environmental initiatives related to energy, water, building design and resource conservation.

Elizabeth "Libby" Cheney (Chair)
Vice President of Corporate Support
Shell
Libby Cheney is Vice President of Corporate Support for Shell Exploration and Production in the Americas Region, which includes assets and ventures in North, Central, and South America. Libby’s responsibilities include Strategy, Economics & Business Support (SEBS), Contracts and Joint Ventures (C/JV), Health, Safety, Security, and Environment (HSSE), Sustainable Development (SD), and Communications and Government Relations (CXGR).

John Erb
President
Frederick A. & Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation
John is the son of noted Detroit-area entrepreneur and philanthropist Fred (and Barbara) Erb. John obtained his BSBA in 1979 from University of Denver. He has held executive leadership roles with several family concerns, including TQ Corporation, Erb Lumber, D.I.Y. Home Warehouse, Inc. and Edgemere Enterprises. He is a Board Member of Birmingham Bloomfield Bancshares, Inc and its subsidiary, Bank of Birmingham, as well as the Detroit Zoological Society. John is also a member of the Cranbrook Institute of Science Board of Governors. John has two sisters and one brother. He lives in Bloomfield Hills with his wife Deborah and their daughter Elizabeth.

Don Graham
Chairman
The Graham Group
Don leads four investment companies with significant private and marketable security investments plus world wide operating companies diversified across numerous manufacturing fields. Don is a member of the U-M President’s Advisory Group, the College of Engineering National Advisory Committee, and is a Co-chair of “The Michigan Difference” campaign. Don has co-funded the implementation of the U-M Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute.

Alex Green
Marketing Director
BHP Billiton Petroleum
Alex oversees the marketing of all BHP Billiton’s crude oil, condensate, and LPG as well as sourcing for petroleum products for mine sites. He is active with U-M Solar Car team, BHP Climate Change Policy steering committee, and is presently working with U-M on a bio-fuel project at mine sites.

Michelle Harvey
Project Manager, Corporate Partnerships
Environmental Defense Fund
Co-lead Environmental Defense Fund’s on-site work with Wal-Mart in advancing sustainable business practices throughout their operations and supply chain; one of two staff members responsible for opening the new Arkansas office. Primary areas of responsibility include chemicals, nanotechnology, alternative energy, human and environment interactions, sustainability training for Wal-Mart buyers, carbon life cycle inventory and analysis, sustainable forestry, agriculture and seafood, and assessing new opportunities. Facilitate strategic coordination internally and externally.

Gary Hirshberg
Chairman, President, & "CE-YO"
Stonyfield Farm, Inc.
Gary has had a long history of organic agriculture, aquaculture, and renewable energy systems. He has overseen the growth of Stonyfield, Inc. from a farming school to its present business, now in partnership with Groupe Danone. One of the five missions of the company is “to serve as a model that environmentally and socially responsible businesses can also be profitable.

Richard Jarman
President & CEO, National Center for Manufacturing Sciences
Rick is President & CEO of The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) in Ann Arbor, Michigan. NCMS is the largest cross-industry collaborative manufacturing research consortium in the United States devoted exclusively to manufacturing technologies, process and practices. Rick serves on several industry boards and advisory groups related to his work in building collaborative alliances.

Lana Pollack
President Emerita, Michigan Environmental Council
Lana led the Michigan Environmental Council from 1996 until 2009—helping to drive a collective voice for the environment at local, state, and federal levels. From 1983 to 1995, she served in the Michigan Senate, where she introduced legislation that later became the “Polluter Pay” Law, which forced the responsibility of cleaning up polluted industrial sites onto the polluters. During her tenure with the Michigan Senate, Lana served on its Appropriations, Finance, Education, Criminal Justice and Urban Affairs committees.

Lois Schiffer
General Counsel
National Capital Planning Commission
Lois Schiffer is General Counsel at the National Capital Planning Commission and Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University. She was formerly a partner at Baach Robinson & Lewis PLLC in Washington, D.C.. From 1993-2001, Lois served as Assistant Attorney General for the Environmental and Natural Resources Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, with responsibility for litigation on behalf of all federal agencies related to pollution, natural resources, wildlife, certain Native American issues, and land condemnation. She has argued cases before a number of Courts of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court.

John Stowell (Vice Chair)
Vice President, Environmental, Health, & Safety Policy
Duke Energy
John oversees the overall strategic direction and policy on national environmental issues for Duke Energy. As such, John is responsible for integrating risks and opportunities into the business planning process and enhancing environmental performance. John also manages the Duke Energy’s voluntary greenhouse gas emission program.

Robert Townsend
Senior Manager, Environmental Healthy & Safety
DENSO
Robert oversees the planning and implementation of corporate strategies that emphasize environmental sustainability development and corporate social responsibilities. This includes DENSO North America regional environmental action plans focusing on product and manufacturing environmental management.

Mark Van Putten
President & Founder
ConservationStrategy, LLC
Mark spent more than 25 years with the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), the largest member-based conservation organization in the United States. This includes seven years as NWF's President and CEO and 15 years as the founding director of NWF's Great Lakes regional office. Mark established an environmental-strategy and organizational development consulting firm called ConservationStrategy in 2003. He is recognized as a visionary leader with proven strategic thinking and planning skills and has a concrete record of turning long-term goals into ongoing organizational reality.

Anne Wallin
Program Director, Sustainable Chemistry
The Dow Chemical Company
Anne leads the 2015 Sustainable Chemistry Goal project team which is integrating Sustainable Chemistry across all disciplines, functions, and businesses in Dow. Sustainable Chemistry is a corporate critical program which will guide and inform Dow’s portfolio and investment decisions over the coming decade. Anne is a native of Wyoming and holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Carleton College. She received a doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and was a post-doctoral fellow at G.D. Searle. She is a co-author of several publications and patents.

Previous Members
Mark Kane, Kane Group; Bob Hutchinson, Cummins, Inc.; Chuck Newman, Recellular.
(List last updated in October 2009.)