Board

Currently, 20 people in addition to our founders and honorary chairman bring their hearts, minds and resources together around the table to preserve the best of Leelanau. They carry on the legacy of many who have come before them and accomplished great things. Board members serve a maximum of three 3-year terms, but may be reinstated to the board after being off it for one year. The group meets bi-monthly but members also serve on numerous committees that meet throughout the year. Board members are nominated by the Conservancy’s Nominating Committee and then vetted and voted on by the entire board.

Board of Directors

John Erb – Chairman

John Erb and his wife, Gina, live on Gills Pier. John attended the University of Detroit and also holds a JD from IIT/Chicago-Kent College of Law. He retired from private practice in Chicago where he specialized in civil litigation. John serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Munson Medical Center. He is also [...]
Steve Martineau – President

Steve and his wife, Deb, live in Mt. Pleasant. They have been visiting the peninsula since 1970 and are now fortunate to be able to spend much more time at their home in Leland. Steve attended Miami University before earning a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Michigan. Steve is making a concerted and [...]
Bruce Wagner – Vice President

AB, Dartmouth College; MBA, The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania; Retired advertising agency and international marketing communications management executive; former chair of Wharton Alumni Association: past chair of Bucknell Business Advisory Board; previous member of board of directors of WTVS Public Television, American Association of Advertising Agencies (Central Region), Metropolitan Detroit Convention and [...]
Lee Gardner – Vice President

Lee became involved with the Leelanau Conservancy as Lighthouse West trails were being developed. He is a member of the Stewardship, Outreach and Governance Committees. His wife Candy, an Advanced Master Gardener, is a Docent, a Trail Steward and a member of the Wildflower Rescue Committee. They are both lifelong annual visitors to the area [...]
Ross Satterwhite – Treasurer

Ross, his wife Kerry and their two sons are full time Leland residents. Ross is a graduate of Colorado College and holds an MBA from the University of Michigan. He has 20+ years of investment, financing and operating experience in the real estate industry and presently runs Iron Bridge Capital, a private venture focused on [...]
Susan Green – Secretary

Susan fell in love with Leelanau in the 1970s in the three minutes it took her to walk to the end of the dock of a rented cottage. She told her husband, Jeff, “This is where I want to be for the rest of my life.” These were startling words since Susan was Executive Director [...]
Kyle Carr – Director

Dr. Kyle Carr joined our board after many years of active service on our Stewardship Committee and Volunteer Stewardship Network. He was an undergraduate major in biology at Indiana’s Wabash College. Kyle later earned his medical degree at Indiana University Medical School and received post-graduate training at University of Michigan Hospitals. Kyle took a position [...]
Bob Gilbert – Director

Bob Gilbert and his wife, Debbie, live on Good Harbor Bay. Bob has been coming to the region since he was two months old and he and Debbie have had a second home in Leelanau County since 1975. Huge fans of the Leelanau Conservancy’s work to preserve our landscape, they have been Sustainers for more [...]
Greg LaCross – Director

Greg is a long-time resident of Leelanau County and is currently the Chairman of the Science Department at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City. Greg holds graduate degrees in biochemistry from Boston College, and ecology from Pennsylvania State University, and Western Illinois University. He teaches ecology, botany, the major’s biology course, genetics, biochemistry, and vertebrate [...]
Ed Ketterer – Director

Ed Ketterer and his wife, Linda, live at the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula, on Grand Traverse Bay. Ed holds BS and MS degrees in electrical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, and a JD degree from George Washington University. He practiced intellectual property law for over 30 years, heading the IP departments at Whirlpool Corporation [...]
Larry Mawby – Director

Larry was raised on a fruit farm near Suttons Bay and graduated with a BA from Michigan State University. He returned to Leelanau to plant a vineyard and establish a winery. Today Larry and his business partner Stu Laing own a vineyard and winery in Bingham Township on property protected by a conservation easement held [...]
Barbara Nelson-Jameson – Director

Barbara Nelson-Jameson is a native Michigander with a BA and MS in Natural Resources from the University of Michigan. Barbara has worked with the National Park Service for nearly 20 years (Pictured Rocks National Lake Shore, Isle Royal National Park, Cuyahoga National Park and for the last 10 years with the NPS Rivers, Trail and [...]
Jim Nugent – Director

Retired as District Horticultural Agent, MSU Extension and Coordinator of the NW Michigan Horticultural Research Station, Jim has served as a leader in statewide cherry programming. Has co-authored many publications and articles, the most recent being Early 21st Century Cherry Varieties for the Great Lakes & Eastern North America. He serves as Board Chairman, Graceland [...]
Sharon Oriel – Director

Sharon and her husband Pat live on the Crystal River in Glen Arbor. Leelanau County became their permanent home in 2005 after 25 years of being part-time residents. In addition to serving on the Board and the Stewardship Committee, Sharon serves as Docent Liaison for wonderful docents who annually showcase our preserves to over 400 [...]
Linda Proffitt

Linda and her husband Max began vacationing in northwest Michigan over 30 years ago. They quickly fell in love with the natural beauty of Leelanau County, especially the lakes, vineyards, and farms. Whereas they are now retired and live in Traverse City, they still feel they are “on vacation” whenever they spend time here. Linda [...]
Kathy Ricord – Director

Kathy, her husband Lou, and their daughter, vacationed in Leelanau County for 14 years. One week trips in the summer quickly evolved to multiple trips during all four seasons, and more extended stays. In 1999, they purchased property outside of Empire and built their home. In 2006, Kathy retired as Chief Marketing Officer for Nationwide [...]
Leslie Schmid-Director

Leslie and her husband, Walter, have been coming to the Leelanau Peninsula since 1980 and now call their residence in Leelanau “home.” For years before becoming residents, summers meant coming to Leelanau and introducing as many friends as possible to the delight of the region. Leslie attended Vassar College and received her MBA from Kellogg School [...]
Barb VonVoigtlander – Director

Barb and her husband, Phil, live in Northport. Barb attended MSU and holds a BA in Psychology and Anthropology. Her early work was also at the university, in the MSU library and as a lab technician in the Pharmacology department where Phil was pursuing a PhD. In Neuropsychopharmacology. Barb and Phil settled in Plainwell, Michigan [...]
Harvey Warburton – Director

Harvey Warburton joined our board in November, 2006. He and his wife, Marilyn, have visited the area since the early 70s and moved to Empire permanently in 1997. Harvey is a graduate of Hiram College, where he majored in Mathematics, and also holds an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania in Industrial Management. That led [...]
Warren Watkins – Director

Warren Watkins grew up spending summers and off-season weekends in Leland. After graduating from U of M in business administration, Warren moved back to the Detroit area and entered the information-consulting field. He was a partner at Accenture where he worked for 26 years before retiring in 2003. During his working career, Warren was active [...]
Julie Weeks – Director

Julie R. Weeks is a long-time Leelanau Lover, having visited her Up North grandparents every summer of her childhood, lived in Glen Haven during her high school years, and graduated from the Leelanau School in 1975. Weeks is the President and CEO of Womenable, a for-profit social enterprise that works to enable women’s entrepreneurship worldwide [...]