Lake Michigan Day — Lake Michigan Stakeholders

Lake Michigan Day highlights the significant opportunities for continued restoration and protection of Lake Michigan and the broader Great Lakes Basin, while also addressing ongoing challenges. With an excellent lineup of panelists, speakers, and lightning talks, every August Lake Michigan Day provides a forum for practitioners, decision-makers, and community leaders to learn about ongoing collaborative, community-focused water and land conservation work. Each year the Lake Michigan Champions of Conservation awardees are honored at Lake Michigan Day for their outstanding leadership in protecting and enhancing the precious lands and waters of the Lake Michigan Basin.

Mark your calendars for the 2025 Lake Michigan Day event on August 8th, 2025 at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum!

Register for Lake Michigan Day

2025 Keynote Speaker:

AOC - nANCY Retana, Yesi Perez, Steven Hunter

Nancy Grimaldo Retana is the Resilient Communities Program Director at Clean Wisconsin, where she leads initiatives at the intersection of climate resilience, public health, and environmental justice. Her work centers community driven solutions through long-term partnerships with municipalities, coalitions, and grassroots organizations to ensure that those most impacted by environmental harm help shape the policies and investments intended to fix them.

As Chair of the Milwaukee Estuary Area of Concern (AOC) Community Advisory Committee (CAC), Nancy works alongside fellow members to ensure that historically excluded Milwaukee residents have a meaningful voice in the cleanup and restoration of local waterways. She also leads Clean Wisconsin’s green infrastructure strategy in Milwaukee’s 30th Street Industrial Corridor, focusing on equitable stormwater management, climate adaptation, and neighborhood-level planning rooted in community priorities.

A first-generation Wisconsinite and the daughter of immigrants, Nancy holds a B.A. in Biology and Spanish and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. She is a passionate advocate for embedding equity into environmental decision-making and draws daily inspiration from her most important role: being mother to her beautiful daughter, Carolina.

Yesi Perez is a Latinx creative. As a graduate from Marquette University and the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, she continues to call Milwaukee her home as a proud Southsider. Yesi is an alumna of the Marquette University Burke Scholars Program, where she spent her time as an undergrad advocating for social justice among the many sectors of the Milwaukee community. Most recently, she served as the Neighborhood Revitalization Project Manager at Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers Department of Environmental Health and Community Wellness. In this role, Yesi built trusting relationships with community members and stakeholders alike, seeking neighborhood empowerment, collective healing, and opportunities for neighbors to shape the future of our spaces, from resource sharing to civic advocacy. Through her continuous involvement in Milwaukee's environmental sector, she continues to collaborate with entities to implement initiatives that improve the built and natural environments at the neighborhood scale in a manner that is sustainable, culturally relevant, and creative.

Steven Hunter is a native of beloved Milwaukee, WI. Hunter is a proud Milwaukee Public Schools graduate of Riverside University Prep. After serving in the US armed forces, Steven became a certified and licensed Wellness practitioner, founding Beans & Cornbread Wellness for African Americans, serving and educating in various modalities of Health, fitness, wellness and natural healing. He has also trained and worked with a number of arts organizations such as Ko Thi Dance, Milwaukee Public Theatre and Express Yourself Milwaukee, blending Arts Education with Wellness practices teaching Mind/Body Actualization for healthy self expression in youth development for 25 years.

Steven recognizes the very real need to reconnect African Americans to the healing power of Nature as well as build pathways of Leadership in Environmental Science and is now happy in the position of Program Director to do this needed work with Nearby Nature MKE.

PANEL SPEAKERS:

Nancy Grimaldo Retana is the Resilient Communities Program Director at Clean Wisconsin, where she leads initiatives at the intersection of climate resilience, public health, and environmental justice. Her work centers community driven solutions through long-term partnerships with municipalities, coalitions, and grassroots organizations to ensure that those most impacted by environmental harm help shape the policies and investments intended to fix them.

As Chair of the Milwaukee Estuary Area of Concern (AOC) Community Advisory Committee (CAC), Nancy works alongside fellow members to ensure that historically excluded Milwaukee residents have a meaningful voice in the cleanup and restoration of local waterways. She also leads Clean Wisconsin’s green infrastructure strategy in Milwaukee’s 30th Street Industrial Corridor, focusing on equitable stormwater management, climate adaptation, and neighborhood-level planning rooted in community priorities.

A first-generation Wisconsinite and the daughter of immigrants, Nancy holds a B.A. in Biology and Spanish and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. She is a passionate advocate for embedding equity into environmental decision-making and draws daily inspiration from her most important role: being mother to her beautiful daughter, Carolina.

Sam Frauenfeld is a non profit professional with a strong foundation of ecology and conservation. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay in the spring of 2025. With experience in two research labs, including local stream ecology in Manitowoc County and the Aquatic Ecology and Fisheries Laboratory (AEFL) at UWGB, Sam has developed a passion for understanding and protecting freshwater ecosystems. As a student coordinator for the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin, she dedicated two years to mentoring high school students and fostering a love of science within the community. Now, she has brought her expertise to serve as LNRP’s Partner and Project Coordinator, working with the local communities that she has grown up in. Sam understands the value of undergraduate research and leadership within the freshwater sciences.

Jacob Boyer’s bio coming soon!

LIGHTNING TALK SPEAKERS:

Amber Meyer Smith is the Program Officer at the Fund For Lake Michigan (FFLM). In coordination with her role as Program Officer at the FFLM, Amber helped create the Daybreak Fund in 2023. Amber administers the annual grant-making for the Daybreak Fund and carries out its mission to provide funding for nature-based climate solutions for Lake Michigan. Amber is also responsible for the Fund’s grantmaking in urban areas - evaluating projects related to flooding, shoreline erosion, polluted runoff, green infrastructure and riverfront/waterfront revitalization.

Amber has over twenty-five years experience working on environmental policy and projects. Prior to joining the FFLM, she served for twelve years at Clean Wisconsin where she developed the organization’s direction and strategy as Vice President of Programs and Government Relations. She served on Governor Evers’ Climate Change Task Force and helped enact numerous policies to address water quality, clean air and climate change. Amber also served as legislative liaison at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and as a policy analyst in the Wisconsin State Senate. Amber is a Fox Valley native who earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from UW-Madison.

Shanyn Viars is an economist focused on the intersection of sustainable watershed management and urban planning. Shanyn employs a strategic blend of policy instruments and financial tools to forge innovative solutions for pressing urban water challengers. Rooted in collaboration, her approach prioritizes diverse social and cultural values of nature to foster equitable participation and resource allocation, building both climate resilience and economic prosperity for all communities. Shanyn holds both an M.S and B.S. in Economics from the Belk College of Business at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. Currently in the Great Lakes region, Shanyn is a Great Lakes Senior Environmental Leadership Fellow, participates in various regional environmental committees and previously served as an adjunct professor in Economics at Grand Valley State University.

Nicole’s bio coming soon!

Coastal big Plant talk:

Sweetwater and Climate Change Coalition of Door County

Jacob Fincher is the Executive Director of Sweet Water and has been with the organization since 2015. Jake oversees each of the organization’s programs. He holds a B.S from the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater in Integrated Science/Business, with an emphasis on water resources. He is extremely grateful to have the opportunity to combine his career and a passion for the outdoors.

Jeff Lutsey is the Executive Director of the Climate Changer Coalition of Door County, serving in that role since 2022. He volunteers on the Ridges Sanctuary Board of Directors and is active with Destination Door County and its sustainability initiatives. He received a mechanical engineering degree from Northwestern University in 2002 and worked on nuclear reactor design, testing, and training for the U.S. Navy through 2015. Since then, he has worked at his family farm, volunteered in conservation, and prioritized community climate action work.