Steve Chester

Director of Michigan Department of Environmental Quality
Guest Speaker for the Longest Summer Tour:
10/17, Grand Valley State University, Eberhard Center, Grand Rapids, MI – 7:00-9:00 PM

Steven E. Chester was named Director for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) effective January 6, 2003.  His appointment to the highest environmental post involves overseeing the management and control of the state's programs that regulate air quality, water resources, waste management and hazardous materials, cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated sites, geological resources, and sensitive land management issues.  He also oversees the implementation of environmental assistance and pollution prevention programs.

Prior to this appointment, Mr. Chester was a Principal at the law firm of Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C.  In the early to mid-1990s, Mr. Chester worked for the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), initially as the Deputy Enforcement Counsel for Hazardous Waste Enforcement, and then as the Deputy Director for the Office of Criminal Enforcement.  He also held the position of Assistant Attorney General for the Environmental Protection Division of the Michigan Department of Attorney General from 1986 through 1992; and worked as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in the Wayne County Department of Health, Air Pollution Control Division from 1982 through 1986.

Mr. Chester holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Michigan State University.  He also received a Juris Doctor from Wayne State University Law School

Mayor George Heartwell

Grand Rapids, MI
Guest speaker on the Longest Summer Tour;
10/17, Cornerstone University, Corum Student Center - Grand Rapids, MI – 8:00-10:00 AM

Now serving in his second term Mayor George Heartwell took office on January 1, 2004. During his tenure City government has "gone green", implanting a variety of environmental measures including purchase of renewable resource energy, use of alternative fuels in City vehicles, continued attention to water quality in the Grand River and widespread implementation of energy conservation measures. In January of 2007 the United Nations recognized Grand Rapids as a "Center of Expertise" in sustainability. The Mayor has overseen a period of rapid economic development in Grand Rapids, even during an extended downturn in the Michigan economy. Mayor Heartwell also serves as President and CEO of Pilgrim Manor Retirement Community. He is married to Susan Heartwell who is the Executive Director of the Student Advancement Foundation. The Heartwells have three children and six grandchildren.

Melissa Hulting

Climate Change Coordinator, US EPA
Guest Speaker for the Longest Summer Tour:
10/14, Northwestern University, McCormick Auditorium, Chicago, IL – 4:30-6:00 PM

Melissa Hulting is the climate change coordinator in EPA’s Region 5 office in Chicago.  She works to spread awareness of climate change science and policy and promote opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particularly through EPA’s partnership programs.  Prior to this position she worked in EPA’s Great Lakes National Program Office on monitoring and reduction of toxic chemicals in the Great Lakes, as well as related North American efforts with Canada and Mexico.  Melissa has a B.S. in biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an M.S. in Environmental Management and Policy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Brad Moore

MPCA Commissioner
Guest speaker on the Longest Summer Tour:
10/22 College of St Scholastica, Mitchell Auditorium, Duluth MN - 12:30-2:00 pm
10/22 University of Minnesota Duluth, Chem 200, Duluth MN – 4:30-6:00

On December 18, 2006, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty named Brad Moore as commissioner of the MPCA, where he has served as acting commissioner since August 1.

Moore was the assistant commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, where he oversaw seven operating divisions.  In this position, he helped to establish the DNR’s strategic direction, developed policy and managed a variety of natural resources issues.

Moore worked for the DNR since 1988 as the department’s field operations manager, a recreation planner and a management analyst.  Prior to that, he served as a public utilities rate analyst at what is now the Minnesota Department of Commerce.

Moore received his bachelor’s degree in political science from St. Olaf College and his master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Minnesota, Humphrey Institute.

Pat Quinn

Lieutenant Governor of Illinois
Guest Speaker for the Longest Summer Tour:
10/14, University of Chicago, Swift Lecture Hall, Chicago, IL – 1:30-3:30 PM

Pat Quinn was re-elected Lieutenant Governor on Nov. 7, 2006. His priorities include advocating for taxpayers and consumers, protecting the environment, promoting decent health care, and helping members of the armed services and their families.

Quinn led the successful effort to enact the Illinois Military Family Relief Act, which provides financial assistance to families of Illinois National Guard members and Reservists called to active duty. He also spearheaded passage of the “Let Them Rest in Peace Act,” which has been a national model in protecting grieving families from vile and disruptive protests at funerals of servicemen and women. The Lieutenant Governor’s office provides a wide range of services to military families, troops and veterans, and maintains the website www.OperationHomefront.org, one of our country’s most informative websites for military men and women and their families.

In 2003, Governor Rod Blagojevich named Quinn chairman of the Blackout Solutions Task Force to study the state’s power grid and prevent power outages. He also chairs the Mississippi River Coordinating Council, the Illinois Green Governments Coordinating Council, the Illinois Biofuels Investment and Infrastructure Working Group, and the Broadband Deployment Council.

Quinn served as Illinois State Treasurer from 1991 to 1995, where he cut his office’s budget each year and earned taxpayers $848 million in investment income. Since 1975, Quinn has organized petition drives for consumer protection laws, tax reform and citizen empowerment. He spearheaded the 1983 drive to create the Citizens Utility Board. In 2001, he walked across Illinois, from the Mississippi River to Lake Michigan, to raise awareness of the need to provide decent health care for everyone.

Quinn, 58, is a graduate of Northwestern University School of Law and holds an international economics degree from Georgetown University. He was elected Commissioner of the Cook County Board of (Property) Tax Appeals in 1982 and served as Revenue Director for the City of Chicago. The father of two sons, Quinn grew up in Hinsdale and now lives in Chicago.

Karel Rogers

Chair Emeritus of Biology, Grand Valley State University
Guest speaker on the Longest Summer Tour:
10/17, Cornerstone University, Corum Student Center, Grand Rapids, MI – 8:00-10:00 AM
10/17, Calvin College, Bunker Interpretive Center, Grand Rapids, MI – 11:30-12:30

Dr. Rogers receiver her PhD in Vertebrate Paleontology from Michigan state University. Her research in paleoclimate has been funded by a series of grants from the National Geographic Society and the Climate Dynamics Program at the National Science Foundation. She was an active participant in the EPA-sponsored regional climate change workshop at the University of Michigan and also at the Science Summit on Climate Change in Washington, D.C. Dr. Rogers is a former chair of the Biology Department at GVSU and now is Professor Emeritus of Biology.

Ryan Schryver

Grassroots Organizer and Clean Energy Advocate, Clean Wisconcin
Guest speaker for the Longest Summer Tour:
10/15 Urban Ecology Center, Milwaukee, WI – 7:00-9:00 PM
10/21 Northland College, Alvord Theater, Ashland, WI – 7:30-9:00 PM

Ryan Schryver is the Grassroots Organizer and Clean Energy Advocate for Clean Wisconsin where he works to promote clean energy policies.  Ryan was trained by former Vice President Al Gore and several of the nation’s leading scientists to give presentations and lead discussions on the topic of global warming.  Ryan’s detailed knowledge of state policies and experience in grassroots organizing offer a unique perspective on a topic some have called the greatest moral issue of our time.  His presentation, “Wisconsin’s Inconvenient Truth,” provides a detailed overview of the issue of global warming from the global scale, but also focuses on the changes global warming is already occurring in Wisconsin, what our future holds, and actions being taken at the state level to address the problem.