Great Lakes Future ProjectsWestern Science

Leadership Group

The Great Lakes Futures Project Leadership Group

Photo of Dr. Irena Creed

Irena Creed

Canada Research Chair, Watershed Sciences
Professor, Department of Biology
Western University

Dr. Irena Creed is the Canada Research Chair in Watershed Sciences and Professor at Western University in the Department of Biology with cross-appointments to the Departments of Earth Sciences and Geography. Dr. Creed has over 20 years experience working in watersheds draining into the Great Lakes and is an international leader in watershed sciences, with particular expertise in hydrology, biogeochemistry, geographic information systems, remote sensing, and simulation modeling. She is the founder and leader of the Catchment Research Facility at Western University, an advanced monitoring, analytical and modeling facility established to analyze catchment processes.

Her research characterizes watershed processes through innovative techniques in GIS, remote sensing and modeling, conducting science that tracks the movement and fate of nutrients within and through watersheds, which are released to the atmosphere and aquatic systems. She works with a global network of scientists focused on discovering watershed responses to global change and extending watershed research into more broad and integrative disciplines like ecosystem health and ecosystem services.

She served as a core-team member on the Sustainable Forest Management Network’s Future Forests scenario analysis, www.sfmn.ales.ualberta.ca/en/Research/ForestFutures.aspx

Photo of Dr. Gail Krantzberg

Gail Krantzberg

Professor and Director
Centre for Engineering and Public Policy
McMaster University

Dr. Krantzberg is Professor and Director of the Arcelor Mittal Dofasco Centre for Engineering and Public Policy at McMaster University..  The Centre offers a Master's Degree to engineers and scientist training them to understand the application of science and technology to public policy.  Gail completed her Ph.D. at the University of Toronto on contaminant cycling in freshwaters.  She worked for the Ontario Ministry of Environment from 1988 to 2001, as Coordinator of Great Lakes Programs, and Senior Policy Advisor on Great Lakes. She is the past president of the International Association of Great Lakes Research.  Dr. Krantzberg was the Director of the Great Lakes Regional Office of the International Joint Commission from 2001 to 2005, and served on the Water Quality Board, Indicators Implementation Task Force, Council of Great Lakes Research Mangers, and Sediment Priority Action Team. She is a board member of the Canadian Association for Water Quality, Clean Water Foundation, a member of the National Advisory Panel on Responsible Care, Environmental Assessment Working Group of Environment and Health Canada, Water Expert Panel of the National Round Table on Environment and Economy, and the Canadian Stakeholder Advisory Panel on the Renegotiation of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. She has authored 4 books and more than 150 scientific and policy articles on issues pertaining to ecosystem quality and sustainability.

Photo of Dr. Kathryn Friedman

Kathryn Friedman

Research Associate Professor
of Law and Policy
Director of Cross-Border and International Research
Adjunct Professor, School of Law
State University of New York at Buffalo

Dr. Kathryn Friedman is a Research Associate Professor of Law and Policy and serves as Director of Cross-Border and International Research at the University at Buffalo Regional Institute. Friedman directs the institute's funded research program focused on Canada-US border policy, Great Lakes, international trade, and cross-border governance. She frequently speaks on cross-border and international issues to academic and policy audiences, including events hosted by Brookings, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the Foreign Policy Association. Recognized as an “up and coming scholar doing innovative work” by the American Society of International Law, Friedman has published peer-reviewed research on international law, border policy and cross-boundary governance.

Friedman has led or contributed to several cross-border research networks, including helping to establish the Northern Border University Research Consortium, serving on the steering committee for the Great Lakes Futures Project of the Transborder Research University Network (TRUN) and participating in the LAKESNET and BORDERNET initiatives of the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. She also teaches courses on NAFTA, comparative law and international development, research and writing for international students, and international trade in the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning and at the School of Law. She is a Fellow of the Foreign Policy Association, member of the Advisory Council for the Niagara Observatory at Brock University and Women in International Security. She also served as Vice Chair of the International Law and Practice Section of the New York State Bar Association.

In addition to receiving a PhD in political science, with concentrations in international relations and comparative political economy, Kathryn graduated magna cum laude from the University at Buffalo School of Law where she served as an International Law Fellow and as Editor-in-Chief of the Buffalo Law Review. She received the Carlos C. Alden Award for greatest contribution to the Law Review and the Law Faculty Award for outstanding contributions to the law school. Friedman served as Confidential Law Clerk to two Associate Judges on the Court of Appeals of New York.

Photo of Dr. Don Scavia

Donald Scavia

Director and Graham Family Professor of Sustainability
Professor, Natural Resources/Environmental Engineering
University of Michigan

Dr. Don Scavia is a Professor of Natural Resources and Environment and of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Michigan and serves as the Director of the Graham Sustainability Institute and Special Counsel to the U-M President for Sustainability. His research group works to improve the understanding of interactions between human activities on land and their impacts on coastal marine and freshwater ecosystems. Dr. Scavia’s most recent work has focused on the iconic Gulf of Mexico, Chesapeake Bay, and Great Lakes and his research and teaching aim to support the development and application of Integrated Assessment, a tool that brings together natural systems science, social science, engineering, and environmental policy making. Dr. Scavia is responsible for engaging the full multidisciplinary assets of the University of Michigan to develop and implement education, research, and operational goals in support of sustainable communities, ecosystems, and economies from local to global scales. He has served on many advisory committees for a diverse group of external and internal organizations. Prior to joining the Michigan faculty in 2004, Dr. Scavia was Chief Scientist for NOAA’s National Ocean Service, Director of the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Director of NOAA’s Coastal Ocean Program, and research scientist with NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.

Project Manager and Postdoctoral Scholar

Dr. Katrina Laurent                          
Dr. Katrina Laurent

Postdoctoral Associate
Project Manager
Department of Biology
Western University

Originally hailing from the Burlington, Ontario, Dr. Laurent has a deep appreciation for aquatic sciences and the Great Lakes. She received her Ph.D under the supervision of Dr. Charles Trick at Western University in 2011 studying the effect of trace-metal limitation on coral bleaching. As a postdoctoral scholar at Western University, she works under the supervision of Dr. Irena Creed on the Great Lakes Futures Project and is the current President of the Postdoctoral Association at Western.