Our Team

About Us

Founded in 2012, the Climate Change Coalition of Door County (CCCDC) occupies a unique place in the state environmental community. It serves as a model for action not only to foster individual and community engagement, but also to generate the will necessary to address climate change’s many threats.

CCCDC has worked in many ways to raise awareness of climate change in Door County. We seek to build support both for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and for adapting proactively to already occurring and future impacts. We recognize the crucial need to enlist all who care about the environment.

Staff

Working with the CCCDC Advisory Board and Coalition partners, Jeff leads us in our mission to effectively educate and take action on climate change.

He states, “I am thrilled to be here, leading us in our, working with our forward-seeking partners. Our Coalition is uniquely suited to lead specific necessary local actions to address our most urgent global problem. Warming temperatures will affect our flora and fauna, as well as our human lives, progressively over our lifetime, and we must take smart and specific actions now to adapt, to add resiliency, and to continue to thrive. I look forward to doing everything I can to contribute to the mission and improve our culture and understanding relating to climate change and climate resiliency. I feel increasingly inspired by what the Climate Change Coalition and its partnering businesses and non-profit organizations are doing to educate and respond and take specific, science-based, and meaningful actions.”

He serves on the Ridges Sanctuary Board of Directors and is active with Destination Door County and its sustainability initiatives, Ephraim & Baileys Harbor Green Tier. He is owner of Boreal Preserve in Baileys Harbor, where he is creating an environmentally focused development with small workforce homes. He received a mechanical engineering degree from Northwestern University in 2002 and worked on nuclear reactor design, testing, and training supporting the U.S. Navy through 2015.

Please reach out to him to connect and build upon our climate-related educational programming and our tree planting and composting initiatives. You can contact him at jeff@lnrp.org or 920-217-4304.

Jess joins the Climate Change Coalition team as the Communications Manager. Together with Jeff and the CCCDC Advisory Board, her charge is to raise awareness, engage the community, and advocate for climate action.

Her experience with climate action locally stems from her work at the Village of Egg Harbor to launch their Green Tier Legacy Community commitment.  She continues to work closely with the Village and led the transition of the Village’s green site to begin collecting food scraps and in turn a county wide initiative.

When asked why she was interested in joining the team she said, “Climate change isn't just a global issue; it's a something that directly affects our beautiful lake and the Door County peninsula. Our actions today determine whether tomorrow's Door County is a story of resilience or loss, reminding us that all small actions add up and to become big ones. One of the most important things is to engage and enlighten your community and I’m excited to do that through my work at the Climate Change Coalition."

With a diverse background spanning from event management to digital marketing, Jess is a seasoned professional dedicated to creative projects and community engagement. Prior to her starting her own marketing and communications business, she served as the event director and property manager at the Donald and Carol Kress Pavilion, where she played a pivotal role in launching and managing the community building, fostering over 700 community events including the annual Every Day is Earth Day Festival.

You can contact her at jess@lnrp.org or 715-252-3879.

Advisory Board

The Advisory Board is comprised of concerned volunteers willing to execute CCCDC’s mission through programs, events, outreach, and media.

Mary Smythe, Co-Chair

- Environmental activist

Roy Thilly, Co-Chair

- Retired CEO WPPI Energy and co-chair Governor Doyle’s Global Warming Task Force

Dr. Anthony A. Gatenby

- Former Technical Director and Senior Research Fellow in biotechnology and life sciences

Carl Giessel

- Retired from financial sales

Katie krouse

- Executive Director, The Ridges Sanctuary

Dave LaLuzerne

- Herbal Pharmacist

Chuck Lauter

- Retired Dean, Lawrence University

Tom McKenzie

- Director, Björklunden, Lawrence University

Betsy Rogers

- Retired writer and editor

MIKE SCHNEIDER

- Retired Executive Director, The Clearing

DICK SMYTHE

- Retired USDA Forest Service Director, Forest Environmental Research

Deneen Wiske

- Writer, consultant, facilitator and public speaker, and Executive Director at Threshold

And Our Greater Team

The important work is possible due to the hard work of these individuals… and the invaluable event, committee, and task force volunteers… and all great people from our partnering community and business partners! Thank you!