Friday, April 30th, 2021

10:00am – 11:30am

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Overview of the short-term and long-term changes in the Great Lakes water level variability, including pathways through which climate change impacts the major components of the Great Lakes water balance. Outlining a long-term conservation-based public policy argument for certain and specified uses of Great Lakes water during periods of high water levels in the Great Lakes.

Panelists

Drew Gronewold
Associate Professor, UM School for Environment and Sustainability

Dr. Andrew Gronewold, P.E., is an Associate Professor with the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) at the University of Michigan. He also holds adjunct faculty appointments in the University of Michigan’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. Dr. Gronewold conducts research through a range of hydrological science projects that explore methods for quantifying and communicating uncertainties arising within long-term hydrological monitoring networks and data, and incorporating those uncertainties into models and risk-based water resources management decisions. Much of his recent research has focused on monitoring, analyzing, and forecasting the long-term water budget and water levels of the Laurentian Great Lakes.

Dr. Gronewold completed his undergraduate research at Cornell University in Civil and Environmental Engineering, and he conducted his graduate research at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment with Drs. Ken Reckhow and Robert Wolpert. Prior to joining the University of Michigan, Dr. Gronewold was the lead hydrologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, where his team advanced research on the Great Lakes hydrologic cycle and on historical and future water levels. In addition to his research career and academic training, Dr. Gronewold spent several years in the environmental consulting field as a professionally licensed engineer. For his contributions to hydrologic science, Dr. Gronewold received the NOAA Bronze Medal (in both 2016 and 2019), the highest honor bestowed by the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. Dr. Gronewold was also honored as a Department of Commerce Sustainability, Energy, and Environment Ambassador, specifically for his innovative solutions to regional water resources management problems.

Jon Allan
Academic and Research Program Officer Sr., UM School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) and former Director of the Michigan’s Office of the Great Lakes

Jon W. Allan joined the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan in the fall of 2019. His work focuses on the enterprise of sustainability across Michigan and the Great Lakes region related to the intersection of ecological, economic, social and cultural value. He seeks to understand and influence the rate at which the region is adopting and implementing the principles of a sustainable and just society.

Jon was previously the President and Founder of the Jon W. Allan Group, a private consultancy specializing in strategic insight for freshwater and the Great Lakes, energy and environmental policy and natural resource governance..

What is the Wolverine Caucus?
Wolverine Caucus members are University of Michigan alumni including legislators, lobbyists, staff, and advisors working in and around State of Michigan government. They meet with U-M experts on timely, relevant public policy subjects during the legislative session. Our mission is to provide diverse forums at which U-M friends can meet one another, enjoy fellowship, exchange views and learn from the world- class talents of U-M faculty and administrators.

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Wednesday, March 24, 2021

9:30am – 11:00am

View Recording here

Discussion on the critical periods from pregnancy through early childhood is an especially sensitive time for mitigating the multi-generational effects of inequity, trauma, and adversity and promoting mental health. A collaboration across the University of Michigan and the State of Michigan communities to outline a portfolio of research, treatment, training, and advocacy initiatives.

Panelists

Vanessa Dalton
Vanessa Dalton, M.D., M.P.H. Reproductive health services and family planning

Dr. Dalton’s research interests include family planning and contraception, access to care, healthcare utilization, and human rights. She is Associate Chair of Research in U-M’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the director of the Program on Women’s Health Care Effectiveness Research (PWHER), and Co-Director of the Ryan Residency Training Program. She previously served as Director of the International Family Planning Fellowship in Ghana. Dr. Dalton provides research support and mentorship to numerous faculty, fellows, and students involved in domestic and global health research.

Maria Muzik MD, MSc
Associate Professor, UM Department of Psychiatry and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Co-Director, Women and Infants Mental Health Program (WIMHP)

Dr. Muzik has held a faculty appointment at the University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry since 2006. Her expertise is in women’s mental health, focusing on pregnancy and postpartum, and she conducts cutting-edge research, directs patient care services, and oversees educational programming in these areas.

Amy Zaagman
Executive Director, Michigan Council for Maternal and Child Health

Amy Zaagman is the Executive Director of the Michigan Council for Maternal and Child Health, an organization of diverse partners comprised of hospital systems, statewide organizations, local public health advocates and individuals with an interest in shaping and influencing state policy that promotes the health and well-being of women, children and families in Michigan since 1983.

Lynette Beiry
Strategic Director, Zero to Thrive

Lynette Biery , PA-C, MSc Lynette Biery is the Director of the Bureau of Family Health Services , with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services where she provides administrative direction and oversight of the Division of Immunization, the Division of Maternal and Infant Health, and the Division of Child and Adolescent Health. She also serves as the Maternal Child Health Director for Michigan. Lynette has extensive experience in clinical care delivery, research, evaluation, program management and administration. She was Project Manager at the MSU Institute for Health Policy where she worked on a variety of research, policy analysis, and quality improvement projects for both public and private sector organizations, covering a range of maternal child health issues.

What is the Wolverine Caucus?
Wolverine Caucus members are University of Michigan alumni including legislators, lobbyists, staff, and advisors working in and around State of Michigan government. They meet with U-M experts on timely, relevant public policy subjects during the legislative session. Our mission is to provide diverse forums at which U-M friends can meet one another, enjoy fellowship, exchange views and learn from the world- class talents of U-M faculty and administrators.

View Recording here

Friday, February 26, 2021

10:00am – 11:30am

Please RSVP for this virtual event here.

The National Poll on Aging taps into the perspectives of adults age 50-80 from throughout the United States and communicates the public’s voice on a variety of topics, including loneliness, that affect the health and well-being of older Americans and their families. The COVID-19 Coping Study reviews the estimated prevalence of loneliness among US older adults during the early phase of the pandemic, and identifies key sociodemographic characteristics, employment factors, living circumstances, and health-related factors that are associated with loneliness.

Panelists

Dr. Preeti Malani
UM Chief Health Officer and Director of the National Poll on Health Aging

Dr. Malani is a graduate of the University of Michigan. She received her MD degree from Wayne State University School of Medicine. Prior to medical school, she completed a Masters in Journalism at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She completed her Internal Medicine residency and Infectious Diseases fellowship at the University of Michigan where she also received a Master’s Degree in Clinical Research Design and Statistical Analysis. Dr. Malani completed fellowship training in Geriatric Medicine at the Oregon Health and Science University. Dr. Malani’s clinical and research interests include infection control and prevention and infections in older adults.

Dr. Lindsay Kobayashi
Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Principal Investigator of the COVID-19 Coping Study

Dr. Kobayashi studies the social epidemiology of cognitive aging and health equity among low-income older populations. Her current research focuses on life course determinants of cognitive aging in rural South Africa and the population health implications of improving cancer survival rates in the U.S.

Area Agency on Aging Representative

Area Agency on Aging (AAA) working to Support Seniors, Caregivers and People with Disabilities. Established in 1974, the Area Agency on Aging is a nonprofit 501(c) 3 organization with a rich history of supporting older adults, people with disabilities and family caregivers in southeast Michigan. AAA helps people access the services and programs they need to remain living independently and with dignity in their own home or with family caregivers. They provide direct care programs for seniors, along with funding and support for many programs provided by our community partner organizations.

What is the Wolverine Caucus?

Wolverine Caucus members are University of Michigan alumni including legislators, lobbyists, staff, and advisors working in and around State of Michigan government. They meet with U-M experts on timely, relevant public policy subjects during the legislative session. Our mission is to provide diverse forums at which U-M friends can meet one another, enjoy fellowship, exchange views and learn from the world- class talents of U-M faculty and administrators.