Ms. Flanagan joined the Alliance for the Great Lakes staff in April 2015 as vice president for Policy after seven years as senior program officer at the Joyce Foundation. Ms. Flanagan is responsible for leading all aspects of the Alliance’s strategic policy, advocacy, and reform efforts to protect and restore the Great Lakes. Ms. Flanagan has been a regional leader in preventing Asian carp and other aquatic invasive species from reaching the Great Lakes. Under her leadership, the Alliance has expanded its efforts to develop policy solutions to deeply-rooted problems in Lake Erie and move toward a more inclusive Great Lakes policy agenda that strives to ensure all residents of the basin have access to safe, clean, and affordable drinking water. While with the Joyce Foundation, Ms. Flanagan led critical work that transformed the ability of the Great Lakes region to respond to its most significant water challenges. Prior to the Joyce Foundation, Ms. Flanagan worked with the National Wildlife Federation to lead state-by-state coordination of policy advocacy. She worked to secure support from every Great Lakes state legislature and governor to pass the Great Lakes Water Resources Compact, and pass the Compact into federal law through Congress. Earlier in her career, she developed deep roots within the Ohio non-profit and government sectors through her work with the Ohio Environmental Council. Ms. Flanagan received her B.A. degree in Environmental Studies from Denison University.