Ralph Bednarz is a retired limnologist after a 35 year career in environmental protection and water resources management with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Mr. Bednarz managed Michigan’s inland lakes water quality monitoring and assessment programs. He was responsible for the implementation of the 2007 and 2012 National Lakes Assessment (NLA) in Michigan, and he served as a national trainer for the 2012 NLA. Mr. Bednarz coordinated the development and implementation of the Michigan Clean Water Corps (MiCorps) volunteer water monitoring network, including the Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program (CLMP). He is working to advance protective lakes management programs in Michigan by serving on the Boards and committees of the North American Lake Management Society (NALMS), Michigan-NALMS affiliate; Michigan Waterfront Alliance; Michigan Inland Lakes Partnership; and Michigan Natural Shoreline Partnership, including the Certified Natural Shoreline Professions program. Mr. Bednarz is also working to protect high quality lakes and healthy watersheds in northwest Michigan, one lake one shoreline at a time, by assisting and educating local units of government and lake associations on protective lakes management strategies. He facilitated the formation of the Rennie Lake Association, Grand Traverse Co., MI and he serves as its current president. He has a M.S. degree in Limnology from Michigan State University.

Ms. DeSimone is the executive director for Michigan Lakes and Streams Association, Inc. She also manages the production of the organization’s quarterly magazine, The Michigan Riparian, designed for members and subscribers concerned about lake and stream issues. Ms. DeSimone has volunteered for many years in different capacities for the Gravel Lake Association located in Southwest Michigan. She currently sits on the board of a handful of other nonprofit organizations in and outside of Michigan. She holds a bachelor of science degree in Education with concentrations in Science, Social Studies, and Language Arts from Illinois State University and a Master of Arts degree in Educational Administration from Governors State University. Ms. DeSimone also holds a Watershed Management Certificate from Purdue University.

Mr. Hall’s expertise is in environmental and water law, and his research focuses on issues of environmental governance, federalism, and transboundary pollution and resource management. He joined the Wayne Law faculty in 2005. For the 2014-15 academic year, he served as the Law School’s associate dean for student affairs. Previously, he taught at the University of Michigan Law School and was an attorney with the National Wildlife Federation, where he managed the Great Lakes Water Resources Program for the nation’s largest conservation organization. Mr. Hall also worked in private practice for several years, representing a variety of business and public-interest clients in litigated and regulatory matters. He has extensive litigation experience and numerous published decisions in state and federal courts. Mr. Hall continues to represent a variety of clients in significant environmental policy disputes. From 2016-2019, he served as special assistant attorney general for Michigan for the Flint water investigation. Mr. Hall is founder of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, a nonprofit environmental organization that provides legal assistance to community organizations, environmental non-governmental organizations, and local, state and regional governments. He continues to serve as the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center’s scholarship director. He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School and University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment, concentrating in environmental policy. After law school, Mr. Hall clerked for the Hon. Kathleen A. Blatz, chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Mr. Redick of Mika Meyers practices primarily in the areas of municipal, real property and appellate law, with a focus on land use and riparian rights litigation. He speaks annually at seminars on Michigan land use and zoning laws, riparian rights, and other aspects of surface water-related property rights. He is enthusiastic about riparian rights and other aspects of water rights law, and finds it greatly satisfying to help clients understand and protect these important property rights. Mr. Redick has been selected for inclusion in Grand Rapids Magazine’s list of Top Lawyers in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. He is also a trustee for the Grand Haven Charter Township, which is a new position he entered after serving 13 years as chairperson of the Township Planning Commission.

 Mr. Sniadecki is a MSUe certified zoning admin and master citizen planner. He got his master of science degree in Business Administration from Indiana University (South Bend). Mr. Sniadecki retired after 37.5 years of service in a nation-wide governmental agency. He was the lead and consolidated petitioner in the Eagle Lake contested permit process involving a boating access site (BAS). He is a frequent contributor of timely articles for the MLSA Newsletter and The Michigan Riparian since 2012. In 2012, he achieved MLSA Riparian of the Year.