Dave Dempsey has helped shape conservation and Great Lakes policy for 30 years and is an author and co-author of six conservation books. He is currently a policy advisor for FLOW, a nonprofit environmental organization dedicated to protecting Great Lakes waters using the public trust doctrine.

Dave’s past positions include:

• Environmental Advisor to Michigan Governor James J. Blanchard (1983-89).
• Executive Director, Michigan Council on Environmental Quality (1989-90).
• Program director, Michigan Office, Clean Water Action (1991-1994).
• Policy Director/Senior Advisor, Michigan Environmental Council (1994-2004).
• Member, Great Lakes Fishery Commission (1994-2001).
• Communications Director, Conservation Minnesota (2006-2010).
• Policy Advisor, International Joint Commission (2011-2017).

In 2009, the Michigan Center for the Book, the Michigan Library Association and Sleeping Bear Press gave Dave the annual Michigan Author Award.

Dave has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Western Michigan University (1977) and a master’s degree in resource development from Michigan State University (2001) and has served as an adjunct instructor in environmental policy at Michigan State University and Western Michigan University.