About the Author

A short bio

I grew up on a small lake in southern Michigan, and came of age in the waning days of the Vietnam War and Watergate. My connection to the natural world was called into action to protect the air we breathe, the water we drink and the wonders of the natural world, and it has been my life's work.

Jane Elder served as executive director of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters for ten years and now consults on environmental and nonprofit strategy and volunteers with groups working on Great Lakes and climate issues. She previously led the Biodiversity Project and headed Sierra Club's Midwest office in Madison, Wisconsin, leading the Great Lakes program. She has written for Sierra, Wisconsin People & Ideas, and The Living Wilderness magazines. She holds degrees from Michigan State University (BA, communications) and University of Wisconsin (MS, land resources), and was awarded distinguished alumni status by the University of Wisconsin–Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies in 2019.