Carolan Sonderegger

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For Love of Water

Policy Director

expertise:

Ecosystems, Groundwater, Harmful algae blooms + nutrient pollution, Indigenous & tribal water issues, Racial + environmental justice, Water quality, Water rights + policies

state: MI

city: Traverse City

LGBTQ: NO

Tribal Affiliation: YES

languages: English

race + ethnicity: Indigenous (e.g. Native, Native American, First Nations, Comunidades Indígenas, Indigenous descendant), Mexican American, Mexican, or Chicana/o/x, White, European, or Caucasian

Carolan (Odawa/Anishinaabe) is a water science and policy expert with over a decade of experience working on freshwater issues in the Great Lakes. She works with coalition partners, stakeholders, and agency and elected officials to keep water healthy, public, and protected for all. With a degree in Biology from Grand Valley State University, Carolan previously served as an Aquatic Biologist and Environmental Coordinator, and then as Natural Resource Department Manager, for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. She also works to give a voice to water and live up to her native name, Giziibii Ogitchida’ikwe (River Warrior Woman).

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Water rights + policies

Michigan gets $5 million in federal grants for river projects

The Boardman River in Traverse City provided the backdrop for state, federal, and tribal officials to gather and discuss the importance of the ecological restoration