Dave Leuthe, Chair
Dave Leuthe joined the board in March 2020. He spent 40 years working with Minnesota landowners, along with local, state, and federal units of government, to find and implement integrated solutions for land and water management problems. In retirement, he remains concerned about how our choices as Minnesotans affect the quality of life, public health, and economic costs for present and future generations. He has worked with Freshwater over many years and is happy to bring his knowledge and experience of surface water, groundwater, and natural systems management to the organization.
Corey Lohmiller, Treasurer
Corey Lohmiller joined the Freshwater board in 2021. His lifelong passion for Freshwater’s mission began as a child in rural Minnesota collecting water samples with his grandpa on Lake Minnie-Belle. He is currently the Director of Strategic Growth at Ascentek, focusing on the development of sustainable energy storage. He is an officer in the United States Air Force Reserves and consults globally on large military construction projects supporting Air Force missions. Corey holds a degree in environmental engineering from the United States Air Force Academy and a master’s degree in business administration from Oklahoma State University.
Laura Pagano, Secretary
Laura is an attorney who has spent the majority of her career working to sustainably manage water resources in nonprofit organizations, the private sector, and federal and local units of government, including at the Natural Resources Defense Council and the wastewater division of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. She has served on the executive boards of aquatic science institutes and clean water industry groups, as well as having worked for Dorsey & Whitney and McKinsey & Company in Minneapolis. Currently Laura works as a Regulatory Policy Specialist for Xcel Energy. Laura attended college at Cornell University and has a master’s degree in environmental planning from U.C. Berkeley as well as a law degree from the University of Michigan. She loves spending time exploring regional trails around the lakes near her home with her husband and daughter.
Jacques Finlay
Jacques is a professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, and is affiliated with Institute on the Environment and Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory, at the University of Minnesota. His lab group does research in wetlands, lakes, ponds and rivers, examining global changes and management as well as fundamental research on the ecology of freshwater ecosystems. Current projects include research on urban surface waters, agricultural management and the ecology, biogeochemistry and management of wetlands and ponds in landscapes. He joined the Freshwater board in 2022.
Ryan Godfrey, Ph.D.
Ryan Godfrey joined the Freshwater board in 2017. He is the senior vice president of Operations at Tonka Water, an industry-leading designer and manufacturer of custom water treatment systems for both municipal and industrial customers in a broad range of applications. He leads the company’s operations organization, which includes production, project management, procurement, field services, customer service, quality management, and engineering functions. Ryan holds a PhD and MS in condensed matter physics from the University of Maryland, and a BS in physics from the University of Minnesota. He also serves on the Environmental Technologies Trade Advisory Committee, which advises the Secretary of Commerce and the Environmental Trade Working Group on the development and administration of programs and policies to expand U.S. exports of environmental technologies.
Jeremy Lenz
Jeremy is the President and CEO of Sonobe Strategic. He has been advising clients in the water industry for 10 years and has over 25 years of experience in business strategy, executive management, new venture creation and business incubation. Jeremy is known as a gregarious connector, effective catalyst, trusted advisor and driven leader with high ethical standards, equally effective behind the scenes, in front of a microphone and chairing a board. He is a former board member and two-term board chair of University Enterprise Laboratories, Minnesota's premier bioscience incubator. Jeremy is an avid outdoorsman who enjoys canoeing and camping in the Boundary Waters. He enjoys cooking global foods from scratch, especially Asian street food, and is steadfast in his effort to stretch the food palates of his young daughters. He is also an origami artist, carrying origami paper with him wherever he goes. Jeremy has a B.S. and M.B.A. from the University of Minnesota and lives in Northfield, Minnesota, with his wife and three daughters.
Ali Ling
Ali is an assistant professor in the Civil Engineering department at the University of St. Thomas, where she helps students learn to solve complex problems. In her research, she applies systems thinking to emerging contaminants to better understand economic, environmental and human health impacts of their use, management and treatment. Prior to joining St. Thomas, Ali spent 10 years as a consultant designing and troubleshooting water and wastewater treatment systems. In her free time, she loves to play ultimate frisbee, cook, and organize things.
Josephine Marcotty
Josephine Marcotty joined the Freshwater board in 2019. As a journalist at the Star Tribune, she has covered the environment in Minnesota for eight years, with expertise in water quality, agriculture, critters and mining. Prior to that she was a medical reporter, with an emphasis on mental illness, transplant medicine and reproductive health care. Josephine attended college at the University Michigan and lives in south Minneapolis with her husband and her dog. She spends a lot of time on the water, either on the lakes in her neighborhood, or on Lake Superior where she is learning to sail.
Doug Thomas
Doug Thomas joined the board in December of 2022. He spent over 40 years working in the field of soil and water conservation and water resource management in local, state, and federal government. Currently he continues to support private and public sector clients with his expertise in soil and water conservation, urban and rural water resource management, and public policy on a part time basis with Houston Engineering Inc. He is excited to bring his academic training in agronomy and soil science along with his personal and professional ties with agriculture to bear as a board member.
Renée Willette
Renée Willette is the vice president of programs and strategy at the US Water Alliance, a national nonprofit organization advancing policies and programs that build a sustainable water future for all. She oversees all programmatic work and supports the CEO on strategic growth efforts for the organization. Prior to joining the US Water Alliance, Renée worked for Stantec, a global, multi-sector engineering and architecture firm where she served as the water sector leader for the Midwest region. In her role at Stantec, she managed the Midwest team of water and wastewater engineers, oversaw regional business development efforts, supported national strategic partnerships, and served on Stantec’s United States Inclusion and Diversity council. Previously, Renée was the director of strategy initiatives for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, which is responsible for providing 24/7 water, wastewater, and municipal power services to 2.6 million Bay Area residents. At the SFPUC, Renée led the agency’s regional workforce development partnerships as well as the place-based revitalization strategy for the $2.7 billion Sewer System Improvement Program. Renée also served as senior staff in two San Francisco mayoral administrations, focusing on fiscal policy and state and federal government affairs. Renée attended executive education at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government as a David Bohnett Leaders Fellow. She holds a bachelor's degree from Carleton College and a master's in public policy from the University of California, Berkeley.
Emeritus Directors
Todd Bolin
Todd Bolin grew up in the agency business, writing advertising copy long before he received his MBA from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. In 1990, he took over the reins at Bolin Marketing (founded in 1950 by his father Mike) and quickly evolved the firm into a strategic and creative agency with renewed relevance and contemporary stature. In 2012, he co-founded Tribe Global, an international network of independent marketing agencies, which today includes over 40 members throughout the world. He has long been a passionate supporter of clean water having served on the Freshwater board for 13+ years of non-consecutive service including roles as chair, vice chair and participation on the executive committee. Additional board service has included the Children’s Miracle Network (Midwest region), the American Association of Advertising Agencies (Twin Cities & Midwest regions), Tribe Global, Duke Fuqua’s Board of Visitors. Todd and his wife Terry have two grown boys, several grandchildren and live alongside Lake Minnetonka.
Blyth Brookman
Blyth Brookman served on the Freshwater board since from 2002-2018. She is a financial advisor at a major brokerage firm. Raising her family on the shores of Lake Minnetonka increased her interest in water quality, the environment, and environmental education. Blyth has been active in efforts by the St. Martins By-the-Lake Episcopal Church to assist people in need around the world.
JoEllen Hurr
JoEllen Hurr served on the Freshwater board from 1989–2001. She is a former elementary school teacher who has committed her time and energy to public service and wise land use. She has been a member or officer of many groups, including Metropolitan Waste Control Commission, Lake Minnetonka Conservation District, and the citizens advisory committee of the North Shore Management Board. She served on the steering committee that helped establish the Lake Superior Coastal Program in 1999 and was the first elected chair of the council that manages the program. The Coastal Program is a collaboration between the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Two governors appointed her to the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources.
Tom Skramstad
Tom Skramstad served on the Freshwater Society board from 2006–2018. He has held executive positions with a number of Twin Cities firms, including Target, Deluxe, and Apogee. Tom has been active in the Citizen’s Lake Monitoring Program for more than 15 years, has served as chair of the Lake Minnetonka Conservation District’s board, and is a former special deputy with the Hennepin County Water Patrol. Tom also has served as a director of the City of Shorewood’s Planning Commission, as board member of Lutheran Social Services’ Advisory Committee, as president of the Blake School Alumni Association and as vice chair of Hearthstone of Minnesota, a program for troubled youth.
Council of Advisors
Craig Cox
Lynn Broaddus