Board of Directors

Prairie Rivers Network is governed by a twelve-member board of directors that sets policy for the organization, determines its annual working budget, and hires and oversees the work of its executive director. Members are elected by the board and serve three-year terms with the option of reappointment. Present members of the board are as follows:

Jon McNussen, President

Jon McNussen, the Environmental, Health, and Safety Coordinator for an agricultural and industrial equipment manufacturer in Villa Grove, is a leader of Citizens for a Safe Environment, a grassroots group which successfully opposed construction of a landfill and a toxic waste incinerator. Like other members of the board, McNussen provides leadership based on his firsthand experiences as a grassroots organizer. His knowledge of OSHA and EPA regulations and a perspective on the environmental issues facing industry are also valuable to our board.

 

Charles Goodall, Treasurer

Charles Goodall of Sidell, Illinois, is a fifth generation grain farmer and a long-time environmental activist.  As a member of the Committee on the Middle Fork, Goodall helped gain national scenic river status for this east-central Illinois stream. Goodall brings the board critical expertise on agricultural issues and an important link to the farm community.

 

 

 

Brian Anderson

Dr. Brian Anderson joined the Board in 2004 and is the Chair of the Department of Biology and Physical Sciences at Lincoln Land Community College. Before that he worked for many years at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, most recently as the Director of the Office of Resource Conservation. His long, respected career and extensive experience in natural resource conservation in Illinois is invaluable to Prairie Rivers Network and to our river conservation efforts around the State.

Clark Bullard

Clark Bullard of Urbana, Illinois, is Research Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. A long-time environmental activist, Bullard served for 14 years as a member of the Central Midwest Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact Commission. He is also director of the Committee on the Middle Fork and served on the board of the Coalition on American Rivers. Bullard brings to the board not only his professional expertise but also well-honed skills in organizing to achieve environmental goals.

 

Eric Freyfogle

Eric Freyfogle of Urbana, Illinois, the Max L. Rowe Professor of Law at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, is a long-time environmental activist who brings the board both hands-on experience and legal expertise about environmental issues.  His teaching and scholarly work focus on issues of property ownership, natural resources law, and environmental policy. He is a member of the Illinois Environmental Council and the Prairie Group of Sierra Club.



Carolyn Grosboll

Carolyn Taft Grosboll joined the Board in 2004. She currently is an attorney with the firm of Giffin, Winning, Cohen and Bodewes, P.C., in Springfield, and has 17 years of experience in state government, including 11 years as Legal Counsel and Director of the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission. Prior to working for the Nature Preserves Commission, Carolyn worked as a Staff Attorney for the bipartisan Illinois Legislative Reference Bureau, drafting legislation and amendments for members of the General Assembly. Carolyn is active in the community and serves on the Board of Illinois Audubon Society, in addition to Prairie Rivers. Her extensive experience in state government and her knowledge of the natural areas of Illinois enable her to provide a valuable perspective on our programs and operations.

 

Jason Lindsey

Jason Lindsey is one of the premier nature and wildlife photographers in the Midwest. His award winning work has been published in books, magazines, posters, annual reports, advertising, cards, and calendars. Chicago Review Press published his new book Windy City Wild: Chicago's Natural Wonders. This fine art book explores the natural areas and wildlife of the Chicago region. Jason's photographs are also used around the world by advertising, corporate and editorial clients. He shoots in locations from the Ice Hotel in Sweden to the Manhattan Bridge in New York, and from glaciers in Alaska to farm fields in the Midwest. His talents provide Prairie Rivers Network with beautiful photos of Illinois rivers and streams.

 

Ward McDonald

Ward McDonald is a real estate and business attorney with the law firm of Meyer Capel, A Professional Corporation, in Champaign. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois, teaching finance and law. He and his wife Diana are avid outdoors people who enjoy spending time at their homes in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and on the Sangamon River here in Illinois where they have planted 50,000 trees as part of a fifteen year reforestation project. Ward's legal and business experience combined with his passion for conservation provide a valuable perspective for our Board.

 

Joe Petry

Joe Petry, of Champaign Illinois, joined the board in 2007. Joe is a Clinical Professor of Economics at the University of Illinois, and a real estate developer. He helped organize Prairie Rivers' Boneyard Creek Community Day clean-up and naturalization effort in Champaign-Urbana in 2006 and 2007, an event which drew over 500 volunteers in 2007. He is also on the Board of the Champaign Park District and the Illinois Association of Park Districts. Joe is a strong advocate for the preservation of natural areas in and around our communities.  

 

Michael Rosenthal

Michael Rosenthal of Glencoe, Illinois, is a 1994 graduate in engineering from the University of Illinois and an engineer with his family firm, Rosenthal Manufacturing in Chicago.  While a student at the university, Rosenthal led the campus Model Community waste reduction program, recruiting and training volunteers from sororities and fraternities to reduce the wastes produced at their campus houses, recycle everything possible, and use recycled products.  Rosenthal brings to the board the energy of youth and expertise concerning environmental issues and industries. His dog, Piper, loves to swim in Illinois' clean rivers and streams.