
Dave Dempsey has helped shape conservation and Great Lakes policy for 26 years and is an author and co-author of five conservation books. He currently serves as Communications Director for Conservation Minnesota, a nonprofit organization in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Dave has been active in environmental matters since 1982. Past positions include:
- Environmental advisor to Michigan Governor James J. Blanchard (1983-89).
- Executive Director, Michigan Council on Environmental Quality (1989-90).
- Program director at Clean Water Action (1991-1994).
- Policy Director, Michigan Environmental Council (1994-1999).
- Member Great Lakes Fishery Commission (Presidential appointment, 1994-2001).
- Communications Director, Conservation Minnesota (2006-Present).
Dave is a resident of the Twin Cities region of Minnesota. His book titles include:
- Ruin and Recovery: Michigan’s Rise as a Conservation Leader, an environmental history of Michigan since its statehood in 1837, published by the University of Michigan Press in 2001;
- On the Brink: The Great Lakes in the 21st Century, published by Michigan State University Press in 2004.
- A biography of Republican William G. Milliken, Michigan’s longest-serving governor and a champion of the environment, published by the University of Michigan Press in April 2006, and entitled William G. Milliken: Michigan’s Passionate Moderate.
- Great Lakes for Sale: From Whitecaps to Bottlecaps, published by the University of Michigan Press in 2008.
- The Waters of Michigan, co-authored with David Lubbers and published by the Michigan State University Press in 2008.
- Superior Shores, a self-published novel, available in 2010.
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 served from 1999-2004 as an adjunct instructor at MSU in environmental policy through the Department of Resource Development (now Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies). He is married to Jennifer Morris, a teacher with the Richfield Schools, and stepfather of two.
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