Did You Know?

West Michigan
Environmental
Action Council

1007 Lake Dr SE,
Grand Rapids MI 49506
Tel: 616-451-3051
Fax: 616-451-3054

e-mail: info@wmeac.org

About

WMEAC Staff

WMEAC’s professional staff come from many backgrounds. All share a passion for the environment and a vision for the sustainable future of West Michigan.

Rachel Hood - Executive DIrector

Rachel Hood became WMEAC’s Executive Director in January of 2007. Ms. Hood is charged with the work of leading WMEAC toward its new future and ensuring its sustainability. She is an expert in fund development, strategic planning and program management.

Ms. Hood holds a BA in Social Relations from James Madison College at Michigan State University. From 2000 to 2004, she served as the Executive Director of West Grand Neighborhood Organization in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She also worked as a community relations consultant for Strategic Communications Group (formerly Jones, Gavan & Helmholdt, LLC). In 2005, she joined Metro Health Hospital as their Corporate Community Advocate.

Ms. Hood has focused throughout her career on implementing sustainable development concepts in Grand Rapids’ urban core. She was instrumental in the program design and funding for the Turner Gateway Project, one of Michigan’s Cool Cities projects. Ms. Hood’s work was essential to the launch of Local First, an initiative to educate Greater Grand Rapids about the value of locally owned business.

Rachel lives with her husband, Dave Petroelje, an environmental consultant, and their cats, Quinn and Ollie. She serves on the boards of the Urban Institute for Contemporary Art, Grand Rapids Youth Boxing Foundation, the West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum, and the Michigan Clean Water Fund Political Action Committee.

Patricia Jane Pennell - Water Quality Programs, Program Coordinator Rain Gardens of West Michigan

Patricia Pennell joined the WMEAC staff in September 2000 as a water quality educator. In 2002, Patricia started the rain garden program and http://www.raingardens.org . Patricia has a personal interest in water quality issues because her backyard is the Thornapple River in Kent County. Her skills and experience as a watershed environmental educator, writer, and photographer have enhanced WMEAC publications, events, and volunteer activities.

Patricia was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and spent all but one year of her life in Michigan. She has a B.S. in Natural Resources and Environmental Education from Michigan State University. Patricia is also a professional photographer and writer. Prior to joining the WMEAC staff, Patricia was an environmental educator for the Thornapple River Watershed Council, and coordinated the Watershed Management Short Course in 1999 in partnership with Kent-MSU Extension. Patricia also taught science at the secondary level.

Patricia and her husband Bryan are the parents of four children. In her spare time, Patricia enjoys her family, internet surfing, gardening, photography, New England contra-dancing, kayaking, wildlife watching, and voracious reading.

Shawn Wessell - Water Quality Program Coordinator

Shawn joined the WMEAC staff in August of 2002. He has a BS in Biology and an M.S. in Biology from Grand Valley State University, both with an emphasis in aquatics. He has expertise in macroinvertebrate identification, stream ecology, and limnology.

Shawn enjoys hiking, mountain biking, camping, fly fishing and being outdoors on a river. He was knee-deep in a trout stream at the very moment he accepted the position at WMEAC.

Shawn said, “Before going into the Biology program at GVSU, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. Then, while I was out on the river camping, it hit me. Wouldn’t it be nice to have an office on the river?” The rest is history.

Shawn is a resident of Comstock Park where he lives with his wife, baby son, and the family dog. The four of them enjoy water together.

Sandy Corrello - Adopt-a-Stream Coordinator / Lakeshore

Sandy joined WMEAC’s staff in May of 2004 after working with water quality issues as a volunteer and professional program coordinator for several years in the lakeshore communities of Muskegon, Holland & Grand Haven. Sandy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing Research from Northern Michigan University in Marquette. Sandy has experience in a variety of careers including pre-school teacher, graphic artist, market researcher and residential architectural engineer.

Sandy lives with her husband and two children on the turtle bay section of Mona Lake in Muskegon. She keeps her Catalina Sailboat in Muskegon Lake where she can be sure to get out to the big lake quickly.

“I strongly believe in the educational value of hands-on science and I feel that by educating students about the value of environmental stewardship we can make a difference for future generations.”

Sandy lives with her husband and two children on the turtle bay section of Mona Lake in Muskegon. and keeps her Catalina Sailboat in Muskegon Lake where she spends most of her summer weekends sailing.

Rachel Hackett - Groundwater Stewardship Program, Americorps

Rachel joined the WMEAC staff in April of 2005 as the program assistant for Rain Gardens of West Michigan, and before that was an intern and volunteer. This is her second year as WMEAC’s Americorps representative. She is a graduate of Aquinas College in Grand Rapids with a B.S. in environmental science. Rachel is a founding member of the Michigan Student Environmental Coalition (MiSEC).

Rachel spent the summer of 2002 in Australia through Boston University’s School for Field Studies. There she studied tropical deforestation and restoration on the Atherton Tablelands. Rachel hopes to revisit some day, to see the progress made in converting old pasture back into an eco-tourism area for preservation of the Lumholtz tree kangaroo.

In 2003, Rachel and worked as a silviculture intern for the Student Conservation Association at the Colville National Forest in eastern Washington. She surveyed vegetation for fire control and forest management. She also marveled at the old growth trees, worked as an A.D. firefighter and hiked in nearby forests and parks.

Rachel enjoys reading, making jewelry, and listening to music in her spare time, and as a result of her family’s upbringing never turns down a game of cards.

Ken Secord - Bookkeeper

Ken Secord joined WMEAC as our part-time accountant in July 2001. He has been working in the accounting and computer consulting profession since 1979. He draws from vast experience in assisting with the set-up of various types of organizations with computer accounting systems. This work includes other non-profits such as the Grand Rapids Community College Foundation, the Grand Rapids Foundation, the Center for Environmental Study and various Township offices in the area. Ken is responsible for implementing and updating WMEAC’s non-profit fund accounting system.

Ken is married to local environmentalist, Jane Secord and they have three daughters. His hobbies are golf and fishing.

Action Items

Great Lakes Great Michigan is a campaign to bring Michigan’s laws in line with the Great Lakes Compact, a regional agreement among the 8 Great Lakes States to preserve, protect and restore our Great Lakes. Take Action! Participate in the campaign at their website.

Clean Kent County - Every day an estimated 1 million gallons of untreated waste from toilets and household drains is discharged from Kent County’s failing septic systems. Clean Kent County is a campaign to improve Kent County’s efforts to address this growing issue. To learn more or get involved contact Shawn Wessel at swessell@wmeac.org.

Hispanic Environmental Health Webpage The EPA has launched a new site in Spanish, for Hispanic U.S. residents. It provides information on environmental issues and their effects.