At the Alliance for the Great Lakes Board of Directors meeting on September 16 in Chicago, the Board welcomed two new directors for a three-year term.
David Hackett
David Hackett is Senior Counsel at Baker McKenzie, LLP in Chicago, Illinois. He advises senior management, legal departments, and boards of major corporations and nonprofits on compliance, risk, environmental, and sustainability matters. Following his tenure with the Environmental Enforcement Division of the US Department of Justice, David joined the Firm, where he has played a formative role in establishing the Firm’s compliance, environmental, climate, and ESG practices. At Baker McKenzie, David has served as the managing partner of North America, a member of the Global Executive Committee, and a Chicago office managing partner. He has also been the North America Chair of the Compliance Practice Group and the Banking, Finance, and Major Projects Practice Group.
He advises or sits on the Board of numerous nonprofits, including Alliance for the Great Lakes, World Business Council for Sustainable Development, National Parks Conservation Association Midwest Advisory Board, Prince of Wales Charitable Foundation Accounting for Sustainability, Chicago Civic Consulting Alliance, Chicago Academy of Science/Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Chicago CRED, and the UN Global Compact US Board.
He is a graduate of Haverford College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Alan D. Steinman, Ph.D.
Alan (Al) Steinman is the Allen and Helen Hunting Research Professor at Grand Valley State University’s Annis Water Resources Institute (AWRI). He was the Director of AWRI from 2001 until 2022. Previously, he was Director of the Lake Okeechobee Restoration Program at the South Florida Water Management District. He has published over 190 scientific articles, book chapters, and books; has been awarded over $60 million in grants for scientific and engineering projects and over $5 million in private fund-raising, and has testified before the U.S. Congress and the Michigan and Florida state legislatures.
Some of Dr. Steinman’s professional service activities include membership on the National Academy of Sciences Committee to Review Everglades Restoration and science advisory boards/committees for the Great Lakes Advisory Board of the U.S. EPA, the International Joint Commission, and the University of Michigan’s Water Center. His community service includes serving on the Boards of the Community Foundation for Muskegon County, The Nature Conservancy (MI chapter), Congregation B’Nai Israel, Goodwill International of West Michigan, West Michigan Symphony, and the Land Conservancy of West Michigan.
Dr. Steinman holds a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a Ph.D. in Botany/Aquatic Ecology from Oregon State University, an M.S. in Botany from the University of Rhode Island, and a B.S. in Botany from the University of Vermont (Phi Beta Kappa). Steinman’s research interests include aquatic ecosystem restoration, harmful algal blooms, phosphorus cycling, and water policy.
For a complete listing of Alliance for the Great Lakes directors and officers, visit our Board of Directors page.