As a Research Fellow at the Alliance for the Great Lakes, Esther Acheampong conducts research to support the protection and sustainable management of Great Lakes water resources. Her work focuses on emerging and evolving pressures on the region’s freshwater resources, including the water demands of data centers and other large water users, as well as plastic pollution. She uses geospatial analysis, policy research, and interdisciplinary approaches to examine how environmental pressures vary across communities and inform effective water policy and decision-making.
Before joining the Alliance, Esther conducted research at Michigan Technological University’s Great Lakes Research Center, where her work examined coastal vulnerability, environmental justice, and water and coastal policy across the Great Lakes region. She has also worked in environmental permitting and compliance, supporting environmental assessment, regulatory compliance, and natural resource management. Her broader research and professional experience spans freshwater and coastal systems, environmental policy, geospatial analysis, and environmental governance.
Esther holds a Ph.D. in Environmental and Energy Policy from Michigan Technological University, a Master of Philosophy in Integrated Coastal Zone Management, and a Bachelor of Science in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences from the University of Cape Coast in Ghana.