With a monthly magazine-style television program and daily online reports at GreatLakesNow.org, the Great Lakes Now initiative offers in-depth coverage of news, issues, events and developments affecting the lakes and the communities that depend on them, while capturing the character and culture of the region. Find our Watch Parties and other events HERE.
Housed at Detroit PBS, Great Lakes Now’s growing network of regional partner public broadcaster stations and other media outlets contribute coverage to the television program and to the Great Lakes Now website. The monthly show, “Great Lakes Now,” launched in April 2019, and since then has expanded to a basin-wide, bi-national program carried on more than 25 PBS stations in six states as well as on more than 800 Canadian cable systems.
A growing team of award-winning journalists provide authoritative coverage online about a wide range of subjects affecting life in the Great Lakes Basin including water quality, public policy, environmental justice, economic development, resource conservation and tourism.
In addition, Great Lakes Now produces activities and lessons plans for Grades 5-8 with a curriculum and virtual field trips available HERE for free.
Great Lakes Now staff also appear at a wide range of events throughout the region, partnering with universities, cultural institutions, civic and historical groups, and recreational clubs to bring audiences screenings, panel discussions and opportunities to shape show segments and website stories.
Editorial Guidelines
Disclosing Funders
Funders of Great Lakes Now and Detroit PBS content cannot be anonymous. Federal law requires that broadcasters “fully and fairly disclose the true identity” of all funders. The purpose of this requirement is to be fully transparent with the audience. While this legal requirement is limited to broadcast programming, Great Lakes Now, One Detroit and Detroit PBS ensure transparency by requiring that funders be disclosed for content distributed on all platforms, including online videos, mobile applications, and websites.
We define a funder as any third-party donor (e.g., corporation, foundation, or private individual) that has made a financial contribution to support: (1) the production or acquisition of specific content distributed by Great Lakes Now, One Detroit and/or Detroit PBS; (2) the research and development for that content; (3) the packaging or repackaging of that content; or (4) the program service through which that content is distributed.
Editorial Independence
Editorial independence is essential to serving the public interest and preserving the public’s trust. Content distributed by Great Lakes Now, One Detroit and Detroit PBS must be free of undue influence from third-party funders, political interests, and other outside forces. Great Lakes Now, One Detroit and Detroit PBS must remain unwavering in a commitment to distributing content that exemplifies ethical and journalistic integrity rather than advancing commercial interests. This obligation is achieved through the good-faith professional judgment of producers and staff and by carefully listening to the public. Detroit PBS/Great Lakes Now/One Detroit partnerships and collaborations with outside academic, research, and/or other media outlets are also held to the same standard of journalistic and ethical integrity. Editorial independence gives producers the intellectual freedom to achieve and demonstrate a commitment to accuracy, fairness, inclusiveness, accountability and transparency.
Monthly Show Staff and Regular Contributors
Rob Green, Executive Producer
Rob Green has worked in non-fiction television for more than 20 years, making shows about history, science, food, travel, and more—and telling a range of stories broad enough to include high risk SWAT raids, explosive demolition of bridges and buildings, the inner workings of volcanos, and opulent birthday parties for teenagers.
Born in Detroit, Rob graduated from the University of Michigan with an English degree. After a stint with the Oprah Winfrey Show in Chicago, he moved to New York City but returned to the Midwest in 2015 to work in his hometown. He co-produced “The Forever Chemicals,” a documentary about PFAS contaminants’ effect on west Michigan communities in 2019.
Anna Sysling, Host and Manager of Engagement and Partnerships
Anna Sysling is a multimedia storyteller and lifelong Michigander. She has worked as a reporter, anchor, host and producer in both commercial and public media since 2013. Her areas of focus include history, policy, climate and social equity. She’s written for a variety of print and digital publications and worked as a producer for “The Mitch Albom Show” on 760 WJR, and “Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson” on WDET Detroit’s NPR station. During her tenure at WDET, Sysling launched, produced and hosted the intersectional environmental series “Rooted.”
Sysling graduated from Wayne State University with a degree in Print and Digital Journalism. When she’s not working on the Great Lakes Now initiative, Sysling is probably out rock climbing, writing poetry or nerding out about an heirloom bean variety.
Adam Fox-Long, Coordinating Producer
Adam Fox-Long is a lifelong Michigander who has worked as a photographer and video producer since 2015. He first joined Detroit PBS in 2021 as a Promotions Producer before joining Great Lakes Now in 2023 as Coordinating Producer.
When he’s not working, Adam enjoys taking pictures (especially of Great Lakes lighthouses) and roadtripping with his wife.
Jordan Wingrove, Video Editor
Jordan Wingrove has been editing the Great Lakes Now monthly program since the premier episode in 2019. He has worked at Detroit PBS since 2004 except for a year-long stint on the West Coast. He missed the Great Lakes region, so he returned to Michigan where he grew up. Jordan has a degree in computer information systems from Henry Ford College, which makes him an invaluable member of the GLN team as more content on more platforms becomes part of the work. Known for being creative, detail-oriented and a quick learner, he brings the polish to the final show and most of the video content audiences see from Great Lakes Now. When he’s not working, find him playing tennis, spending time with family or taking long walks with his rescue dog, Lizzie.
David J. Ruck, Producer
David J. Ruck has been focusing his camera on the Great Lakes since his first documentary project, “This is Not a Chocolate Factory”, which explored the toxic history of a chemical company near his hometown Whitehall, Michigan. He became fascinated with the drama of real life and has been focusing more and more intently on issues of justice – especially environmental justice – since this first experience.
David spent time in Nepal during the mid 2000’s documenting stories from victims of the civil war that was ravaging the country before returning to work focused on science, innovation, environment, and space. He was hired as the video storyteller for NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and covered a range of narratives throughout the sanctuary system, both above and below the waves in Alpena, Michigan; American Samoa; Olympic Coast, and the Florida Keys.
He has since launched Great Lakes Outreach Media, servicing mainly government and government funded organizations, focusing more intently on issues facing the Great Lakes. He spent the summer of 2019 capturing a plurality of perspectives on the toxic algae blooms endured by citizens living near Lake Erie and is currently finishing a documentary with the material.
David is an avid runner, enjoys photography, and loves his cattle dog, Billie.
Greg King, Producer
Greg King is a freelance journalist based in Chicago. He has worked as a reporter, news anchor and talk show host in Los Angeles, Chicago and Wisconsin. Greg has covered everything from politics to entertainment to farming. One of his most memorable stories involved trudging through the Deep Tunnel system in the Chicago area 300 feet below the surface. Lately, Greg has been focusing on stories related to the environment. For Great Lakes Now he has produced stories about lead in our drinking water, the impact coal ash ponds have on groundwater, and the return of Piping Plovers to the Great Lakes region. He is passionate about keeping viewers informed on a number of environmental issues impacting our everyday lives.
Laura Weber Davis, Narrator
Laura Weber Davis is a senior producer and fill-in host on Stateside on Michigan Radio. Before landing with Michigan Radio, she worked at WDET in Detroit, where she was senior producer on the current events program, Detroit Today. She began her career in public radio as a Michigan Radio intern before taking a job as a Capitol-beat reporter for the Michigan Public Radio Network. Laura was born and raised in Ann Arbor, and has had a lifelong love affair with the Great Lakes. She is a graduate of Michigan State University and she received a master’s degree in Journalism from the University of Southern California.
Nick Austin, Narrator and Field Producer
A native Detroiter with a post graduate degree from Wayne State, Nick Austin is a on-air personality and program host for Soul Saturday on WDET. Also an attorney by trade, prior to landing with WDET, he got his start in radio and TV serving in various on-air and leadership positions for his college stations. As a classically trained musician who developed his love and interest in a diverse array of musical styles at a young age. Nick’s background ranges from performing as scholarship member of the university’s jazz band, symphonic band, and orchestra, publishing 2 full-length albums. As a contributor to Great Lakes Now, Nick shares his love of the area, assisting with narrating, producing and introducing viewers to the wonders of the Great Lakes.
Zosette Guir, Integrator
After receiving her bachelor’s degree in Communications Studies from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Zosette Guir has worked on various production projects in the metro Detroit area including Autoweek’s Vinsetta Garage, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards for Crain’s Detroit Business, Detroit Performs, Connect, The Seven Generation River as well as nationally distributed documentaries When I’m 65 and Ride the Tiger, as well as pieces for Detroit PBS’s weekly news and public affairs program, One Detroit, which focuses on journalism based on immersive community engagement.
Kathy Johnson, Producer and Contributor
Kathy Johnson was born in Detroit, grew up on the banks of the St. Clair River, and was married on a shipwreck in Lake Huron. As a professional diver, she has worked with organizations across the Great Lakes researching and documenting aquatic behaviors. She joined the Great Lakes Now team in 2020 after graduating from Wayne State University with a degree in Print and Digital Journalism.
An advocate for native freshwater species, Kathy has produced two full-length lake sturgeon documentaries, and her freshwater videos have been screened at film festivals in Chicago, New York, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and India. At Great Lakes Now she regularly produces segments highlighting freshwater fish and writes the monthly column, “I Speak for the Fish.”
Doug Clevenger, Videographer
Doug Clevenger is an award-winning director of photography, licensed drone operator and underwater cinematographer. His work has taken him around the globe for National Geographic, Discovery Networks, PBS and many others. Based in Chicago, he regularly shoots for Great Lakes Now in Illinois and Wisconsin for stories about Lake Michigan and its watershed. He also was the videographer on the “Polluting with Purpose” segment in Ontario, Canada.
Sandy McPhee, Producer
Sandy McPhee is freelance producer whose background includes both commercial and public broadcasting. She worked for news stations in Detroit, Atlanta, and Baltimore, producing documentaries, live multi-camera event productions, news features, long format programming, children’s programs and news magazines. She managed programming at WXYZ, the ABC affiliate in Detroit, and as a freelancer produced features for CNN, the University of Michigan and the Detroit Medical Center.
Her work has won an RTDNA Edward R. Murrow Regional Award, a New York Festivals Gold Award, a NATPE Iris Award and more than two dozen Emmy Awards from the Michigan chapter of the National Association of Television Arts and Sciences.
“Great Lakes Now” has allowed her to enjoy her two biggest passions: storytelling and the Great Lakes. She currently lives on the shores of Lake Huron in northern Michigan and spends her time sailing, kayaking and exploring the Great Lakes.
Writers and Website Contributors
Mila Murray, Digital Content Generalist
Mila Murray graduated with two degrees from Michigan State University, where she was heavily involved in journalism and the behind-the-scenes of journalism. From working as a reporter at her student publication – The State News – her freshman year to helping lead it as an executive editor in her senior year, she has been recognized for multiple awards through the Michigan Press Association, the Associated Collegiate Press, the State News Alumni Association and more.
After dedicating most of her college career to student journalism, she moved on to report on major news stories such as the Flint water crisis as an intern with MLive Media Group. She also has extensive experience in digital media from starting The State News’ first-ever news roundup podcast, to managing a Toronto-based startup’s social media platforms, to making educational content more accessible while interning for the IT department’s DigitalX Team her final year at Michigan State University.
Mila grew up in Michigan and loves everything the Great Lakes region has to offer.
Lisa John Rogers, News Editor
Lisa John Rogers is a journalist in the Midwest whose interests intersect at art, culture, health, history, and the environment.
Formerly worked as a producer for the Peabody-nominated podcast, Unfinished: Deep South. She’s worked in various aspects of media, from radio and podcasts, to magazines and hard-news reporting.
She loves all of the Great Lakes, but Lake Huron is her first love.
Staci Lola Drouillard, Contributor
Staci Lola Drouillard was born and raised on the North Shore of Lake Superior, where she currently lives with her partner, their two dogs and one cat in an off-grid, solar home. Staci works as a producer and project leader for WTIP North Shore Community Radio in Grand Marais, Minnesota.
A Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe direct descendant, she is the author of Walking the Old Road: A People’s History of Chippewa City and the Grand Marais Anishinaabe (U of MN Press, 2019), which won the 2020 Hamlin Garland Prize for Popular History, and the 2020 Northeastern Minnesota Book Award for nonfiction. Her second book, Seven Aunts, a work of creative nonfiction, was published by the U of MN Press in June of 2022. She is currently working on two children’s stories for Harper Collins and hopes to explore writing in every genre, as long as the words flow and the sun continues to power her keyboard.
Ian Solomon, Contributor
Ian Solomon is a journalist, artist and outdoor enthusiast from Detroit, Michigan. Ian is the founder of Amplify Outside, a community organization dedicated to increasing access to Michigan’s wilderness for Black Michiganders.
When Ian isn’t Amplifying Outside, he’s working towards his master of fine arts degree at Cranbrook Academy of Art and managing communications for the Detroit Parks Coalition.
Lisa M. Rose, Contributor
Lisa M. Rose is an ethnobotanist, wild foods chef, and author with a profound dedication to exploring the symbiotic relationship between humans and plants. With an academic background in anthropology and community health, her culinary journey has been rich and varied, including stints with notable establishments and figures such as Stags Leap in Napa Valley, Alice Waters’ The Edible Schoolyard, and organic farmers in Northern Michigan.
Rose’s work is celebrated in her bestselling books, “Midwest Foraging” and “Midwest Medicinal Plants,” among others and her expertise is frequently sought by major media outlets, including the Chicago Tribune, PBS, NPR, Martha Stewart and CNN.
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