University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) graduate Laura Rubin (MS/MBA ’95) has been at the forefront of Great Lakes protection and management throughout her 30 years of professional experience since earning her Master of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees at the University of Michigan. She currently is the Director of the Healing Our Waters–Great Lakes Coalition, where she is focused on restoring and protecting the Great Lakes region. Rubin also has served as a board member for the Michigan Environmental Council and the Alliance for the Great Lakes. She is currently a member of the SEAS External Advisory Board and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Great Lakes Advisory Board. The SEAS Communications Office interviewed Rubin about her experiences; it has been condensed for clarity and length. 

Why did you decide to attend Michigan for your MS and MBA after taking five years off between undergraduate and graduate school? 

I had studied business economics as an undergrad and I had an interest in environmental issues. In my undergrad, I did my thesis on the benefit cost analysis of Great Lakes water diversion and enjoyed looking at business and environmental issues. 

After undergrad, I was offered a job at Greenpeace. I thought I would do Greenpeace for a nine-month stint and go back [to school]. I enjoyed working in Washington, D.C., and what I was learning, so I spent three and a half years at Greenpeace. It was an amazing introduction to the behind the scenes of how nonprofits work and also ocean ecology. After this work I wanted to get more theory behind [business and sustainability], so I explored going to graduate school. 

SEAS is a strong program and I am from the Midwest, so Michigan was attractive. Also, at that time I was interested in the environmental justice work of SEAS Professor Emeritus Bunyan Bryant. He helped organize an environmental justice symposium in the early 1990s, which was the first one of its kind and brought together many leaders in the environmental justice field. Michigan was strong in environmental justice, policy and science, and it had other strong graduate schools. 

The dual MS/MBA program wasn’t in existence when I first came to school. My first year, I looked at classes in other programs and looked at nonprofit management at the business school. The two deans, Gary Brewer of what was then the School of Natural Resources and Environment and Joe White of the Ross School of Business, were talking about a joint program, so I went to both deans to tell them that I was interested in a dual-degree program. 

It was really unique at that time and most of the faculty were very skeptical [of the dual-degree program], but I really liked the idea of it. 

Can you tell me about your dual MS and MBA experience? How do you use both degrees in your work now as director at the Healing Our Waters–Great Lakes Coalition and in your previous roles?

I use both my MS and MBA experience all the time. I like having the skills and knowledge to look at strategy, organizational design and finance, but also to dig into environmental science. This was especially the case when I was running the Huron River Watershed Council. I needed to run the organization—to know finance, marketing, HR, strategy, etc. Nonprofits are not that different from businesses. You need to pay employees, whether you call it profit or not. It’s a cause more than a product that you are selling. It has been fun to use those skills, but I also love that I am still doing advocacy and environmental science. 

Over your 30 years of work experience, what changes to environmental protection and conservation have you seen?

There is definitely more attention, interest and gravity given to the environment and conservation. When I first started in the field, climate change and the environment were seen as fringe. There weren’t many jobs or people in the field. Working at an environmental nonprofit was not seen as a career. When I started out, I resented people saying that you only work at a nonprofit when you are young, before going to get a real-world job. There are more jobs in the field now and more people going into the field and making a career of it. 

I also think that sustainability and environmental protection are taken more seriously in the corporate world and given the weight needed. When I was coming out of graduate school, sustainability wasn’t given a lot of power or weight, but now it is much more integrated in the core business system. 

How does the sustainability work you did on the Navajo Reservation inform your work now with water conservation and sustainability? 

I learned so many lessons from the Navajo. Having studied environmental justice issues in graduate school, a lot of the cases were about Black and low-income communities. Going to an Indigenous community brought a whole new level of learning and understanding. The culture and values are different, so I had to readjust and learn their culture and beliefs. Learning what economic development meant to an Indigenous community was very different from a business school or environmental class. For them, arts and culture, as well as natural resources, were the main economic drivers. These alternative values and systems informed my water work going forward.

After working for the Huron Rivershed Council and now the Great Lakes Coalition, have you seen improvement in the quality, protection and management of water in the Great Lakes region? 

We are blessed to have such a strong identity around living in and caring for the Great Lakes. We have bipartisan support for the Great Lakes, which is unbelievable. Legislation was introduced recently to bring $5 million to the Great Lakes every year that had Republicans and Democrats supporting it. It is a large-scale victory that the environment and conservation is a bipartisan issue. 

This support translates to an accelerated clean-up of our most contaminated sites in the region, removal of invasive species and habitat restoration, prevention of PFAS, a focus on fixing water infrastructure and removing lead pipes, and ensuring greater access to and enjoyment of clean, safe water.

What continue to be the biggest hurdles/challenges, and where have we made gains?

I see a lot of effort to undermine big pieces of legislation like the Clean Water Act. We continue to see the erosion of seminal legislation. An anti-regulatory sentiment still pervades and undermines needed legislation. 

Do you have any advice for SEAS students on how to make the most out of their master’s experience and how to transition from the academic to professional field? 

Try new and different things. I know people come in and want to leave with a certain set of skills, but I advise people to step outside their comfort zone—try a new obscure subject, try volunteering, or join a new club. Doing this can open your mind in a new way and bring a fresh perspective to your coursework. These diverse and unique skills can also make your resume and experience stand out. 

In terms of the transition to professional life, don’t try to find the perfect job right away. Coming out of graduate school, try a couple of different things, and take a couple of years to identify what you’re good at and what you like to do. 

What do you think future sustainability leaders need to know?

It is messy out there. Things usually do not go in the way you expect them to. You end up working on five to 10 different causes/programs and it is very unpredictable which ones will have a breakthrough moment. You can be working on climate, dam removals or oil spills for 30 years. One issue will have its breakthrough moment when you least expect it. It is sometimes hard to predict when those successes will be. You need to keep numerous strategies going, be consistent and continue to show up. 

For me, one of those breakthrough moments was establishing and building the Huron River Watershed Council. When we started to get the dams out of the Huron River that was unbelievable work. More recently, it has been continuing the support for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and getting an extra billion dollars in the Inflation Reduction Act. 

Do you have a favorite SEAS experience or memory?

One of my favorite memories was learning about different Michigan rivers in SEAS Professor Emeritus Mike Wiley’s class. We traveled around the state with colleagues, standing in rivers learning about water quality and identifying bugs. Each river was different and learning about the land and water and what shapes and defines them was fascinating.