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Mike Shriberg
Professor of Practice & Engagement; Associate Director, Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR); Director of Engagement, Michigan Sea Grant
Environmental Policy and Planning
Climate + Energy
Water
CV
About
Mike Shriberg’s (MS ’00, PhD ’02) work focuses on Great Lakes water policy and institutions, local and state energy policy, campus sustainability/carbon neutrality and sustainability leadership. Prior to coming to SEAS, he was the Great Lakes regional executive director at the National Wildlife Federation. Major initiatives included advocacy for federal Great Lakes restoration; ensuring water affordability and access; preventing the introduction of aquatic invasive species; reforming Great Lakes water management; building Great Lakes resilience; combating environmental injustice; and engaging urban youth.
Shriberg’s academic expertise focuses on organizational change, water/climate policy and leadership for sustainability. Prior to the National Wildlife Federation, he served as the education director at the Graham Sustainability Institute and as a lecturer in the Program in the Environment and Earth & Environmental Sciences at U-M. Previously, Shriberg was the policy director at the Ecology Center and the director of Environment Michigan. He also previously served as the environmental studies program director and as an assistant professor at Chatham University.
He recently developed a Coursera/Michigan Onlne course on "Sustainability Leadership Development", which is part of SEAS' Green Skills for a Sustainability & Just Future Specialization.
Publications
M. Shriberg, R.K. Norton, S. Newell, K. Camerson and A. Merolle. Resourcing Michigan’s Coastal Decision-Makers: Assessing Needs & Opportunities. Journal of Great Lakes Research (in press).
M. Shriberg, L. MacDonald & T. Baird. "Sustainability Leadership Competencies in Theory & Practice". In Global Leadership for an Equitable, Resilience & Sustainability Future. M. Guo-Brennan et al. (Eds.). Routledge. In Press.
Shriberg, Mike. Swing State Voters along the Great Lakes Love Cleaner Water and Beaches – and Candidates from Both Parties Have Long Fished for Support There. The Conversation: October 8, 2024. https://theconversation.com/swing-state-voters-along-the-great-lakes-love-cleaner-water-and-beaches-and-candidates-from-both-parties-have-long-fished-for-support-there-237946
The Great Lakes as Great Uniters Can Turn Disruption Into Opportunity. Shriberg, Mike. Voices of the Great Lakes. Northeast-Midwest Institute. April 2024.
Shriberg, Mike. Michigan Pipeline Standoff Could Affect Water Protection and Indigenous Rights Across the U.S. The Conversation: August 16, 2023. https://theconversation.com/michigan-pipeline-standoff-could-affect-water-protection-and-indigenous-rights-across-the-us-208923
Shriberg, et al. “Leadership for the Next Generation of Great Lakes Stewardship.” Journal of Great Lakes Research: Volume 49, Issue 5, October 2023, Pages 1211-1213: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2023.06.011
Centering Communities in Great Lakes Restoration and Ecosystem-based Management Programs, Report to Healing Our Waters Coalition. Williams, K.C., K.B. Mika, P.W. Seelbach, D. Erickson, M. Klasic, E. Ho-Tassone, J.M. Wondolleck, J.G. Read, D. Porter, M.W. Price, A. Armstrong, R. Holifield, D.C. Michener, R. Nixon, R.K. Norton, E.H. Tyner, J.F. Bratton, N. Chin, P.J. Doran, T.J. Ehlinger, L. Goralnik, D.R. Kashian, C. McLaughlin, S.B. Mills, D.M. Peroff, M. Shriberg, S. Hughes, V. Gagnon, J. Adamowski, J.S. Carlton, J.C. Hoffman, L.B. Johnson. 2023.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Duluth, MN. EPA/600/R-23/290. 61pp. https://cfpub.epa.gov/si/si_public_record_Report.cfm?dirEntryId=359202&Lab=CCTE
Pollard, Jennifer R., J.O. Michel, A.C. Simon & M. Shriberg. “Team-Teaching as a Promising Pathway Toward Interdisciplinary Sustainability Competency Development”. Sustainability 15, 15 (2023): 1-19. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/15/11534
Schoolman, Ethan, M. Shriberg, S. Schwimmer & M. Tysman. “Green Cities and Ivory Towers: How Do Higher Education Sustainability Initiatives Shape Millennials’ Consumption Practices?” Journal of Environmental Studies & Science 6, no. 3 (2016): 490-502. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13412-014-0190-z
MacDonald, Lindsey & M. Shriberg. “Sustainability Leadership Programs in Higher Education: Alumni Outcomes and Impacts.” Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences 6 (2016): 360-370. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13412-015-0344-7
Callewaert, John, R.W. Marans & M. Shriberg. “Advancing a Culture of Sustainability at the University of Michigan.” In Implementing Campus Greening Initiatives: Approaches, Methods and Perspectives. Leal, W. (Ed.). Peter Lang (2015): 165-181. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-11961-8_14
Shriberg, Michael & H. Bedeian. “The Ecology Center of Ann Arbor: Organizational Structure, Leadership and the Environmental Movement.” Michigan Journal of Sustainability 2 (2014). https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/mjs/12333712.0002.005?view=text;rgn=main
Shriberg, Michael & L. MacDonald. “Sustainability Leadership Programs: Emerging Goals, Methods & Best Practices.” Journal of Sustainability Education 5 (2013): 1-21. https://graham.umich.edu/media/pubs/Shriberg-MacDonald-SustainabilityLeadershipPrograms.pdf
Shriberg, Michael & K. Harris. “Building Sustainability Change Management and Leadership Skills in Students: Lessons learned from ‘Sustainability and the Campus’ at the University of Michigan.” Journal of Environmental Studies & Science 2, no. 2 (2012): 154-164. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13412-012-0073-0
Shriberg, Michael. “Sustainability Leadership as 21st Century Leadership.” In Environmental Leadership: A Reference Handbook. Gallagher, D. R. (ed.). Sage Reference (2012): 469-480.
Edelstein, Jack & M. Shriberg. “Energy Conservation Framework: An Integrative Framework for Energy Conservation Planning, Policy and Planning.” Sustainability: The Journal of Record 4, no. 5 (2011): 245-250. https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/SUS.2011.9659?casa_token=G5aFOH53724AAAAA%3AkQDodX68WaN7Ea89JDX1ZnxnvELx8DudK3EKmXslEMOR9dOeBFx6uyMZQRGnPPbmg1PupNPZ978&journalCode=sus
Shriberg, Michael. “Leadership for Environmental Sustainability.” In Practicing Leadership: Principles and Applications (4th Edition). Shriberg, D. (ed.). John Wiley & Sons (2010): 240-262.
Shriberg, Michael. “Is the Maize and Blue Turning Green? Sustainability at the University of Michigan.” International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 4, no. 3 (2003): 263-276. https://doi.org/10.1108/14676370310485465
Shriberg, Michael. “Assessment Tools for Sustainability in Higher Education: Strengths, Weaknesses, and Implications for Practice and Theory.” Higher Education Policy 15, no. 2 (2002): 153-167. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1016/S0952-8733(02)00006-5
Research
My research starts with the needs of “practitioners” (i.e., my colleagues in the community and advocacy sphere) as opposed to theoretical questions or grant applications. My overarching approach is to assess how individual leaders can make systemic changes, and then to propose specific interventions to move toward those changes. More specifically, my work fits into 3 concentric circles. The smallest and innermost is sustainability leadership development, largely with a goal of improving the practice, training and effectiveness of environmental leaders by linking the known needs in the field to the growing cadre of training programs. In sustainability, given the urgency and lack of funding, we cannot afford inefficiencies in leadership training yet there are very few resources dedicated to this unique challenge. The audience is sustainability leadership program managers and, to a lesser degree, participants in these programs. My core belief is that the skills needed for sustainability leaders mirror those needed for the success of any true leaders in the modern era. Sustainability leadership is modern leadership.
The second concentric circle, moving from the individual to the community, focuses on communities facing coastal resiliency challenges. As Great Lakes levels fluctuate more chaotically due to climate change, communities are struggling to manage their shorelines for long-term resilience and equity. What is often happening in practice is that wealthier landowners are “armoring” the shorelines to protect against erosion and flooding while public lands and less wealthy areas suffer from increased problems, in part due to these “upstream” decisions. My work focuses specifically on linking the increasingly sophisticated modeling of potential impacts to the on-the-ground needs of communities and individuals. This often takes the form of focus groups, surveys, and direct action on particular projects/areas (e.g., Ox Creek in Benton Harbor, MI). The interventions consistent of support for individual decision makers in terms of assessing options, either at the micro-scale (an individual property) or macro-scale (the building a Great Lakes Coastal Resilience Resource Hub). The ultimate goal is to empower individuals and decision makers to make good choices in the face of uncertainty about the future of the Great Lakes.
The third and widest concentric circle is the application of this approach to restoring the Great Lakes themselves. The driving question is: What changes are needed to our institutions and policies to move us toward a resilient Great Lakes ecosystem and communities? The audience for this is leaders of Great Lakes institutions as well as political decision makers. The premise is that our regulatory regimes and institutional arrangements were designed for a time of simplicity and stability - before the impacts of climate change, invasive species, environmental injustice and other complex issues were truly felt or understood. To address current challenges, we must modernize our systems, policies and institutions, with a fundamental focus on people and justice in addition to ecology.
Education
PhD, University of Michigan, School for Environment & Sustainability - Resource Policy & Behavior
MS, University of Michigan, School for Environment & Sustainability - Resource Policy & Behavior
BS, Cornell University, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences - Biology & Society (Minor in Environment & Business)
Nonprofit Executive Leadership Certificate, Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management
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