Lana Pollack was appointed as Chair of the U.S. Section, International Joint Commission, by President Barack Obama, effective on June 26, 2010.
Throughout a diverse career in public office, education and the public interest sector, Ms. Pollack has demonstrated effective and thoughtful leadership on a range of public policy issues. She served from 1996-2008 as President of the Michigan Environmental Council, a coalition of 70 environmental organizations working to protect the Great Lakes and Michigan's natural resources and environment. She was elected three times to the Michigan legislature, serving as a state Senator from 1983-1994. As a state Senator, Ms. Pollack became a leading advocate for women, children and the environment. In this capacity, she earned praise as the architect of Michigan's landmark 1990 polluter pay statute which, before it was repealed in 1995, saved taxpayers $100 million by requiring proven polluters to pay for the cleanup of toxic waste.
In addition to these roles, Ms. Pollack was a Fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, taught at the University of Michigan, was elected a trustee of the Ann Arbor Board of Education, and served on a number of educational, non-profit and corporate boards. Among these boards, Ms. Pollack served from 2002-2010 as chair the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund Board, which annually directs $35-50 million in discretionary public funds to protect, purchase and enhance parkland and open space for preservation and recreation. She has served on the boards of NextEnergy (which promotes the development and commercialization of technologies advancing a low-carbon economy) and ReCellular (the world's largest recycler of cell phones). She founded the Michigan Monthly magazine, co-founded the Michigan League of Conservation Voters and has received numerous honors including outstanding legislator awards from the National Association of the Pysically Handicapped, the American Association of University Professors and the Michigan Association of Community Art Agencies.
Ms. Pollack, who grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan in Ludington, earned a BA in political science from the University of Michigan (U-M) in 1965, and an MA in Education from U-M in 1970. She is married to Henry Nathan Pollack, with whom she raised two children.
Lana Pollack serves on the External Advisory Board of the Graham Institute