Our People

Helen Taylor

State Director, Michigan

Lansing, Michigan

Helen Taylor headshot.

Helen Taylor MI Staff Photo Michigan Chapter Director © Matthew Mitchell

Areas of Expertise

Great Lakes conservation, environmental policy, partnership facilitation

Biography

Helen Taylor has spent more than 30 years working on Great Lakes protection, policy and conservation. She joined the Conservancy in 1996 to lead its Great Lakes Program, and since 1999 has served as state director of its Michigan chapter

Prior to joining the Conservancy, Helen worked in the environmental policy field with a concentration in Great Lakes issues, pollution prevention, waste and public/private partnerships and engagement. She worked for ICF, Inc., and Clean Sites, Inc. (now known as the Delta Institute), consulting to industry, government (municipalities, state and federal agencies), and environmental organizations.

Helen is a gubernatorial appointee to the Environmental Rules Review Committee and previously held appointments to the Michigan Land Use Leadership Council and Agriculture Preservation Fund Board. She also served for eight years as a Commissioner of the Great Lakes Commission and on former Governor Rick Snyder’s 21st Century Infrastructure Commission. Helen currently serves on the board of trustees of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.

Helen holds a degree in philosophy from Northwestern University where she graduated with honors, and she enjoys spending as much time as possible outdoors, exploring Michigan’s beautiful lands and waters with her husband and two sons.

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