top of page
Blue Heron Headwaters Conservancy
Board of Directors
Emily Duthinh, Board President
Emily has served on BHHC's Board of Directors since 2013 and is currently serving as president. She has been active in the Stewardship and Land Acquisition Committees for twelve years. She is a Conservation Steward in Michigan and founded the Oakland County Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area *(CISMA) in 2014. Emily earned her bachelor's degree in geology from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. and her master's degree in environmental science from Duke University. She worked for 18 years in environmental consulting, assessing and remediating contaminated soil and groundwater at industrial sites throughout the mid Atlantic states, Ohio, and Michigan. Emily is an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit and formerly taught at Wayne State University and Owens Community College in Toledo, Ohio. She has extensive experience in preschool and K-12 education, particularly educating students with special needs, and was a founding school board member of the M.O.D.E.L. Community School, a charter school for students with autism in Toledo.
Contact Emily at Emily@BlueHeronHeadwaters.org
Mike Metz, Board
Mike earned degrees in Biology and Political Science from the University of Michigan in 1993, and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1997. He originally practiced real estate law at a Detroit law firm, and has since practiced in-house at multiple corporations. Mike has been a Clarkston resident for 9 years and Detroit area resident for over 40 years. Mike is an outdoor enthusiast who enjoys camping, hiking, golf, and skiing, and was moved by recent reversals in environmental regulations to protect his local community and the waters of Michigan and the Great Lakes. Mike was introduced to BHHC through his son's Eagle Scout project to build benches overlooking the Bridge Valley Fen. As a volunteer for BHHC, Mike applies his real estate skills to help conserve the woods, fields, streams, wildlife and other natural features of North Oakland. Mike has been married to Amy Metz for over 20 years, and they have two children.
Mike Dougherty, Board Treasurer
Mike and his family have been residents of Springfield Township for over 20 years. He recently retired from a more than 30 year career as a manager and consultant in the Information Technology industry to focus on other interests. Mike holds B.A. (English) and M.A. (Geography) degrees from Kent State University. For the past several years he has pursued additional training in the areas of Conservation and Citizen Science and has completed the Michigan Master Naturalist (2010) and Michigan Conservation Stewards (2011) programs through MSU-E. As a volunteer he has done work for NOHLC, Oakland County Parks, and the MNFI. He is an accomplished and award winning nature photographer and operates Silent Light Photography. Mike hopes to apply his skills to communicate the beauty, diversity, and conservation value of the natural environments that BHHC is striving to protect for future generations.
Bette Moen, Board Secretary
Bette is a resident and business owner in Springfield Township. She is the founder and director of Cedar Crest Academy & Early Childhood Center. The passive solar classroom building, environmental studies, and property management of Cedar Crest, attest to the value placed on continuous learning and sustainability.
​Bette’s professional studies are in education, psychology and organizational leadership. She uses her extensive local and national connections to focus attention on conservation, global climate change, and updating standards in education.
Sue Julian, Board & Stewardship Committee Chair
Sue earned degrees in education and biology from Antioch College in 1968. The program called for off-campus experiences which led her to an outdoor education school in New Hampshire, a one-room school house in Kentucky, and a boarding school in Maryland. She taught science and established a library in the Peace Corps in Malaysia, then returned to earn a second bachelors degree from Grand Valley State University. She was Director of Education at Impression 5 Museum in Lansing before "retiring" to raise two sons and assist her husband Charles. Since then her career has been as a full time volunteer splitting her time among Holly Area School Board, Michigan Environmental Council Board, Holly Area Youth Assistance, various PTA's, Holly Township Nature Center, MDCC, Headwaters Trails and political campaigns. Sue has been a member of the Blue Heron Headwaters Conservancy Board since 2002, is a past President of the Board and currently serves as co-Chair of the Stewardship Committee.
Nicole Breadon, Board Member
Nicole Breadon, a lifelong Clarkston resident, has served on the BHHC Executive Board since 1/21, Nicole loves exploring Michigan via ebike with her husband. She is currently a Michigan Regional Organizer for Red Wine & Blue.
Larry Kodosky, Board Member
Larry has lived in Brandon Township since 1994 and joined the BHHC Board in
November 2023. He is active in the Land Acquisition and Ad Hoc committees. He holds B.S. (Penn State University), M.S. (University of Texas at Dallas), and Ph.D. (University of Alaska) degrees in geosciences. Larry was a full-time college faculty member for 33 years and taught courses in geology, natural science, and chemistry. His research focused on volcanology and environmental geology. Larry also worked as a geological consultant.
Since retiring from teaching, Larry has volunteered at Oakland County Parks and the Clarkston Family Farm. He also coordinates an annual college scholarship contest. Larry uses his professional background and skills to promote the conservation of ecologically sensitive habitats, Citizen Science, and public Earth
science literacy.
Todd Roeser, Board Member
Todd earned his undergraduate degree from the School of Natural Resources from the University of Michigan in 1992, and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1999. He worked as an Environmental Consultant between undergraduate and law school. He started his practice of law in 1999 at the Detroit law firm Miller Canfield and currently serves as General Counsel of SRG Global, Inc., a Tier one automotive supplier headquartered in Troy Michigan. Todd lives on Parke Lake in Clarkston where he grew up fishing, swimming and exploring nature with his parents and brothers, and currently enjoys doing the same today with his wife and daughter. Having started his adventures in the natural world nearly 50 years ago in Clarkston, and continuing them with his family today, he is passionate about preservation of the watershed and the wildlife in the region for future generations through sound environmental stewardship. He is excited to join the Board in 2019 and volunteer for NOHLC, an organization his father Fred Roeser was passionate about, and introduced Todd to so many years ago inspecting property together.
Chris Benedict, Former Board Chair & IT Coordinator
A Clarkston resident since 2004, Chris served on NOHLC's Board of Directors from 2008 - 2015, including as president 2012-2013 and 2015. He continues to assist the office with computer related issues and began service on the Audit Committee in 2017. Chris spends his days (and some nights) as the Information Technology Administrator at Springfield Township, and moonlights as vice president of the board of the Huron River Watershed Council, representing Oakland County. After working 15 years in production and skilled trades at Ford Motor Company, Chris returned to school to earn a bachelors degree in business/public administration from the University of Phoenix and a masters degree in public administration from Oakland University.
Lora Perkins Board Member
Bio coming soon
Jean Gramlich, Board Member
Bio coming soon
bottom of page