Join us for a talk on visual rhetoric with Joe VanderMeuelen. Eventorganized by English professor John Mauk.
VanderMeuelen is an independentconsultant and writer working with people and organizations dedicated toincreasing community sustainability and resilience through civic engagement andthe preservation of cultural and natural resources.
Trained as a welder, he has beena sheet metal worker, a journalist, a hydrogeologist, and a nonpartisan scienceadvisor to the Michigan Legislature with the Legislative Service Bureau. Herecently finished a 21-year stint as the founder and Executive Director forLIAA, a nonprofit community service organization. LIAA is well known acrossMichigan for its efforts in brokering and supporting cooperativeintergovernmental planning for more sustainable and resilient communities.Additionally, LIAA manages a number of community service programs in the GrandTraverse Region including the UpNorth Media Center, Northwest Michigan’s onlypublic access and government access television stations.
VanderMeuelen holds a B.A. inEnglish and creative writing as well as a B.A. and M.S. in earth science and hydrogeology from WesternMichigan University. He has also received his Ph.D. from the University ofMichigan in Natural Resources and Environmental Policy winning the Ayers Brinser Award for hisresearch in land-use policy and the applications of geographic informationsystems (GIS).
Over the years, VanderMeuelen hasgiven hundreds of presentations on civic engagement, building a sense of place,resilient communities, and climate change. He has also published numerousarticles and reports on land use planning, resource management,intergovernmental cooperation and a wide range of science and technologytopics. Last, but certainly not least, VanderMeuelen writes creative nonfictionand poetry, including pieces published by the Dunes Review.
