About
Lake Erie Foundation (LEF) is a 501(c)(3) organization established in 2016 to sustain and protect the waters of Lake Erie now and in the future. Lake Erie Foundation (LEF) is Lake Erie’s advocate for economic sustainability, legal defense, education, outreach and innovative sustainable technology.
Our Mission and Vision:
The Lake Erie Foundation’s mission is to create and maintain a healthy Lake Erie now and forever.
The result of having a healthy lake will be water free of impacts from harmful algae and contaminants with minimized impacts from invasive species. Sustainable practices on land and in water will help restore Lake Erie and provide resilience to its ecosystem, providing a valuable resource for drinking, recreational activities, lake-related businesses, and aquatic and terrestrial life. When Lake Erie is healthy, it is a highly productive habitat for fish and wildlife.
LEF was recently awarded the 2024 Platinum Seal of Transparency on GuideStar!
LEF Board Members
Lee Alexakos
Secretary
Cedar Fair Entertainment Company
Lee is the vice president community relations for Cedar Fair Entertainment Company and has more than 30 years experience in marketing at Cedar Fair. Lee is a lifelong Lake Erie Boater. Active in her community and the state, Lee currently serves on boards of the Firelands Regional Medical Center, BGSU Firelands Development Board, Maritime Museum of Sandusky, Firelands Symphony Orchestra, Lake Erie Shores and Islands CVB, and the Ohio Travel Association. She also serves on the Leadership Council for Cleveland Clinic Children’s hospital and is a member of the Sandusky Ohio Bicentennial Commission In 2016, Governor John Kasich appointed Lee to the Tourism Ohio Advisory Board. Lee earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Bowling Green State University.
Larry Fletcher
Treasurer
Shores & Islands Ohio
Ken Alvey
Lake Erie Marine Trades Association
Ken Alvey is a retired President of the Lake Erie Marine Trades Association, a former Ohio Boating Law Administrator and an avid recreational boater. In the past, he has served on the Ohio Coastal Resource Advisory Council, the Cuyahoga River RAP and currently is a board member of the Greater Cleveland Safety Council and Orchard Beach Association. Ken is the LEMTA representative to Lake Erie Foundation.
Email:kenalvey@lemta.com
Matt Fisher
Vice President
Matt currently works as a nutritional market consultant. He worked for Abbott Laboratories for 33 years, including serving as the general manager of the Medical Nutritional Division and as a vice president with Abbott International. Matt spent time at Lake Erie for most of his last 60 years. He was the world champion in Lightning Class sailboat racing. He spent his school years sailing at Buckeye Lake and was commodore of Hoover Sailing Club in 2016. Matt is passionate about the quality of Lake Erie.
Email:matthewvfisher@gmail.com
Rick Graham
Rick served as the IWLA Ohio Division President, Chairman of IWLA GL National Environmental Health and Air Committee, active member and Chairman of IWLA National Great Lakes Committee, and Great Lakes Compact Ohio Implementation Advisory Board representing fish and wildlife interests of Ohio.
- 2013 Izaak Walton League of America Conservation Award
- 2012 Commendation from the Ohio Division IWLA for “Outstanding Service for the Great Lakes Initiative and Ohio Division
- 2006 Izaak Walton League of America “Great Lakes Defender for Lake Erie”
- 2007 Conservation Achievement Award from The Ohio Environmental Council
Email:rick.graham@ohiostatebuckeyes.com
Peter Huston
Program Manager at Great Lakes Islands Alliance
Peter is a writer, producer, and director. In 2010 after moving to Ohio, Peter established FilmAffects to pursue documentary and factual program production. Current projects include John Parker “The Conductor” and Scott Matthews “Onward, a voyage of discovery” and “Glass Ceiling-The Victoria Woodhull Story.” Peter also directed the EMMY nominated documentaries “Battle of Lake Erie Bicentennial” and “Trail Magic, The Grandma Gatewood Story.” As director and senior producer, Peter has continued to produce programming for PBS, Hallmark, Odyssey, Home & Garden, and has co-produced a feature film and continues to do scores of corporate and educational projects.
Peter was honored as Put-in-Bay Islander of the Year. He is the past President of the Put-in-Bay Arts Council, past Chairman of the Planning Board, and was coordinating director of the bicentennial celebration for The Perry Group (Friends of Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial). He is on the board of directors at the Lake Erie Island Historical Society, President of the Ottawa County Visitors Bureau, Advisor for the Lake Erie Foundation and he is currently the Director of the Put-in-Bay Chamber of Commerce.
Email: ambassador@visitputinbay.com
Paul Klein
Vice President, Great Lakes Publishing
Publisher, Lake Erie Living Magazine
Publisher, Pulse Lorain County’s Magazine
Associate Publisher, Cleveland Magazine
John Lipaj
True North Financial & Investment Planning
John founded True North Financial & Investment Planning in 2014 after 21 years of investment experience, primarily with McDonald & Co. in Cleveland. He specializes in retirement planning.
John currently serves as the President of the St. Bernadette Parish Endowment Board. He served on the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland’s Education Endowment Trust Advisory Board, the Greater Cleveland Growth Association’s Access to Capital Committee and Cleveland State University’s College of Arts and Sciences Visiting Committee.
Growing up on the lake in Bay Village, John is passionate about Lake Erie. He raced sailboats for Bowling Green State University and at Vermilion Boat Club where he served as a Club Trustee and Sail Fleet Captain. He currently races out of Edgewater Yacht Club in Cleveland during the week, power-boating with his wife Annette and 3 sons out of Bay Point Marina in Marblehead on weekends.
Leonard Partin
Real Estate Broker & Auctioneer
Len Partin, for over forty years was the owner/broker of Jack Bradley Realty Company serving Ottawa and Sandusky Counties. Many of those years included Len being involved in leadership positions for local, state, and national Realtor Associations, including legislative committees. Len is presently helping real estate buyers and sellers through his affiliation with Century 21, Bolte Real Estate Company. Len, and his wife Glenda as owners of a Middle Bass Island lakefront home continue to be involved in preserving and promoting the importance of clean and safe waters in Lake Erie.
Email:Len@lenpartin.com
James Stouffer, Jr
President
Catawba Cleveland Development Corp
Jim is President & CEO of Catawba Cleveland Development Corp., which includes Catawba Island -area real estate development and management of family-owned businesses – Catawba Island Club and Catawba Island Marina. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Firelands Symphony Orchestra, Ottawa County Improvement Corporation, and Otterbein North Shore, as well as a member of Advisory Board for EdgePoint Capital Advisors and President of the Lake Erie Foundation.
Email:jimstouffer@cicclub.com
Dr. Chris Winslow
The Ohio State University
Ron Wyss
Member at Large
Ron represents the Lake Erie Foundation at meetings and conferences concerning agriculture and runoff issues. His experience in both agriculture and wastewater treatment give him a broad perspective in addressing nutrient loading from all sources. He Is a lifetime farmer operating a diversified grain and vegetable operation. He also spent 7 years in the wastewater industry as President of Wyss Inc, a manufacturer of air diffusion equipment. Mr. Wyss served 9 years on the Ada Exempted School Board and 4 Years as Hardin County Commissioner. He was a Board Member for the County Commissioners Association of Ohio. He served on The Ohio Phosphorus Task Force 1 and 2. He severed on the OEPA Technical Advisory Group for water quality. Ron has had the privilege of spending every 4th of July at a family gathering at Grand Lake St Mary’s and feels a real loss with the degraded water quality issues. He is currently pursuing renewable energy development.
Email:wyssr@me.com
LEF Board Advisors
John Hull
Hull & Associates, Inc.
John Hull is the founder and chairman of Hull & Associates, Inc., a project development and engineering firm focused on the environment, infrastructure and energy. Founded in Toledo in 1980, the firm has grown to more than 160 employees in eight offices in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. John and his staff have been involved with Lake Erie and watershed restoration activities since the mid-1980’s. John serves on the Ohio Governor-appointed Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Release Compensation Board (PUSTRCB), is a Trustee of Ohio Northern University, and is a recent member of The Nature Conservancy (Ohio) Board of Trustees. John is a registered Professional Engineer in 14 states and is recognized as a Board Certified Environmental Engineer by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers. He received a Master of Science in Civil Engineering degree from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Ohio Northern University.
Email:jhull@hullinc.com
Keleen McDevitt
Keleen became involved with Lake Erie Foundation in 2017 because of her fond childhood memories of growing up on Lake Erie, spending summers at Put-in-Bay and participating in activities on the Vermilion river. A career minded professional, Keleen studied Marketing and Management at Cuyahoga Community College. She worked in Human Resources and administered cooperative education programs for NASA and also spent a decade as the Marketing Manager for a major gas manufacturing company that developed and sold products world-wide.
Keleen works diligently to save the Great Lake Erie and supports Lake Erie Foundation’s efforts so that future generations are able to have the same memories she does. Keleen and her husband Tom are residents of Vermilion, Ohio and continue to enjoy all that Lake Erie has to offer
Al Nickles
Al is a native of Sandusky, a 1971 graduate of ITT University, and became certified as a Fraud Examiner in 1994. He was president of Nickles, Zorn & Associates in Sandusky from 1974 until merging with Payne, Nickles & Company in late 1999.
Al’s expertise in litigation, wealth management, trust and estates along with his extensive tax knowledge allows him to advise a diverse group of clients in complex issues.
Email:arn@pncpa.biz
LEF Staff
Mary Margaret Lavelle
Managing Director
As Managing Director of Lake Erie Foundation, Mary Margaret believes there is nothing more rewarding than to be a part of an organization which strives to maintain and protect Lake Erie.
Mary Margaret has 20 years of event planning and development consulting experience and is the Director of Sales & Marketing Executives (SME) of Cleveland. She has served as a member of Lakewood’s Citizen’s Action Committee and was an Associate Board member for the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and an Advisory Board member of Cleveland Central Catholic High School. She attended Indiana University.
Email:mmlavelle@lakeeriefoundation.org
Phone:(419) 301-3743
Business Sponsors
Champion of Lake Erie
Protector of Lake Erie
Preserver of Lake Erie
Guardian of Lake Erie
Grant support provided by:
