Orin is Professor of Biology and Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. For the past 40 years, he has also served as the Director of the University’s Environmental Interpretive Center and Natural Areas. His first love is Field Biology, which he continues to teach in the extensive natural areas on campus. As a university professor, Orin has had the privilege of conducting research on bird orientation, migration, and navigation at the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior in Bavaria, Germany, and on urban ecology at the Center for Human Ecology in the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Currently, he is investigating floodplain ecology of the Rouge River in southeast Michigan.  

Orin received his undergraduate education from Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI, which guided him throughout his graduate studies at Western Michigan University and Northwestern University as well as his teaching career.  

As part of his Christian witness, Orin serves on many community boards and organizations and narrates eye-opening bus and boat tours of the environmental and historical issues in Southeast Michigan to his students and community organizations.  

He considers it a privilege to be associated with the Institute because “Au Sable integrates science with my Christian faith. Learning about the amazing functions and processes of the Creation is as inspirational to me as learning about amazing grace from the Bible.”

Rick joined the Au Sable Institute board because of his love of science and a deep conviction that Christians can make a significant contribution to others’ welfare by working hard in following their calling. He believes that “we can find profound passion for our vocation when we find the place where our work becomes a form of loving our neighbor. Au Sable Institute draws us closer to our vocational call and guides us to ways in which we love our neighbors as ourselves.”

Carolynn has served on ASI’s Executive, Development, and Search Committees and spear-headed the development of a new website for the organization. She has experience serving on many non-profit boards and applying her marketing expertise to other organizations and companies.

Carolynn currently is Director of Corporate Communications at Vans Inc., and also consults for other clients. She holds a BA degree in English from the University of Maryland (College Park) and an MBA in marketing from Lewis University (Joliet, IL).  

“I am pleased to have the opportunity to work with such dedicated fellow board members and staff at Au Sable, where I have gained a greater appreciation for environmental stewardship and the important role ASI provides in educating future leaders in environmental science.”

He has been a member of the University Risk Management and Insurance Association (URMIA) since 1998, where he has served as past president and past member of its board of directors as well as chair and participant on many of its task forces and committees. Vince also served as URMIA’s publications editor, and is widely published in his field. Beyond his professional activities, Vince continues to interact with, mentor, and develop the faith of students by hosting student groups in his home. Through his Christian faith, which was nurtured by his parents, Vince has discovered his gifts for leading others to a mature faith in Christ and to confidence in God that propels them into a meaningful life of service. Among his academic and professional credentials, Vince earned an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago and a Master of Arts in Theology from Wheaton College, where he wrote his master’s thesis entitled, “Eighth-day creators: A Christian environmental stewardship ethic based on the ‘image of God’ in the doctrine of creation.” He is an Illinois-certified CPA, and is currently completing a Bachelor of Science in Geology from Wheaton College, expecting to graduate  in May 2012. Vince is a member of Immanuel Presbyterian Church of Warrenville, Illinois, the same church where he worked as a youth minister, and continues to serve in this community.

Charlene also has served as Chief Financial Officer of Probus Publishing Company, as financial analyst for Culligan International, Inc. and Lane Industries, Inc., and as staff auditor for Arthur Andersen and Company. She is currently a member of the Board of Regents of Trinity International University (Deerfield, Illinois), and also serves Trinity College as an adjunct faculty member, where she teaches a (very popular) course in business law. As former law clerk to the Honorable Morton Denlow of the federal District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Charlene has written numerous published judicial opinions, and is the author of several published articles, including “Children, the Unprotected Minority” (Regent University Law Review 2002-2003), “The Constitutionality of Human Cloning” (University of Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal 1998), and “Banning Human Cloning” in The Reproduction Revolution (Eerdmans and Trinity International University Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity, 2000). A person who came to Christ at a young age in a devout Christian family, Charlene has continued to grow in her faith in Christ and her capacity to serve others. Married and mother of five children, Charlene and her family attend Christ Church in Lake Forest, Illinois. Charlene has served in various roles and ministries both within and outside of Christ Church, including being a past member of the Christ Church Board of Deacons, the Christian International Scholarship Fund, Illinois Citizens for Life, the Illinois Family Institute and Life Builders Ministry, an organization which provides support to AIDS orphans. Charlene has recently entered into a publishing agreement with Christian book publisher Deep River Books for her first book.  

After graduating from Wheaton College in 2007, Ben worked for A Rocha, an international Christian conservation organization, and then served as a coordinator for Renewal, a student creation care network active on campuses across North America. In 2010, he stepped down to run a grassroots campaign for Congress out of Illinois’ 6th District. Ben is currently the Director of Young Adult Ministries for the Evangelical Environmental Network, where he promotes creation care as Christian discipleship among various organizations, colleges and universities.

 "We need a new generation of Christians equipped with the theology and science to faithfully care for God's creation, and the Au Sable Institute has a rich heritage of doing just that.  I'm grateful to be a part of its ongoing ministry."

David has studied the vegetation of the world and promoted Christian Stewardship across the United States and in New Zealand. His lifelong interests center on plant ecology, restoration of forest environments, and how native peoples use plants for food and medicine, editing the second editions of Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants, and Field Guide to Medicinal Wild Plants. He grew up in the northern Wisconsin along the shores of Lake Superior. Dr. Foster has a BS in Biology with Honors (Eastern University, 1990); a MS in Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development and a PhD in Botany (University of Wisconsin- Madison 1993, 1998). 

Ryan works as the Acting Lead Botanist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Bureau of Endangered Resources, the natural heritage program for the state, which is responsible for collecting, synthesizing, and communicating information on endangered species and high-quality ecosystems in Wisconsin.  Ryan’s passion and expertise are in identifying, protecting, and restoring rare and declining species and ecosystems in the Great Lakes region.  He also loves to share information with others, and has taught a course on forest ecosystems at the University of Michigan Biological Station.  He previously worked as a Conservation Scientist for the Michigan Natural Features Inventory (MNFI), the Michigan natural heritage program, where he authored the book Prairies and Savannas of Michigan: Rediscovering our Natural Heritage, published by Michigan State University Press.  The goal of the book and his life are to help others see and appreciate the beauty of the local environment, make scientific information accessible to those who need it, and encourage good stewardship.  He holds Master and Bachelor of Science degrees from the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment.  Ryan grew up with a close relationship with Christ.  He enjoys pursuing knowledge of God’s word as it relates to creation care and daily life through personal study, courses offered by his church, and Intervarsity Christian Fellowship.  In addition to attendance at his church, he is involved in an intentional Christian community that meets weekly for spirit-filled prayer, praise, and fellowship. He grew up in the Traverse City area of northern Michigan, and currently resides in Madison, Wisconsin.

Harold received his Master’s from the University of Michigan and his Ph.D. from Michigan State University in 1961. He taught high school science at Creston High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he met Bert Froysland and forged what would be a lifetime of friendship and working together.
 
Following his time at Creston, Harold taught at Grand Rapids Junior College for three years before moving on to Taylor University in 1962 where he taught for 20 years. In 1963, when the youth camp became Au Sable Institute, Harold ran the Great Lakes Campus and directed the organization until 1980.

In 1980, Harold founded, along with his son, Jim, Cedar Bend Farm and Early American Retreat Center in Mancelona, Michigan. He worked with the program until 2004.

Harold is enjoying retirement while sitting on the board at his church and serving as a Founding Trustee for Au Sable.

Read Harold and Bert’s story about the founding of Au Sable.

With a B.A. in English from Calvin College and an M.A. in English from the University of Michigan, Bert taught high school in West Michigan for 37 years. He treasures the opportunity and joy of having enriched the minds of young people. He remains in contact with former students from as far back as 1955. Equally, if not more, rewarding has been his involvement at Au Sable Institute and witnessing the life-altering impact it has had on hundreds of young people. A bonus has been being invited to the weddings of several couples who met at Au Sable, receiving pictures of their children, and maintaining contact with many Au Sable alumni as they have moved on in their careers.

Now entering his 48th year of service to Au Sable, Bert says, “My work with Au Sable was the beginning of what has become a life-long journey of discovery, discovery not just of the wonders of creation but of God’s delight in His creation and of the Christian’s responsibility to care for it.”

In reflecting on his life, Bert recalls the words of the narrator in Robert Frost’s poem
“Two Tramps in Mudtime”:

                                      My object in living is to unite          
                                      My avocation and my vocation
                                      As my two eyes make one in sight.
                                      Only where love and need are one,
                                      And the work is play for mortal stakes,
                                      Is the deed ever really done
                                      For heaven and the future’s sakes.

Dr. Harold Snyder, Founding Trustee

In 1958, Dr. Harold Snyder co-founded the Au Sable Trails Youth Camp, now Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies. He serves as a Founding Trustee on the Au Sable board.

Harold received his Master’s from the University of Michigan and his Ph.D. from Michigan State University in 1961. He taught high school science at Creston High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he met Bert Froysland and forged what would be a lifetime of friendship and working together.
 
Following his time at Creston, Harold taught at Grand Rapids Junior College for three years before moving on to Taylor University in 1962 where he taught for 20 years. In 1963, when the youth camp became Au Sable Institute, Harold ran the Great Lakes Campus and directed the organization until 1980.

In 1980, Harold founded, along with his son, Jim, Cedar Bend Farm and Early American Retreat Center in Mancelona, Michigan. He worked with the program until 2004.

Harold is enjoying retirement while sitting on the board at his church and serving as a Founding Trustee for Au Sable.

Read Harold and Bert’s story about the founding of Au Sable.