Advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice

Ernest Coverson

Regional Director, Amnesty International

Ernest Coverson is the leading voice for urban centers for Amnesty International in the Great Lakes Region. His background in public policy, civil rights and social justice serves as influence in the organization’s international responses, efforts and outcomes. Coverson serves as Senior Organizer with six years of leadership. He has also served with the national NAACP and with other corporate organizations.

Crystal Davis

Policy Director, Alliance for the Great Lakes

Crystal M.C. Davis leads policy and advocacy efforts related to Lake Erie, and manages the Alliance’s Ohio office in Cleveland as Policy Director. Prior to the Alliance, Crystal spent eight years in government relations with Kent State University (KSU). Most recently, she served as the federal relations director for KSU’s Office of Government & Community Relations. Based in Washington, D.C., she established the university’s office on Capitol Hill and was the liaison between KSU, members of Congress, their staffs, key executive agencies, the administration and national associations. Immediately prior to assuming that role, Crystal worked as KSU’s senior legislative officer for state government relations. Based in Columbus, Ohio, she was the university’s chief strategist on all matters related to advocacy, public policy analysis, legislative involvement and management of relationships with elected officials. She has extensive experience in government and external affairs having also worked for the Ohio House of Representatives, the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Crystal is a graduate of Kent State University.

Kira Davis

Great Lakes Senior Program Manager, National Parks Conservation Association

Kira Davis is the Great Lakes Senior Program Manager in NPCA’s Michigan Field Office in Suttons Bay. Kira leads NPCA’s work to protect and enhance the parks of the Great Lakes Region, including Sleeping Bear Dunes, Isle Royale, and Pictured Rocks.

Kira joined NPCA in 2022, with over two decades of experience in conservation with an emphasis on water quality, wetlands, wildlife protection, and policy work within the Great Lakes Region. Among her accomplishments, she helped create and manage a Surface Water Quality Protection Program for Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, a federally reaffirmed Odawa Tribe. Kira’s skills and experience with Great Lakes water policy and funding is now at work in our national parks. She looks forward to bringing people together around shared goals. Her favorite parks are Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and Big Bend.

Erma Leaphart

Conservation Organizer, Sierra Club-Michigan Chapter

As the Conservation Organizer for the Michigan Chapter of the Sierra Club, Sierra Erma Leaphart-Gouch works involves promoting green (nature-based) infrastructure as an alternative to grey infrastructure for managing stormwater and preventing sewage overflows and polluted runoff into local waterways. She provides training on rain barrel and rain garden installations. She shares the importance of protecting Great Lakes water quality, to benefit the environment, economy and quality of life. Erma’s on the Governance Board of the Healing Our Waters Coalition and is co-chair of the Detroit City Council’s Green Task Force – Water Subcommittee. Previously, Erma worked for the State of Michigan as a Public Health Consultant and Human Resources Manager.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Communication from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.  

Monica Lewis-Patrick

President and CEO, We the People of Detroit

Monica Lewis-Patrick (aka The Water Warrior) is a mother, educator, entrepreneur, and human rights activist/advocate. She is co-founder of We The People of Detroit and became President & CEO of the organization in 2014. Through her work with We the People, Lewis-Patrick has set up emergency water stations, opened hotlines, delivered water, provided education, and conducted community research to raise awareness about water shutoffs and water affordability in Flint and Detroit.

She is one of the leaders at the forefront of the water rights struggle in Detroit and beyond and is also the visionary, co-designer and co-author of the We The People of Detroit-Community Research Collective that published and released “Mapping the Water Crisis: The Dismantling of African-American Neighborhoods in Detroit” (August 2016) as volume one of a three-part series documenting the effects of austerity and its relationship to race in Detroit.

She is also an active member of the People’s Water Board Coalition, US Human Rights Network, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Flint Strong Stones (Co-founder), Freshwater Futures/All About Water (Advisory Committee), Detroit Equity Action Lab (Fellow 2016) and was named to the World Water Justice Council in October 2015.  

Lewis-Patrick, attended the historic Bennett College, is a graduate of East Tennessee State University where she earned a BS degree in Social Work and Sociology; a Masters degree in Criminal Justice/Sociology and Public Management; and was a Ron McNair Scholar.

Alicia Smith

Executive Director, Junction Coalition

Alicia Smith is the cofounder and Executive Director of Junction Coalition, a community organization that started as an opportunity to help the community help themselves through partnering with others to address social, economic, peace and environmental issues and improve the community’s quality of life. During the 2014 Algae Bloom (Outbreak), Junction Coalition was pushed into environmental action. Families needed support, information, and education not just for the few days of the crisis but a continuum of support and interaction for safe, clean, and affordable drinking water.

Prior to this role, she served as the Executive Director of Youth Commission and Manager of Youth and Manager of Recreation for the City of Toledo. Alicia has served the central city community for over 15 years in a variety of organizations such as the Wayman Palmer YMCA, Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments (TMACOG) and Grant Fundamentals working with inner-city youth teaching the skills of healing community trauma through improving listening and critical thinking skills. Alicia is focused on skill development and training for community to ensure the success of community workforce and wealth building.

She started her professional career in Detroit as a kindergarten teacher, later serving as a school principal and currently serves on the board of several local, regional and federal organizations such as Healing Our Waters Coalition, Toledo Sister Cities, Lourdes Parent Institute, EPA National Children Protection Advisory Council and The Ohio Equity Table.

Alicia’s doctoral studies at the University of Toledo focus on the educational development of youth of color within low socioeconomic and disenfranchised communities. She acquired a Bachelor of Arts in education and counseling, as well as a Master of Arts in criminal justice and juvenile law from the University of Toledo.

Alicia was awarded the 2022 Community Change Agent Award by the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the 2021 Ohio Women in Conservation Award by National Wildlife Federation and the Environmental Justice & Equity Expert Award by the Urban Waters Learning Network in 2020.

Alicia and her family reside in Toledo, Ohio, and she is a proud native of Detroit, Michigan. Alicia’s passion flows from her belief that all citizens need information to thrive. As such, she works to build the capacity of each family. She believes that Justice work is not limited to the environment but touches on issues of social and economic justice with the goal of promoting peace, public health, and a better quality of life for all citizens.

Harshini Ratnayaka

Advocacy Coordinator, Save the Dunes

Harshini grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. She holds a B.S. in Biology from Xavier University of Louisiana and a J.D. in Comparative Law from Louisiana State University Law Center. She also was a legal intern for Louisiana Sea Grant, where she was able to work on several environmental policy projects. With degrees from both the natural science and legal sectors, Harshini combined her love for protecting the environment with helping others in her community. Harshini was previously the New Orleans Group leader for a non-profit group called Citizens’ Climate Lobby, a nonpartisan grassroots advocacy climate change organization focused on national policies to address the climate movement. Currently she is the Advocacy Coordinator for Save the Dunes, an environmental nonprofit organization in Northwest Indiana.