MILWAUKEE WATER COMMONS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Our work at Milwaukee Water Commons is governed by a dynamic Board of Directors.
They bring a diverse set of perspectives and skills to the table and help us move towards our mission of catalyzing Milwaukee as a true water city.
REV. MICHELLE TOWNSEND DE LOPEZ
Chair
Pastor Michelle received her Masters of Divinity from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago with an emphasis in Hispanic/Latino ministries. She also received her post-graduate training in Marriage & Family Therapy. She is an accredited International Coaching Federation Coach. She earned her Youth and Family Certification via the Bishop’s Initiative in coordination with Wartburg Seminary as well, and holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Spanish/International Relations.
She enjoys spending time with her five sons and other family as well as friends. She enjoys cooking, crafting, entertaining, reading, traveling, and listening to world music.
SABLEY SABIN
Secretary
Sabley Sabin grew up on a farm in Central Illinois that was in her family for 150 years, situated adjacent to timber and a creek with a pair of great blue herons. She’s always happiest with dirt under her fingernails when she's outside, walking through woods or planting a garden. She’s lived as close to water as she was able all her life, now near the Milwaukee River in the Cambridge Woods neighborhood.
During her 30-year career as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a School Social Worker, she worked as a therapist with adolescent psychiatric patients on an outpatient and inpatient basis. Her favorite gig as a school social worker, which was also the most difficult, was working with students expelled from school for fighting or guns or drugs. She and the teacher treated them as humans, meeting with parents and guardians to explain that they were starting over with a clean slate. She made a career of accompanying others as they seek solutions that anchor them to who they fundamentally are deep in
their bones.
ERIN LOOFBORO
Treasurer
Erin Loofboro is a dynamic engineering leader with more than 16 years of experience in industrialization and manufacturing. With a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Marquette University, Erin thrives on solving complex challenges and optimizing processes.
Currently on sabbatical, she is exploring new passions and rediscovering what drives her, all while embracing the rich opportunities that life in Wisconsin has to offer. An outdoor enthusiast, Erin finds joy in gardening, camping in state parks, and spending quality time with her husband, two children, and their beloved dog and cat at their home in Harambee.
MICHAEL ADAMS
Board Member
Michael Adams has a demonstrated history of working in the professional training industry. He serves as president of JobsWork MKE, a leading workforce development organization in Milwaukee. The agency works with central city residents to assist them in finding sustainable long-term employment.
He also is a long-term member of the Milwaukee Water Equity Task Force hosted by Milwaukee Water Commons along with US Water Alliance, which is working to build a more equitable workforce in the city’s water sector.
An avid fisherman, Michael helps support Water School each year at the annual trip to Mauthe Lake.
EZRA MEYER
Board Member
Ezra Meyer joined Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources in 2023 as Climate Resilience Outreach Specialist, a position focused on making the most of the substantially increased federal water infrastructure investments in the 2021 Federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In this role, Ezra conducts outreach to local municipalities and water utilities, assists Tribal and local governments needing help across the state, and coordinates with partners to identify how Department funding programs, principally the Clean Water Fund and the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program, and other sources of funding can support projects that make wastewater, stormwater, and drinking water infrastructure, communities, and watershed ecosystems more resilient to present and future impacts of climate change.
Ezra received master’s degrees in Urban and Regional Planning and Water Resources Management as well as a bachelor’s degree in Economics and an undergraduate certificate in environmental studies, all from UW-Madison. Prior to joining the Department, Ezra worked on water policy, collaborative watershed restoration efforts, green infrastructure programs, and education and outreach at nonprofit environmental advocacy organizations for over 20 years.
He has been a Board member of the Friends of the Mukwonago River since 1999 and an appointed Commissioner of the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District since 2009. Ezra and his wife and two high-school-aged children live in Madison. Ezra has long personal and professional ties to Milwaukee and the waters of Southeastern Wisconsin.