About MRN
The Mississippi River Network (MRN) is a coalition of 58 organizations dedicated to creating a healthier Mississippi River by working for the well-being of the people, land, water, and wildlife of America’s largest watershed.
The Network also advances its goal for a healthier Mississippi River by supporting 1 Mississippi with important River science and policy information. 1 Mississippi is a public outreach program of MRN and is a growing national movement of over 20,000 River Citizens —people dedicated to protecting the River by taking simple actions. As the guardians and caretakers of the River, from armchairs to wading boots, River Citizens are people the River can count on.
The MRN was founded in 2005 on the premise of four central tenets the People, Land, Water, and Wildlife Goals.
People: We will urge the people of the Mississippi River watershed and the nation to treat the Mississippi as a national treasure to be protected, restored, enjoyed, and sustainably developed, and as a resource that enriches both the economy and the quality of life. We will advocate for communities all along the Mississippi River that are disproportionately and unjustly impacted by pollution, public health disparities, and economic injustices, often communities of color.
Land: We will restore, protect, and reconnect environmentally sensitive lands and improve the soil health, water quality, and resiliency of our working lands on a continental scale.
Water: We will reduce water pollution and improve natural processes and features that can reduce flood damage.
Wildlife: We will enhance, restore, and protect the River as habitat for wildlife native to the Mississippi River.
The Network has three fundamental tasks: (1) ensure and monitor support for the advancement of the goals and objectives stated above in cooperation and coordination with stakeholders in the region and nation; 2) conduct a communications program to inspire policy-makers, the agricultural community, and engaged citizens to take action to restore and protect the Mississippi River and the Gulf; and 3) create and support a pro-Mississippi River and Gulf state, regional, and federal policy advocacy agenda.
Staff
Kelly McGinnis
Executive Director (she/her/hers)
Location: Chicago area, IL which is the ancestral and unceded homelands of the Council of the Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations. Many other tribes such as the Miami, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac, and Fox also called this area home.
Kelly’s college graduating class motto was a riff on a famous quote; never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that has. Kelly believes, foundationally, it is people who make the change they want to see in the world, and while it may start with a small group, movements are built when other’s join. Currently, Kelly could not be more thrilled to work on the movement for the health of the Mississippi River.
In her role as Executive Director of the Mississippi River Network, Kelly focuses on building the Network and works directly with network members in the ten-state Mississippi River region with the goal to protect and restore the River using policy and organizing as pathways.
Kelly comes from a diverse background, starting her career as a fisheries biologist and freshwater ecologist in Washington State where she focused on endangered Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), including working on a project that removed a levee and dike to restore an estuary on Puget Sound. Later, Kelly returned to the midwest where her focus shifted for a time to sustainability in the built environment and coalition building. Kelly was thrilled when she could get back to water work over six years ago when she joined MRN in 2014. She brings passion and enthusiasm for water, changing systems, a strong workplace culture, and care and concern for others.
When she is not busy defending water, you can find Kelly playing outside in a number of ways whether it is trail running, kayaking with her husband, growing a garden or playing with her two dogs. Kelly holds a B.S. in Environmental Science and Freshwater Ecology from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington.
Michael Anderson
Outreach and Engagement Manager (he/him/his)
Location: Homeland of the Dakota people; near B’dote (confluence area of MN and MS Rivers), Minneapolis, Minnesota
Michael is a student of the River and in 2010 the Mississippi saved his life (click to read full story). Nowadays, to quote one of his mentors, John Ruskey, Michael offers his energy “as a worker bee in service to our queen, the Mississippi River.” He aspires to canoe/kayak all the rivers of the Mississippi River Watershed and has paddled over 3,000 miles to date while removing 7,000 pounds of trash by hand and boat (did you know that bowling balls float?).
A former wilderness guide and River educator, Michael has been fortunate to experience connecting over 10,000 people with the mighty Mississippi while working for organizations like the National Park Service – MISS. These experiences have taught Michael that there is no “cookie-cutter template” for how people care for the people, land, water, and wildlife of our River; what’s important is showing up with an open mind and meeting people where they are.
Michael is humbled to work as the Outreach and Engagement Manager for the Mississippi River Network, and since 2018 he has directed the Network’s public outreach, education, engagement, and advocacy program, 1 Mississippi. Which, by the way, can the Mississippi River count on you? Take the next step and join the community 20,000-people strong by becoming a River Citizen today!
Maisah Khan
Policy Director (she/her/hers)
Location: St. Louis, Missouri which is the ancestral and unceded territory of Illini people and many other Indigenous communities
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley famously said “policy is my love language,” and Maisah couldn’t agree more. The common thread weaving Maisah’s professional experiences together is an interest in environmental policy. You can’t have policies without people, and that is what makes environmental policy equally exciting and perplexing.
Maisah directs MRN’s policy engagement at the state and federal level as it relates to:
protecting and restoring wetlands and floodplains;
advocating for the use of natural infrastructure in flood management and policy;
reducing the impacts of agricultural and urban runoff pollution; and
promoting just, equitable, and resilient River communities.
Previously, Maisah was the Water Policy Director at the Missouri Coalition for the Environment – an MRN member organization. Before that, Maisah served as a Senior Advisor at the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington, DC where she focused on international climate change and clean energy policy. Maisah earned her Master of Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and her B.S. in Conservation Biology and Ecological Sustainability from Arizona State University.
Outside of environmental policy, Maisah also loves tending her garden (especially growing edible flowers and flowers for floral design), watching scary movies with her spouse, and exploring Missouri’s state parks with her two dogs Avery and Shea.
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley famously said “policy is my love language,” and Maisah couldn’t agree more. The common thread weaving Maisah’s professional experiences together is an interest in environmental policy. You can’t have policies without people, and that is what makes environmental policy equally exciting and perplexing.
Maisah directs MRN’s policy engagement at the state and federal level as it relates to:
- protecting and restoring wetlands and floodplains;
- advocating for the use of natural infrastructure in flood management and policy;
- reducing the impacts of agricultural and urban runoff pollution; and
- promoting just, equitable, and resilient River communities.
Previously, Maisah was the Water Policy Director at the Missouri Coalition for the Environment – an MRN member organization. Before that, Maisah served as a Senior Advisor at the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington, DC where she focused on international climate change and clean energy policy. Maisah earned her Master of Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and her B.S. in Conservation Biology and Ecological Sustainability from Arizona State University.
Outside of environmental policy, Maisah also loves tending her garden (especially growing edible flowers and flowers for floral design), watching scary movies with her spouse, and exploring Missouri’s state parks with her two dogs Avery and Shea.
Steering Committee
Co-chair: Temporarily vacant
Co-chair: Pat Nunnally, University of MN
Jill Kostel, The Wetlands Initiative
Ilana Rubin, National Wildlife Federation
John Ruskey, Quapaw Canoe Company
Christine Favilla, Sierra Club Piasa Palisades Group
Dean Klinkenberg, Mississippi Valley Traveler
Perry Whitaker, Mississippi River Water Trail Association
Ingrid Anderson Gronstal, Iowa Environmental Council
Tim Wagner, Izaak Walton League
Trevor Russell, Friends of the Mississippi River
We are stonger with you
Join the Mississippi River Network
The Mississippi River Network (MRN) is a coalition of nearly 60 member and partner organizations working together to protect the River. The Network seeks to influence not only policies that affect the River, but people’s perceptions of the River, as well, and to deepen people’s connection to the River. By unifying our messages throughout the ten-state region, the Network motivates human being and also advocates to educate decision makers for River protection. MRN’s policy program works in tandem with the public education and advocacy program called 1 Mississippi to urge decision makers to create federal and state policies that improve the health of the River. MRN educates both its member organizations and the public on how River-friendly policies can promote a healthier Mississippi River and it provides the opportunities to reach decision makers and advocate for these policies.
Becoming a Member is a simple, but meaningful, process. Potential members and partners wishing to join the Network submit a simple application. Applications are reviewed by the Executive Director and the Steering Committee, which considers whether the applicants share the goals and objectives of the Network. Decisions regarding applicants are made through the Steering Committee decision-making process.
Once approved, organizations sign their names as they pledge to take specific actions to enjoy, protect, and care for the River. These actions include things like fostering a region-wide coordination of Mississippi River-related communications and identifying opportunities for increasing public participation in protecting and restoring the Mississippi River through engaging the public as River Citizens.
If your organization is interested in joining and becoming a Mississippi River Network member, please reach out at info@1mississippi.org
Social Media
Action Alerts
The Mississippi River Network engages our members and the general public to take policy and advocacy actions that advance our overall goals for the people, land, water, and wildlife of the Mississippi River.
Go to the 1 Mississippi Action Center to take a current action and to view past actions.
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