About - Great Lakes Islands Alliance

Connecting remote, distant communities

Since 2017, the Great Lakes Islands Alliance has been connecting islanders and amplifying their voices. As core functions, GLIA hosts robust Zoom discussions every month plus the annual Great Lakes Islands Summit. Our membership is now over 250 people from 20 different islands as well as partners from non-island communities.

Our Mission is to encourage relationship building, foster information exchange, and leverage resources to address shared challenges and embrace opportunities to benefit islands.

Our Vision is to support our individual islands for current and future generations, honoring their distinct cultures and character, while growing the collective impact of the interisland network.

Great Lakes Islands Alliance (GLIA) is a voluntary, bi-national, collaborative network that brings together individuals from year-round island communities across the Great Lakes.

VIEW MAP

2025 Member Islands

Lake Erie
Kelleys Island, Ohio, USA
Middle Bass Island, Ohio, USA
Pelee Island, Ontario, Canada
South Bass Island (Put-in-Bay), Ohio, USA

Lake Michigan
Beaver Island, Michigan, USA
Washington Island, Wisconsin, USA

Lake Ontario
Amherst Island, Ontario, Canada
Howe Island, Ontario, Canada
Simcoe Island, Ontario, Canada
Wolfe Island, Ontario, Canada

Lake Huron
Bois Blanc Island, Michigan, USA
Drummond Island, Michigan, USA
Les Cheneaux Islands, Michigan, USA
Mackinac Island, Michigan, USA
Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada
Neebish Island, Michigan, USA
St. Joseph Island, Ontario, Canada
Sugar Island, Michigan, USA

Lake Superior
Madeline Island, Wisconsin, USA

Lake St. Clair
Harsens Island, Michigan, USA

GLIA organizes its efforts into two separate but not exclusive focus areas. First, Environmental Stewardship seeks to protect and conserve the natural environment on islands. Island communities care about Great Lakes water quality and quantity, biodiversity conservation, pollution prevention, waste management, recycling, and climate adaptation and resiliency. Second, Socio-Economic Wellbeing seeks to foster a robust quality of life for year-round islanders, seasonal residents, and visitors alike. GLIA explores topics as diverse as tourism, blue economy (water-based) opportunities, health and safety, education, housing, infrastructure, cultural/historic heritage, and local governance and capacity.

The Great Lakes contain the largest, most diverse collection of freshwater islands in the world. Of the 32,000 islands, nearly twenty continue to host communities of people, typically a mix of year-round and seasonal residents and visitors.

While present-day island communities are uniquely distinct from one another in character, traditions, and geography, they share a number of complex, inter-related challenges, including: access to public services and quality education; supporting a diversified economy; managing natural, cultural, and historical resources across public and private boundaries; and changing demographics (size, age, seasonality, ownership, economic status, etc.).

These challenges are hurdles, not immovable barriers. In fact, some island communities have already independently developed their own “island solutions to island challenges.” Island communities are finding they often have more in common with one another than to their adjacent mainland. There is great value in islanders learning from other islanders about best practices that work, as well as those that don’t.

Strategic Plan 2024-2034

Charter (2018)

Communications Strategy (2024)

Where We're Headed

In mid-2023, GLIA gathered its leadership team (consisting of the Steering Committee, staff, and key advisory partners) to undertake a detailed review of its past, present and future. This allowed us to acknowledge the growth that has already happened and then look to the future. In this approach, the first steps were to reflect on where we started and where we are now. The team documented changes in GLIA’s structure, operations, and activities over its first five years, and discussed why those changes occurred and what was the impact (both positive and negative).

In October 2023, the leadership team convened for an intensive, four-day retreat to focus on GLIA’s future. Island Institute staff led the ten participants through a series of visioning, brainstorming, and prioritization exercises. After coming together on group aspirations, they identified the necessary action steps to get there. They recognized that some actions could be relatively easy and quick, while others would take time, for example 5 to 10 years, and in some cases rely on completion of earlier steps.

The outcomes of this retreat form the basis for this Strategic Plan. During the drafting process, GLIA members were asked for input which has been incorporated into this final plan.

Press

Click below to find a collection of past announcements and updates that highlight key initiatives, events, and milestones across our island communities. This archive offers a window into GLIA’s ongoing efforts to support collaboration, sustainability, and resilience among the Great Lakes islands.

Press Releases

Steering Committee

Primary

Renee Fultz · South Bass Island, Ohio, USA
Michael Gora · Middle Bass Island, Ohio, USA
Lee Ann Schaub · Madeline Island, Wisconsin, USA
Joe Shorthouse · Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada
Angel Welke · Beaver Island, Michigan, USA

Alternates

Bob Anderson · Beaver Island, Michigan, USA
Laurie Cook · Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada
Peter Huston · South Bass Island, Ohio, USA
Paul Juniper · Amherst Island, Ontario, Canada
Steve Wermuth · Kelleys Island, Ohio, USA

Support Staff

Matt Preisser · GLIA Coordinator, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy · [email protected]

Philip Rice · Communications Specialist · [email protected]

Advisors / Partners

Lisa Brush · Fiscal Sponsor & Advisor, The Stewardship Network

2024 Annual Report

2023 Annual Report

2022 Annual Report

2021 Annual Report

2019-2020 Annual Report

2018-2019 Annual Report

2017-2018 Annual Report

Annual Reports include detailed summaries of GLIA's projects, progress, and efforts, including community outreach programs, Islands Summit events, and strategic goals. Additionally, the reports provide an overview of funding sources, partnerships, and future plans to support the preservation and sustainable development of the Great Lakes islands.