On October 7, 2023, we lost a great friend and colleague, Dr. Ann St. Amand of St. Joseph, Michigan. Ann had been diagnosed with cancer a couple of years ago, but it seemed to be under control until just a few months ago, and her decline was rapid. This relatively sudden loss of such a vibrant force for enjoying science and life has been difficult to accept. Ann lived her early life in Florida but completed her Ph.D. at Notre Dame in Indiana and lived in Michigan for the last 30+ years. She founded PhycoTech, an environmental consulting firm with a focus on plankton analysis, providing top quality assessments and educational programs at all levels. She was loved and respected by so many, and her smile could warm a room.
It is hard to sum up the life and career of any beloved colleague in just a few paragraphs, but Ann might be adequately summarized by a single word: nurturer. Ann and her husband Jeff raised two girls and two boys to be successful, responsible adults, but her nurturing influence didn’t stop there. She put on STEM-related programs for multiple area schools, Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, and Boys and Girls Clubs. Ann raised butterflies with classes, rehabilitated wetlands and erosion sites as community service projects, and coached the local high school Envirothon team. She was a mentor to college and grad school students and a champion of women in science. She sponsored events through NALMS that advanced the understanding of lake management by many laypeople. At NALMS, Ann was the unofficial director of fun, leading dance parties, karaoke performances, and other social interactions indicative of her broad range of interests and love of having fun with people.
Ann served as Secretary to the Board of Directors of NALMS and was a long-time Associate Editor for Lake and Reservoir Management. Ann worked with authors to get useful papers published, patiently shepherding them through the publication process. She was a Certified Lake Professional and a tireless promoter of good science, especially as it related to the collection and analysis of data. Along with a few colleagues, she taught an algae workshop at the annual NALMS symposium for 30 years. PhycoTech routinely exhibited at NALMS and Ann always made herself available to anyone seeking help with algal research. She taught a week-long algae course at her lab in Michigan for about a decade, even in the last year of her life.
Ann was a doer, a leader, and an inspiration to so many, and she will be missed in so many circles, extending throughout and beyond the scientific realm.
