About

Andy Fabens

President

Andy Fabens is a retired lawyer residing in Cleveland, Ohio. He was asked to join the Board of the Great Lakes Basin Conservancy by Bill McCoy soon after its founding. Andy has been a long-time supporter of conservation and environmental causes through such organizations as the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and the Georgian Bay Land Trust. Andy is a Past President of the Bayfield-Nares Islanders Association. His connection to Georgian Bay traces back his paternal grandmother and her sister, who were raised in Toronto and acquired islands in Bayfield Inlet beginning in the 1920’s. Both islands remain in the family and Andy and his wife Leigh built their own cottage in nearby Nares Inlet in 1997. Their son and daughter, and their respective families, represent a 4th and 5th generation of Georgian Bay cottagers.

Hope Murphy

Vice President

A Cleveland-area retired teacher and administrator, Hope Murphy collaborated with faculty to design a K-8 place-based curriculum for her school’s rural campus, where major units are taught outdoors. 

Hope grew up exploring the woods and ravine behind her family’s house and developed a deep love of wild spaces. She and her husband have shared this passion with their daughters and grandchildren in Pointe au Baril. She joined her father, Allen Ford, to serve on the GLBC board.

Mindy Tabor

Treasurer

Mindy Tabor has worked in financial services and served on the boards of various cultural and community services organizations. Mindy joined the original Great Lakes Basin Conservancy board in 2009 and now serves as Treasurer. She lives in Waite Hill, Ohio. Her family first visited Georgian Bay in the early 1900s, when her great grandfather served as pastor to the cottagers at Iron City Fishing Club. Her grandfather loved it so much that he purchased an island in the Sans Souci area in 1948. Mindy spent almost every summer there.

Jennie Kaffen

Secretary

Jennie Kaffen is a teacher and a busy volunteer living in Cleveland Ohio. She was invited to join the board by her father, Andy Fabens in 2020. She has gone to Georgian Bay every summer for her entire life, and has fond memories of summers at camp in Algonquin Park before heading to the family island in Bayfield Inlet. She now goes with her husband, 2 adult children, and dogs to spend as much of the summer as possible in both Bayfield and Nares Inlet, both near Parry Sound.

Ross Halloran

Board Member

A fourth-generation McGregor Bay islander, Ross represents the second generation to serve on its board, following in the footsteps of his mother, Leslie. His children represent the fifth generation to enjoy the bay. Ross has 15 years of experience in commercial real estate finance working for large corporations and private developers.

Sara Mierke

Board Member

Sara Mierke is a global education and social impact professional, currently the Associate Director of the Lipman Family Prize & Fellows Program at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Sara lives in Philadelphia but grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. She joined the board of the GLBC in 2009, at the invitation of her late father, Harvey O. Mierke, Jr. who served for many years. She is thrilled that her son, Oliver Young, also joined the board, with several years when all three generations served together. Sara is secretary of the Northern Georgian Bay Association (NGBA), a membership organization that her father started in the 1990s. 

In 2024, the family celebrated 100 years at “Toad Island” in Beaverstone Bay east of Killarney, which was purchased by her grandfather, Harvey O. Mierke, Sr. in 1924, following several summers fishing the La Cloche Mountains lakes north of Georgian Bay. Sara and her husband, Matthew Young, enjoy summers at Toad Island with their children —  Sally, Oliver and Cloe —  and their partners, as well as her sister, Kathryn, and many friends.

Leslie Halloran

Board Member

Leslie Halloran is a retired jewelry designer and artist agent. She is a supporter of the preservation of the Great Lakes ecosystem. She has been a Board Member of the Great Lakes Basin Conservancy since 2007. As a third-generation islander of McGregor Bay, Leslie and family carry on a legacy that began in 1921 when her grandfather discovered the area and purchased their island. This tranquil slice of wilderness has become a treasured retreat for five generations.

Sarah McCoy

Board Member

Sarah McCoy has written for publications ranging from a national maritime magazine to the books section of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Pointe au Baril Islander’s Handbook. A longtime supporter of the Georgian Bay Land Trust, she lives near the shores of Puget Sound. Sarah joined the board of the Great Lakes Basin Conservancy in 2023, after the passing of her father, Bill McCoy, a founder of the organization.

Alyssa Murphy

Board Member

Alyssa Murphy is a freelance UX and web designer who maintains the Conservancy’s online web presence. Passionate about the environment and conservation, Alyssa has been involved with the Great Lakes Basin Conservancy since 2021. Alyssa Murphy’s family has been visiting Pointe au Baril, Canada, since the 1940’s.

Oliver Young

Board Member

Oliver Young works as a professional political campaign operative based in Cleveland, OH, where he lives with his wife and two cats. He is a 4th generation Beaverstone Bay resident and the third generation to serve on the board, after his grandfather Harvey Mierke, and mother, Sara Mierke.