David Holtz, 52, who most recently was media coordinator for the Michigan Environmental Communications and Community Organizing (ECCO) collaborative, becomes MEC's Director of Communications and Development on June 1, 2003. Holtz' experience is varied: a Marine who served in Vietnam, he spent time as a reporter for the Oakland Press and the Flint Journal; coordinated grassroots citizen involvement in marine resource issues as the Florida Keys Program Manager for the Ocean Conservancy; helped a congressman bring his fundraising operation into the 21st Century; and even worked as a private eye and a cab driver. We sat down to interview Holtz on May 21.

Why did you come to MEC?

"I was thinking ahead for about ten years and thinking what I could do in ten years that could most contribute to the environment, and I have media experience and background in raising money, so this seemed to be a great combination because it offered both those opportunities for the long term."

What brought you to environmental work?

"Ten years ago this July, I moved to Key West. I was diving around a coral reef and saw a ship off in the distance blowing holes in the coral searching for sunken treasure, and I thought that was bizarre, and I looked into it and realized there was an opportunity to change that. I volunteered with a local environmental group to handle that project. Next thing I knew, I was coordinator for that group, and next thing I knew a national group asked me to run a field office for an Ocean Conservation program in Key West. This all goes back to that first dive I took on a reef."

What would people be surprised to learn about you?

"I'm really an outgoing introvert. By nature, I'm kind of a shy person-which is why I became a reporter a long, long time ago-it offered me the opportunity to be involved with things without actually participating."

Tell us about your family.

"The reason I moved back to Michigan is because my sister and my two nieces and nephew live here, and I missed them, and I realized as you get older how much more important that is, and I wanted to be near them; they live in Stockbridge."

You served in Vietnam, right?

"I was in the Marine Corps from March of 1969 to December of 1970-one year, ten months, 20 days-I was in the infantry, so immediately upon returning I was honorably discharged."

How does your Vietnam experience impact your life today?

"It politicized me. When I went in the Marine Corps out of high school, I had no idea what the Vietnam War was. My friends all went in the Marine Corps-my father had just died-so it seemed like the thing to do. The experience of being involved in a conflict that clearly was not something that benefited the people of Vietnam or the United States politicized me, and I immediately started getting involved politically."

Protesting the war?

"Yep. I primarily volunteered for the McGovern campaign-and I kind of got involved on the fringes of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, but I wasn't a real joiner, so I didn't get formally involved with any of the anti-Vietnam War organizations."

What are your specific goals for MEC?

"Well, the development end is fairly structured and clear, so the goals there are to meet our organizational development goals-both for the endowment and the general operating fund. On the communications end, I'm in the process of reading information from a staff analysis of communication needs. After I finish this, I'll have a clearer idea of what the folks here need and how I can help them to meet those needs."

If you weren't working in environmental protection, what would you do?

"Probably be a journalist. I still freelance write-there's still a lot of reporting blood in me."

What were some of your other occupations?

"I spent a year as a private investigator in Detroit. I was a longshoreman in Key West for two years. I sold dive trips in Florida. I drove a cab for five years during college."

How much money did you raise for Congressman Dale Kildee?

"When I went to work for Dale, he had never had a fundraiser where he charged more than $10 because he was always in a safe district, and we knew we were getting a new district and had to do something different. My role was to come up with a plan to help others raise money in Michigan. We raised $800,000 in the first cycle, and part of that was from successful events and solicitations we did in the state from individual donors. His first event that charged more than $10 raised over $11,000-that was the first event I ever did. That felt very good."

What are you proudest of in terms of your involvement with ECCO?

"I think it was seeing people that I worked with-some of whom were completely intimidated by the idea of talking to a reporter-not only gain more confidence about doing that but actually become very skilled at it and assertive at using the media to get the message out about the issues they work on. Watching people grow and knowing that I had a small part in that-and putting them in situations where they were able to practice new skills. In terms of accomplishments, I think the campaign that we began in February to deal with imported trash has been a textbook campaign in the use of media to advance an issue."