Great Lakes Commission hires new executive director

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - Darren Nichols has been hired as executive director of the Great Lakes Commission.

Nichols succeeds Tim Eder, who left last year to work for the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.

The commission is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It represents the interests of the eight Great Lakes states before the federal government on water management and protection issues.

The involved states include Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Illinois and Pennsylvania. The Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec also have seats on the commission.

Nichols most recently served as associate director of the William D. Ruckelshaus Center in Seattle.

Previously, he was executive director of the Columbia River Gorge Commission, dealing with the governors' offices in Oregon and Washington state as well as other local, state and tribal leaders.