Renee Mulcrone grew up in Illinois and spent summers visiting relatives who lived at the mouth of the Kalamazoo. These visits and great biology teachers influenced her to focus on a career in aquatic biology. She has an undergrad degree from the University of Illinois and worked for the state of Illinois where she became interested in native freshwater mussels. She received her PhD from the University of Michigan focusing on mussels in the Lake Erie drainage. After grad school, she went on to work with an environmental firm helping the DEQ (now EGLE) oversee some of the PCB river clean up on the Kalamazoo. She recently moved into the West Portage Creek watershed and works with ASTI-Environmental, conducting mussel surveys all over the state. She also works with the Upper Grand River Watershed Alliance, where she has learned a lot about the headwaters of the Grand, which aren’t very far from the headwaters of the Kalamazoo in Jackson County. Renee has enjoyed time on all parts of the river from the upper Kalamazoo to the mouth of the river.