By IJC Staff
The Great Lakes, and longstanding peace between the nations that share them, are inextricably linked, says Patricia A. “Trish” Morris. And she is thrilled to be working at the center of that connection as new director of the IJC’s Great Lakes Regional Office (GLRO).
Morris most recently worked at the Pentagon as an attorney and adviser to the Assistant Secretary of the Army-Civil Works. She spent 20 years working for the Army Corps of Engineers and Army headquarters. There, she helped the agency navigate complex legal and policy matters related to the U.S. Clean Water Act, Great Lakes invasive species eradication, restoration of the Everglades and remediation and revitalization of the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon oil well fire and spill. She brings extensive experience in international and environmental laws related to watersheds and water resources.
Morris sees her new role as a perfect merger of two of her life’s ambitions: restoring badly damaged water resources and securing peace in some of the most volatile regions of the world.
“This job combines two of my passions – helping nations stay out of conflict and honoring our universal connection to freshwater and the incredible importance that it will play in the future of our nations and our planet,” said Morris.
A licensed attorney, Morris holds a Master of Science in Peace Operations from George Mason University. She says it’s no coincidence that she was drawn to the IJC, which helps oversee the longest unprotected border in the world – 5,525 miles or 8,900 kilometers – more than 40 percent of which passes through shared bodies of water.
“This is a change from many countries I have worked in that are just out of conflict, but are still very fragile,” said Morris. “Now I’m working along a border that has been peaceful for a long, long time, and the IJC has been at the forefront of that peace. However, with freshwater increasingly becoming a driver of conflict across the planet, we can expect new and different pressures on our shared resources along the border. We need to ensure that what we have done successfully for 100 years will continue to work for the next 100.”
Morris worked for the Corps of Engineers, Army Reserves and Army Headquarters. She served in roles ranging from Judge Advocate General and Civil Affairs Officer in Bosnia, Afghanistan, Jordan and Iraq; to Division Counsel in the Gulf Region Division, Baghdad and District Counsel in Jacksonville; and as legal and policy adviser to the Army Secretariat on civil works.
Morris moved into the GLRO office in Windsor, Ontario, in early December. Her new home is in downtown Detroit with an expansive view of the Detroit River, the shared border between Canada and the United States. She is already exploring the cultural, recreational and epicurean delights on both sides of the border. She is an avid reader and a lover of the outdoors, although the lake-effect snow and frigid wind chills are a new experience. She grew up in Midwest City, Oklahoma.
Morris also is a sports enthusiast – currently the champion of a fantasy football league where she takes pride in “beating the men” who thought she’d be an easy mark when they invited her to the league 28 years ago.
Morris will serve the four-year term designated for a U.S. director of the binational GLRO under a rotating Canada/U.S. leadership agreement designed for equal representation between the two nations.
Morris replaces Dr. Saad Jasim, who concluded his service in 2013.
Matthew Child, of Essex, Ontario, a physical scientist, will serve as the GLRO’s deputy director.
