Retirement bio of Maryann Lesert
Maryann Lesert is retiring from her role as Professor of English at the end of April 2025. She began her journey at GRCC in 2006 as an adjunct instructor, joining the college full-time in 2007. Throughout her time here, she remained a dedicated member of the English department, moving from Assistant to Associate to Professor. Lesert has also been committed to interdisciplinary collaboration and student engagement that were grounded in important issues. She highlighted initiatives such as the Feminist Reading Group, the 2008 Women in STEM Conference, and the Sustainability Series hosted by GRCC’s former Sustainability Council. She shared that students have been a big part of all of these projects, and working with faculty from many departments and witnessing their passion for change was inspiring. GRCC's partnership with Pierce Cedar Creek Institute, which offers summer research, art, and writing fellowships to MI college and university students, is an ongoing project that she’s grateful to have been a part of. Her sense of belonging at GRCC comes from the support and encouragement of colleagues who shared her passion for meaningful, interdisciplinary work and for making an impact beyond the classroom. In retirement, Lesert is turning her focus to writing full time. She shared that the best way to describe her plans for writing in retirement can be found in her retirement bio, which can be found here: Lesert writes about people and place in equal measure. Her first novel, Base Ten (Feminist Press, 2009), featured an astrophysicist’s quest for self among Lake Michigan’s forested dunes and the stars. Land Marks (She Writes Press, April 2024) grew from two years of boots-on-well-sites research on fracking in Michigan's state forests. Before novels, Maryann wrote plays, including three full-lengths, five one-acts, and collaborations with a memoirist and a local symphony. She lives in west Michigan, where she teaches writing, enjoys time in the natural world, and writes by the big lake. Additionally, her Michigan-based environmental activist novel Land Marks (2024) is a Foreword Indies Finalist for Book of the Year (Fiction). To celebrate, she is running a special donation campaign: for any purchases of Land Marks in April or May, she will be donating 100% of the proceeds to MI environmental organizations. I'm also posting on Facebook and Instagram a series called "100 Reasons," featuring 100 images of waterways, forests, and places in Michigan (as reminders of why we need to protect land, water, and air). Her author website, maryannlesert.com , includes the details. Congratulations on work well done! Best wishes as you pursue your next chapter and we hope that you enjoy your retirement!