HOUGHTON — The Nature Conservancy in Michigan has announced the hiring of Julia Petersen as project manager of the Keweenaw Heartlands Project.

Petersen and her family reside in Atlantic Mine and have called the Keweenaw Peninsula home for nearly three years, TNC said in a news release. A Michigan native, Petersen is currently finishing her Ph.D. in environmental and energy policy at Michigan Technological University.

Prior to joining TNC, Petersen has been everything from a planning specialist for the U.S. Army to a strategic planner for a large school district and, most recently, a director of conservation and education programs for the Zoological Society of Milwaukee. Her first official day on the job will be Monday.