Beginning July 1, 2015 Leadership Oakland will operate with a new slate of officers and directors. Two members of the board are retiring due to term limits as outlined in the organizational by-laws. Retiring from the board are current President, Sue Novak of Plante Moran, Scott Hiipakka of Patriot Services Corp and Kristie Veenstra of Humana. All individuals were congratulated and thanked for their service at the Leadership Oakland Annual Meeting.
New to the board are: C.J. Felton, Community Housing Network; Wendy Strip, Detroit Country Day School; and Timothy Wyman, Center for Financial Planning.
Serving as Officers for the coming fiscal year are: President, Kevin Wisely, Genisys Credit Union; Vice President, Michelle Crockett, Miller, Canfield, Paddock & Stone, P.L.C.; Treasurer, Phil Korovesis, Butzel Long; and Secretary and Program Chair, James Piper, Ralco Industries. Incoming President Kevin Wisely said “We are pleased to welcome our newest board members to the Leadership Oakland team. Our board is comprised of dedicated, successful and committed individuals that strive to advance our mission of regional leadership development. Graduates of our program are effective leaders in their personal, professional and public lives. We are looking forward to an exciting program year!” Everyone on the board is a graduate of the year long Cornerstone program and have demonstrated a passion for the mission of the organization.
Leadership Oakland Executive Director, Chris Scharrer commented on the board, “This wonderful group of leaders takes their role as a governance body very seriously. At the same time they have fun and create a culture of support for one another.” Other board members serving during the 2015-2016 program year include: Kitty Adler, Townsend Hotel; Pete Auger, City Manager, Novi; Pat Blount, St. John Providence Health System; Mike Dixon, Beaumont Health System; Mike Elinski, Ally Financial, Inc.; Homayune Ghaussi, Warner Norcross & Judd LLP; Susan Gibson, Corp! Magazine; Jennifer Korman, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services; DeAndre Lipscomb, Health Alliance Plan; Ken Randazzo, DTE Energy; Christine Santos, TTi Global; Tammi Shepherd, Oakland County; and Michael Silverstein, Oakland University.