Occupation / Current Position
University of Michigan Regent, 2019-present
Education
B.A. and M.B.A., University of Michigan; J.D., Wayne State University
I've served on the Board since 2018, and I bring a career in law, finance and teaching, and economic development. As a VP at the MEDC, I managed most of the state's $2 billion 21st Century Jobs Fund, and today I'm a managing partner at eLab Ventures. I also taught finance and entrepreneurship at U-M's School of Engineering. This helps me ask hard questions about a multibillion-dollar budget while focusing on academic excellence, affordability for Michigan families, and fair treatment of workers. My vision is a university that stays world-class and stays public: open to every qualified Michigan student and a partner to communities across MI.
Affordability and federal pressure on higher ed and healthcare. No family should need crushing debt for a U-M degree, so I'll keep expanding aid and holding down tuition. I'm proud we expanded the Go Blue Guarantee to Michigan families earning under $125K; now over 30% (Ann Arbor), 40% (Dearborn), and 50% (Flint) of students attend tuition-free. I'll fight to protect research threatened by federal funding uncertainty and defend academic freedom. We're on track for our carbon neutrality goals. Under labor neutrality, unions doubled from 9 to 18, covering 50%+ of our workforce. I'll keep backing fair pay and the right to organize.
The Go Blue Guarantee is one of my proudest achievements. We codified free tuition for in-state families earning under $65K and raised it to $125K, with some support up to $210K. I'd expand it further, recruit more rural and underserved students, and ease transfer from Michigan community colleges. A public university must protect open debate, including uncomfortable views, while keeping campus safe. Time, place and manner rules should be clear and applied evenly. I'd support a transparent Regents review with student and faculty input so all know the lines. Students can't learn if they're hungry or scared, and must always feel free to speak.
Occupation / Current Position
Civil Right Attorney
Education
University of Michigan-Dearborn, Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance, with High Distinction, 2009. Wayne State University Law School, Juris Doctor, 2012.
Qualifications and Experience
Civil rights attorney, trial lawyer, small business owner, and University of Michigan-Dearborn graduate with experience advocating for students, working people, and civil liberties.
I am a civil rights attorney, small business owner, and proud UM-Dearborn graduate. I see a Regent as a steward of public trust, not simply a caretaker of the institution. My approach has been shaped by listening to students, faculty, nurses, graduate workers, labor, and families across Michigan. I would bring independent judgment, transparency, and a commitment to affordability, academic freedom, strong public research, and equal investment in Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint.
U-M faces a defining moment: rising costs for students, threats to research funding and academic independence, pressure on workers and Michigan Medicine, and unequal investment across its three campuses. Regents must protect the University from political interference, make college more affordable, respect collective bargaining, strengthen safe staffing and working conditions, restore meaningful equity efforts, and demand transparent, accountable governance.
U-M has expanded opportunity through programs like the Go Blue Guarantee, but access cannot be measured by tuition alone. Housing, fees, transportation, and regional-campus investment matter too. I support expanding need-based aid and stronger affordability commitments across all three campuses. On free speech, the standard must be consistent: protect speech and academic freedom regardless of viewpoint, guarantee due process, and never use discipline or University policy to silence lawful expression.
Education
B.A. in Economics, Harvard University. M.B.A., University of Michigan Ross School of Business.
Qualifications and Experience
Co-Owner, Board Member, and Executive of Vesco Oil Corporation, one of Michigan's top women-owned businesses.
As a Michigan business owner, I understand what it means to manage a budget, make difficult decisions, and be accountable for results. The Regents have a constitutional responsibility to oversee every dollar the University spends, and I take that seriously.
My vision is a University of Michigan that remains a national leader while staying within reach of Michigan families, one that expands opportunity for Michigan students, protects academic excellence, and operates with transparency and discipline. I am not running for a title. I am running to bring real-world experience and rigorous oversight to the work the Regents are entrusted with.
The three most pressing issues are affordability, access, and accountability.
Michigan families are facing rising tuition and housing costs, while administrative spending deserves greater scrutiny. At the same time, we need to create more opportunities for Michigan students at the university their families help support.
My priorities are straightforward: exercise greater budget discipline, prioritize the classroom over unnecessary administrative growth, expand need-based financial aid, increase opportunities for Michigan students, and provide greater transparency about how every dollar is spent.
The University can do more to expand access for Michigan residents. We should open more seats for in-state students and strengthen pathways from Michigan high schools and community colleges.
On free speech, the standard should be consistent: protect open inquiry and vigorous debate while enforcing the same rules of conduct for everyone. Students have a right to speak. They also have a right to attend class, walk across campus, and worship without intimidation.
Harassment and threats are conduct issues, not speech issues. The Regents should insist the University protect both free expression and a safe campus for every student.
Occupation / Current Position
Bloomfield Township Treasurer
Education
B.S. Economics/Finance, The Wharton School, UPENN; MBA, Ross School of Business, Univ. of Michigan; Certificate Senior Executives in State and Local Government, Harvard Kennedy School of Government
Qualifications and Experience
Elected 3 times to Bloomfield Twp Board of Trustees, Lecturer of Finance at Wayne State, Wall Street Investment Banker, Financial Analyst at the Pentagon. Father, Husband, Alum, Public Servant.
U-M must always be world-class while proving its value: rigorous instruction, real mentorship, genuine career preparation, and a cost families can afford. I spent my career in finance, digging into numbers, analyzing businesses. As Bloomfield Twp Treasurer I manage $500M in public funds and a $100M budget, running a surplus every year. I taught finance at Wayne State for 5 years, experiencing a large public university from the inside. Regents govern; a president manages. The board sets direction, approves the budget, asks the hard questions, and holds the president accountable. I will not accept “that’s how we’ve always done it” as an answer.
In-state cost of attendance has gone from $25K to $35K in a decade, family incomes have not kept up. Build the budget from zero each year and make every dollar answer one question: does this improve education or research, or does it grow bureaucracy? We can distribute more from the endowment each year without harming long-term growth. The endowment should generate returns - not make political statements. The board must hold itself accountable: $12M spent on an outside investigation into the athletic department that produced no written report erodes public trust. Student mental health is critical, but hiding grades is not the answer.
U-M is taxpayer supported, so Michigan kids should come first. Increasing the number of in-state students is achievable and necessary for the future of our state. I would fix the Go Blue Guarantee: it counts home equity and small business value in the formula, penalizing families for owning things they cannot spend. The best response to objectionable speech is more speech not less. We must defend the right to express oneself freely without fear of one's safety. However, U-M must set clear time, place and manner rules, and enforce them consistently. Harassment, intimidation, and vandalism are conduct, not argument, and can never be tolerated.
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Occupation / Current Position
IT/System administrator
Education
Graduated high school at 10 years old, started college at 12, and achieved a GPA of 4.0
Qualifications and Experience
Over 20 years of working in IT - computer programming, system administration, database administration, network architecture
I bring both student and industry hiring experience. Employers have lost confidence in degrees to signify job-ready competency, leaving many underemployed and in debt. Fiscal responsibility is of the utmost importance so we make sure that education is a sound investment from the perspective of the student. Cooperate with industry to develop demand-based curricula. Degree programs which have a weak five-year in-field placement rate must be revised or phased out. Standards must be high so when employers see a U-M graduate, they know the University has vouched for their suitability, and students must have confidence their investment is sound.
The most pressing issues are employability, affordability, and open inquiry. Too many students leave unprepared for the work employers actually need, so curricula should be built with industry and use competency-based, real-world learning. A diploma must signal mastery, not completion. Costs are too high relative to long-term benefit; programs that fail students after support to improve should be redesigned or ended so resources serve high-value education. The university must also protect free speech and diversity of thought. A great education prepares graduates who can think, work, and speak freely.
U-M offers a solution to the changing employment landscape with AI in the coming years. By extending education opportunities to these adults, we can be of great social benefit and bridge the gap between blue and white collar work opportunities. Marketing efforts should not be focused only on the young but also nontraditional students.
We have a right to free speech, but equally important is the reciprocal duty to listen. I support viewpoint-neutral rules, consistent enforcement of respectful discourse, and treating civil debate as education. Access without intellectual freedom is incomplete.
