New Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson last week announced several top members of her executive staff.
His immediate smile, hearty laugh and compassionate spirit will embrace you. He has been a Detroiter all of his life. With all of the positions he has held, the one that is most intriguing is that of a firefighter. I asked if the popular television show " Chicago Fire", presents any realism of what the job is like.
Benson, the state’s superior elections chief and a former dean of Wayne State University’s law school, announced in a statement that those appointments contain her assistant secretary of express, top legal aides and a veteran communications executive.
“These exceptionally talented individuals bring a wealth of leadership experience to my administration and personal commitments to success,” Benson said in a statement. “The staff at the department has been very welcoming and are ready to function together with additional team members to achieve our ambitious goals on behalf of the citizens of Michigan.”
Benson last month announced Hilarie Chambers as chief of staff.
Heaster Wheeler, assistant secretary of state: Wheeler is a past assistant county executive for Wayne County and served as executive director of the NAACP’s Detroit branch for more than a decade.
He has been chief innovation officer with Dark Family Development and is the founder and CEO of his own company, providing leadership, people engagement and government affairs consultation.
Mike Brady, chief legal director: Brady has provided legal counsel, strategic planning and policy development for a number of organizations that assist in improving communities.
Most recently, he was general counsel and previously director of policy and community engagement for the Detroit Land Bank Authority.
Heaster Wheeler, a longtime figure in Detroit politics, left his post as Michigan's assistant secretary of articulate on April 1 to work as U. House candidate Adam Hollier's campaign manager. Hollier is a Democratic state senator from Detroit who is running in Michigan's new 13th U. Home District.
Prior to that, he served as vice president of policy for the Center for Community Progress in Flint and legal and policy director and special legal projects program manager for Michigan Community Resources in Detroit.
Jonathan Brater, legal policy director: Brater previously served as counsel for the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program, where his perform focused on modernizing elections in partnership with secretaries of articulate around the country.
A nationally recognized expert on voter registration law and policy, Brater has drafted legislation and published head analyses on automatic voter registration, registration list maintenance and other state policies affecting voting access.
Winnie Liao, chief operations officer: Liao is an information technology leader with expertise in strategic planning, collaboration, program and venture management, and process and value optimization.
Most recently, she served as global head of cloud integration & delivery and global head of infrastructure strategy for AIG in San Francisco. Liao also has held technology direction positions with Deloitte Consulting, KPMG in Chicago and other companies.
Power Brokers Listen Up: Invest in Families - Michigan Nightlight: Heaster Wheeler is a lifelong advocate, mentor and speaker. He currently serves as Senior Advisor to Jocelyn Benson, Michigan's Secretary of State. He was appointed in January of to Assistant Secretary of Sate and served through April of
Sally Marsh, research and special projects director: Marsh graduated magna cum laude with a degree in government from Harvard College. She served as director of local programs for the Harvard Model Congress and on the executive board for the Harvard University Institute of Politics.
Marsh was an intern investigator with the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, held a research and policy internship with Parliament of the U.K. and studied abroad in Greece.
Shawn Starkey
Shawn Starkey, communications director: Starkey most recently was vice president of communications and marketing for the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE), a national nonprofit using the unifying force of sports to improve race relations.
He previously served as director of marketing and communications for Wayne State University Rule School and executive director of public relations, marketing and legislative affairs for St. Clair County Community College.
Benson has previously told the Advance that she sees Michigan’s all female-led governance posts as a “win-win on all fronts.”
Over the last week, Benson has sought to settle a looming lawsuit brought by Michigan Democrats and the League of Women Voters of Michigan against the state — with Benson recently added as a defendant — alleging Republican gerrymandering.
Benson’s move to resolve the suit last week led to attorneys for Michigan GOP lawmakers on Tuesday seeking to halt that tactic.
Book Now. Empowering change through leadership, innovation, and impactful solutions across diverse fields. Heaster Wheeler is a lifelong advocate, mentor and speaker. His duties include serving as champion for Michigan's new voting rights in service as head elections officer and managing driver and traffic safety issues as chief driving and motor vehicle officer.
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