Dan Gilmartin

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Dan Gilmartin
Executive Director & CEO

Dan Gilmartin is the executive director & CEO of the Michigan Municipal League. Through his work with communities, Dan is recognized as a national leader in the fields of urban revitalization, placemaking, local government reform and transportation policy.

Under his leadership, the League was recognized by Crain's Detroit Business as a "Cool Place to Work" in 2011. Read more.

Model D Media recently referred to him as “an urban thinker with an eye for the small, oft-unnoticed changes that can make ‘places’ out of streets and buildings.”

Dan serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the National League of Cities and as a member of the Michigan Future, Inc. Leadership Council. He also served for four years as the lead advocate for Michigan’s communities in Lansing and in Washington, where he concentrated on a number of key issues including transportation, land use and urban redevelopment.

In 2010, Dan added radio talk show host to his resume as host of The Prosperity Agenda on News/Talk 760 WJR, which is Michigan’s highest rated talk station and can be heard throughout the Midwest and Canada. He is a frequent blogger and a contributing author to the book The Economics of Place, and a frequent speaker on matters pertaining to “place.”

Dan is a Michigan kid, a Detroit native (and booster) and currently resides in the historic downtown of Northville, Michigan with his wife Lori and two young sons.

Tony Minghine

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Anthony J. Minghine
Associate Executive Director & COO

Tony Minghine is the Associate Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Michigan Municipal League. He joined the League in 2006 as the Chief Financial Officer, and assumed his current post in July of 2007.

Minghine was formerly the director of finance and budget for the charter township of Canton, having served in that capacity from 1996-2006. Prior to Canton, Minghine was employed by Wayne County for four years as the finance manager for the Wayne County Department of Environment. He also served as controller for the city of Melvindale for seven years.

Minghine has over 20 years of municipal finance experience and is a member of the Governmental Finance Officers Associationand Michigan Governmental Finance Officers Association. He is a former member of the MGFOA Board of Directors and has received awards from the GFOA for excellence in financial reporting and popular financial reporting. He has also served on the MGFOA's legislative committee since 1998. He is a 1985 graduate of Wayne State University.

Matt Bach

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Matt Bach
Director, Communications

Matt Bach is Director of Communications for the League. Previously, he was a newspaper reporter for 18 years at multiple newspapers, including the Flint Journal, the Livingston County Press and the Daily News in Greenville.

The Grand Blanc resident also was public relations manager for the Flint Area Convention & Visitors Bureau before joining the League in November of 2009.

As communications director for the League, he helps spread information and positive news about the League and Michigan's cities, villages and urban townships. He is a 1991 graduate of Central Michigan University and is married with two children.

Michael Forster

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Michael Forster
Director, Risk Management Services

Michael Forster is Director, Risk Management Services for the Michigan Municipal League. He is responsible for the overall success of the League’s casualty and workers’ compensation insurance programs, which are among the largest and most respected municipal group self insurance pools in the U.S.  

Mike oversees all administrative, financial, membership and regulatory aspects of programs, and is responsible for reporting to, and implementing the policies of the two governing boards, as well as numerous reinsurance partners, auditors and regulators.

He is a 1981 graduate of the University of Michigan-Dearborn, and began his career with the League in 1990 after eight years with a national insurance carrier as a multi-line claim supervisor. Previous to his appointment as Director in 2004, Mike held the positions of Claim Manager and Assistant Director of Risk Management.  

Colleen Layton

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Colleen Layton
Director, Policy Development

Colleen Layton has had the privilege of working at the League since 1991, serving primarily as the Manager/Director of the Information & Policy Research department.  Over the years she has also worked closely with the Elected Officials Academy board.  Since 2005, she has served as the Secretary/Treasurer of the Michigan Local Government Management Association.
Since January 2010, in the newly created position of Director of Policy Development, Colleen has had the opportunity to focus time and effort on leveraging the League’s policy goals not only to our members, but to other organizations and groups around the state.  Current and future projects center on the eight assets of the Center for 21st Century Communities that can demonstrate measurable economic growth and output.   
She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Summer Minnick

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Summer Minnick,
Director, State Affairs

Summer Hallwood Minnick joined the Michigan Municipal League in the fall of 2002. As the Director of State Affairs, she is responsible for coordinating the MML’s lobbying activities at the state level. She specifically concentrates on issues relating to municipal finance, including appropriations issues, property tax and city income tax policy. Under her leadership, the League’s Lansing team was recognized in the spring of 2011 as one of the top lobbying organizations in Michigan. Prior to joining the League, she was the Executive Director of Government Relations at the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce. She was also previously employed by the Office of Governor John Engler and the City of East Lansing. Summer earned a Bachelor of Science from Central Michigan University and a Masters in Public Administration from Michigan State University. 

Heather Van Poucker

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Heather Van Poucker
Director, Information & Policy Research

Heather is the Director of Information and Policy Research at the Michigan Municipal League, which encompasses a range of membership services such as consulting and executive search, the annual pay and benefits survey, charter database, sample ordinances, resolutions and policies and various advisories and publications. 

She joined the League in 1997 as a municipal consultant, specializing in human resources systems and left briefly to work for the City of Dearborn as Human Resources Administrator.  There she had the opportunity to learn first-hand the challenges and opportunities of public sector human resources administration.  After two years with Dearborn, Heather returned to the League to lead the consulting services division and has since been appointed Department Director. 

She has a Bachelor’s Degree from the James Madison College at Michigan State University, a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Wayne State University and holds a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certificate, the highest designation provided by the National Society for Human Resources Management.

Kelly Warren

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Kelly Warren
Director, Events

Kelly is the director of events and has been with the League since 1997. In her role she oversees League programming and events including the Annual Convention, Capital Conference, Regional meetings, training programs, the Business Alliance Program and some affiliate organization events.  She works closely with the Elected Officials Academy board and has served as the staff liaison for the Michigan Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials since its inception in 2004.   

Kelly received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Eastern Michigan University.  In 2005 she was voted Meeting Partner of the Year by the National Speakers Association-Michigan Chapter. Outside of her role with the League, Kelly is the Leader of the Detroit Chapter of The Compassionate Friends and she’s the Michigan representative for Parent Heart Watch.

Deborah Walton-Medley

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Deborah Walton-Medley
Director, Financial Operations

Deborah has over 20 years of financial management experience with a focus on non-profit and insurance accounting. She has worked for the League since 1990.  She is responsible for the League's financial operations including the accounting of various affiliate MML entities: MML Foundation, Liability & Property Pool, Workers’ Compensation Fund, Legal Defense Fund, Michigan Association of Municipal Attorneys, PROTEC, and the Michigan Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials. 

She started with the League as the Insurance Accounting Manager, responsible for transitioning and managing the insurance accounting functions of the MML Workers' Compensation Fund and the Liability and Property Pool from a third party administer.

Prior to joining the League in 1990, she worked as an auditor/regulator for the Michigan Insurance Bureau, where she conducted financial and compliance audits of US and Canadian life, health, property and casualty insurance companies; health maintenance organizations; and third party administrators.

Deborah earned a BA in Accounting from Michigan State University and a MBA from the University of Phoenix.  She lives in the city of Southfield and is highly involved within her community. 

Arnold Weinfeld

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Arnold Weinfeld
Director, Strategic Initiatives & Federal Affairs

Arnold has been with the League since November of 2004 and is responsible for the planning and development of new programs, services, publications, and outreach strategies to support the League’s broad policy initiatives and related programming.  He also coordinates the League’s federal advocacy efforts, working directly with Michigan’s Congressional delegation and national local government organizations such as the National League of Cities.  He also serves as President of the Michigan Municipal League Foundation, where he works to carry out the Foundation mission of educating local officials in coordination with League programs.

Before coming to the MML, Arnold worked for the Michigan House of Representatives in a variety of capacities including legislative aide, policy analyst and Policy Director.  He also served as an elected member of the Waverly Community Schools Board of Education from 1994-2002 where he held the positions of Treasurer and Board President. He is currently Treasurer of the Waverly Education Foundation.  Arnold is a graduate of Michigan State University where he received his bachelor’s degree in Social Science.

William Mathewson

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William C. Mathewson
General Counsel

William C. Mathewson is the League's general counsel. He is responsible for corporate legal matters within the organization and represents the MML in legal matters and policy issues relevant to municipalities throughout Michigan.

Mathewson serves as secretary-treasurer of the Michigan Association of Municipal Attorneys. He is the fund administrator of the MML Legal Defense Fund, which provides appellate level amicus assistance to municipalities involved in litigation of statewide importance. He also is a member of the National League of Cities' Legal Advisory Committee and was a 2002 recipient of the National League of Cities' John G. Stutz Service Award.

Prior to being named general counsel in 1997, Mathewson held several distinctly different positions with the Municipal League in its Ann Arbor and Lansing offices, including work on legislative advocacy in Lansing. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan's College of Literature, Science and the Arts with a major in economics. He has a master's degree in urban planning from University of Michigan's College of Architecture and Urban Planning and earned his juris doctorate at the Thomas M. Cooley School of Law in Lansing while working for the Municipal League.

Caroline Kennedy

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Caroline Kennedy
Manager, Field Operations

Caroline joined the League’s State and Federal Affairs Division in Lansing as a Legislative Associate in 1997, specializing in electric deregulation, technology, public safety and home rule issues.  She brought with her 10 years of experience working for the Michigan State Senate on both legislative session and communications staffs. In 2001, she was appointed Manager of Field Operations for the League and relocated to the Upper Peninsula to run the League’s Northern Field Office.  Caroline is responsible for providing on-site outreach to 104 communities on two peninsulas, writes for the Michigan Municipal Review, administers the League’s Executive Search program and serves as liaison to various League affiliate groups. Caroline has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration.

Lansing Office

Summer Minnick
Director, State Affairs

See above

Arnold Weinfeld
Director, Strategic Initiatives & Federal Affairs

See above

Andy Schor

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Andy Schor
Associate Director, State Affairs

Andy Schor is Assistant Director for State Affairs for the Michigan Municipal League.  He handles economic development, land use, housing, and other related issues for the League. 

Andy previously served as Legislative Director for State Senator Gary Peters, Legislative and Communications Director for State Representative Paul Condino, and as the Public Information Officer for the Michigan Insurance Commissioner in the Granholm Administration.  Andy has also worked for several legislative, statewide, and local campaigns for office. 

He currently serves as an Ingham County Commissioner, representing part of the city of Lansing.  Andy graduated from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and is married with two children.

Samantha Harkins

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Samantha Harkins
Legislative Associate, State Affairs

Samantha Harkins is a Legislative Associate for the Michigan Municipal League.  She handles telecommunications, cable, energy and municipal services issues for the League. In 2011, she was honored in the Inside Michigan Politics Lobbyist Survey by being ranked in the top 20 for Individual Lobbyist as well as ranked number 2 in the Individual Single Interest Lobbyist category. Prior to the League, Samantha was Director of Government Relations for the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, and served as a member of the House Republican Policy Staff.  She also worked as the Executive Assistant to the Mayor of Norfolk, Virginia before moving to Michigan.  She has a B.A. and law degree from West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV. 

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Jason Mancini
Legislative Associate, State Affairs

Jason Mancini is a Legislative Associate for the Michigan Municipal League. He handles issues involving transportation and municipal infrastructure including mass transit, economic development, environmental affairs and maintenance of road, bridge and sewer systems. Before joining the League in July 2011, he served as policy advisor for the Michigan House of Representatives since early 2010, and was lead policy advisor to the standing committee on education and to the appropriations subcommittees for the Department of Education and School Aid. He has also done policy work in the areas of tax, labor and urban policy as well as military and veterans' affairs. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Oakland University and is currently earning a Master of Public Administration degree from Eastern Michigan University.