Board of Trustees

The Fund is governed by a 13-member Board of Trustees, composed of elected and appointed municipal officials. Administration is provided by MML's Risk Management Services Division.

Learn more about serving as a Fund Trustee and how to apply.

Chair: Maureen Donker
Mayor, City of Midland

Maureen has more than five years of experience as a municipal official, and has served as mayor of Midland since 2009. She has been the Executive Director of The Reece Endeavor of Midland, a community program providing homes for individuals with special needs, since 1998.  Maureen is also active in the Midland community, serving on various local and regional civic organizations.

 

Vice Chair: Adam Smith
City Manager/Municipal Executive, City of Grand Ledge

Adam has worked in local government since 2004 and currently serves as the City Manager/Municipal Executive of Grand Ledge. He is chair of the MML's Municipal Services Committee, formerly served six years as City Manager Representative on the Elected Officials Academy Board of Directors, and received the League’s Special Award of Merit in 2013. Adam is an active member of Michigan Municipal Executives, having served on its Board of Directors from 2013-2016, and currently serving as its Advocacy Chairperson. He has given workshops on effective Council-Manager relationships. Adam has a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration and a Master’s in Administrative Leadership, both from Central Michigan University; a Certificate in Strategic Foresight from the University of Houston; and is a graduate of the Disney Institute for Leadership Excellence.

Lois Allen-Richardson
Mayor, City of Ypsilanti

Lois has more than sixteen years of experience as a municipal official, currently serving as mayor of the City of Ypsilanti, having previously served as its councilmember and mayor pro tem. She is a founding member and the current president of Michigan Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials (MBC-LEO).  Lois is also currently serving as president of the Elected Officials Academy Advisory Board, has previously served as a MML Board of Trustees member and is a past regional secretary with MML.  Lois is also involved in several local civic organizations.

 

Brian Boggs
City Council Member, City of Durand

Brian Boggs has more than 18 years' experience in local government and is currently the Shiawassee County Administrator and a longtime member of the Durand City Council. Brian is an Assistant Professor for the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Programs in International Studies and Programs at Michigan State University. He has written extensively on educational organizational complexity, specifically as it affects urban schools and policy. He has most recently been published in Teacher's College Record at Columbia with a piece titled, "Conceptualizing Virtual Instructional Resource Enactment in an Era of Greater Centralization, Specification of Quality Instructional Practices, and Proliferation of Instructional Resources." Further, he has published book chapters in: Handbook of Urban Education Leadership; Handbook of Education Politics and Policy; School to Prison Pipeline; Emerging Issues and Trends in Education; Beyond Marginality; and Educational Policy Goes to School. He has also been published in the Journal of School Public Relations. Brian holds a Ph.D. in educational policy from Michigan State University and is currently finishing his J.D. from Mitchell Hamline School of Law. He holds an MA in Rhetoric and a BA in English from the University of Michigan.

Marlon Brown
Mayor Pro Tem, City of Mason

Marlon Brown was first elected to the Mason City Council in 2012 and presently serves as mayor pro tem. He serves on the Elected Officials Academy Advisory Board and previously served on the MML Board of Trustees. In addition to his role on the city council, Brown has served as chairperson of the Mason Sesquicentennial Steering Committee, vice chair of the Mason Planning Commission, vice chair of the Mason Historic District Commission, and secretary of the Ingham County Economic Development Corporation board of directors. He is involved with several community organizations including the Mason Orchestral Society and the Mason Area Chamber of Commerce. Brown works for the State of Michigan as the Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs for the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). He earned a BS in political science from American University, a master of public administration from the University of Delaware, and is currently pursuing a doctorate in public administration at Valdosta State University. Moreover, he is an alumnus of the Michigan Political Leadership Program at Michigan State University.

Christine Burns
Village Manager, Village of Spring Lake

Chris has more than 25 years of experience as a municipal official. She has been the village manager of Spring Lake since 2012, after serving the City of Cedar Springs for more than five years, the Village of Oxford for nearly two years, and the City of Clare for more than 14 years. Chris graduated from Central Michigan University in 1990 with a BS in Business Administration, majoring in Management, earned her MSA in Public Administration from CMU in 2006 (Fire Up Chips!), and holds a Certified Master Municipal Clerk designation. She is a member of Michigan Municipal Executives (MME); the International City/County Management Association (ICMA); and the West Michigan Local Government Management Association (WMLGMA). She has served on the MME Board of Directors and as President of the WMLGMA.

Scott Erickson
City Manager, City of Ironwood

Scott has over thirty years' experience as a municipal official. He has served as city manager of Ironwood since 2005 and previously served the cities of Oshkosh, WI and Andover, MN.  Scott was a Michigan Municipal League Board of Trustees member from 2011 – 2014 and received the MML Jim Sinclair Exceptional Service Award in 2016.  He has also served as the president of the Upper Peninsula City Managers Organization and is involved in several local civic organizations.

Penny Hill
Assistant Manager, City of Traverse City

Penny has been a municipal government official since 1988, having served as Clerk, Treasurer, and Manager. She currently serves as Traverse City's Assistant Manager.  Penny is an active member of the Michigan Municipal League, having served on its Board of Directors and as Vice-Chairperson of Region 6. She is also a member of the Michigan Municipal Executives (formerly Michigan Local Government Manager’s Association), serving as its President in 2013. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation.

Lee Kilbourn
Mayor, City of Auburn

Lee has been mayor of Auburn since 2011 and previously served as mayor when elected in 1981. He has served in several community organizations and the Auburn-Williams Fire District for 25 years. He is currently a member of the Auburn-Williams Lions Club, the Auburn Downtown Development Authority, and the Auburn-Williams Intergovernmental Committee. Lee graduated from Oral Roberts University with a bachelor's degree in business. He and his wife, Kathy, are second‑generation owners of their family's 57‑year‑old furniture business and proud grandparents of two children.

Susan Montenegro
Manager, City of Leslie

Susan Montenegro has more than eight years' experience in municipal government, having started her municipal career with the City of Owosso in 2013, where she first served as an intern and was then hired as assistant city manager and director of community development. In June of 2018, Susan was appointed city manager for the City of Leslie.

Susan is a member of the Michigan Municipal Executives, currently serving on its Board and its Early Career Outreach Committee, having previously served on its Professional Development Committee. Susan is a member of the 16/50 Work Group for the Michigan Municipal League's 16/50 Project. She is a member of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and previously served on its Welcome Ambassadors Committee.

Prior to her career in municipal government, Susan served as a pastor in the United Methodist Church for 10 years. Her move to local government was natural, with her extensive background working with volunteers and boards to promote growth, inclusiveness, and community spirit. Team building, outreach, and service have always been at the heart of everything Susan does.

Susan holds an Associate of Arts degree in Business from the University of Phoenix, a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Services Management from the University of Phoenix graduating with honors, and a Masters degree in Public Administration from the University of Michigan-Flint. She and her husband have four children and welcomed their first grandchild in 2020.

Devin Olson
City Manager, City of Munising

Devin has five years’ experience as a municipal official, having served as Munising’s City Manager since 2014. Devin has also served on MML’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for three years.

David J. Tossava
Mayor, City of Hastings

David has over twelve years’ municipal experience and has served as mayor of Hastings for two years. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Michigan Association of Mayors.

Dan Gilmartin (Ex Officio)
Executive Director & CEO, Michigan Municipal League

Dan is the executive director and 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 Dan’s leadership, the League powers innovative programs and practices that improve communities in Michigan and beyond. He is a frequent national and international speaker. In recent years, he has given presentations internationally including in China, Sweden, Australia, and Denmark, and across the nation—from Los Angeles to D.C. to Vermont. In 2018, Dan gave highly publicized testimony before a U.S. Congress Senate Committee on behalf of local governments nationwide regarding state and local transportation infrastructure needs.

Dan is frequently quoted in state and national publications on community-related topics.  He has also authored numerous opinion columns that have appeared in statewide publications, including the Detroit News, Crain’s Detroit Business, mlive.com, and Bridge Magazine.

In 2018, Dan added podcast host to his resume on the Economics of Place podcast, part of the League’s We Love Where You Live podcast series. He is a frequent blogger and a contributing author to the books The Economics of Place: The Value of Building Communities Around People and the follow-up Economics of Place: The Art of Building Great Communities.

Dan is actively engaged in the National League of Cities and previously served on the NLC’s board of directors.  In 2018, he was selected to the NLC’s National Task Force on Housing and in 2015 was a member of NLC’s President Election Task Force.

Prior to his current position, Dan served for four years as the lead advocate for Michigan’s communities in Lansing and Washington, D.C., where he concentrated on a number of key issues including transportation, land use, and urban redevelopment.

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.

Dan's blog: Economics of Place

  Michael Forster
  Fund Administrator, Michigan Municipal League

Mike oversees all administrative, financial and regulatory aspects of the League’s casualty and worker’s compensation insurance programs. He is responsible for implementing the policies of the insurance program governing boards and for reporting operating results to the boards and League members. Mike has been with the League since 1990. Before his appointment as Director of Risk Management in 2004, he held the positions of Claim Manager and Assistant Director of Risk Management. Mike also spent eight years with a national insurance carrier as a multi-line claims supervisor. A 1981 graduate of the University of Michigan – Dearborn, Mike is currently pursuing the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation.