Jeff Donofrio is President and CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan, the state’s business roundtable, which is dedicated to making Michigan a Top 10 state for jobs, education, widely shared prosperity and a healthy economy. The organization is composed exclusively of the executive leaders of Michigan’s largest companies and universities. Members drive 40% of the state’s economy, employ more than 540,000 people in Michigan, generate over $1 trillion in annual revenue and serve more than half of all Michigan public university students.
During Jeff’s tenure, the organization has notched significant accomplishments, including increasing the state’s economic competitiveness, advancing K-12 education reforms, expanding talent pathways and strengthening Michigan’s business climate. Recent successes include the largest proactive site development investment in Michigan’s history, transformational investments that resulted in 12,000 new jobs in critical sectors such as semi-conductor manufacturing, food processing and electric vehicle production; advancing equity funding in K-12 education; and renewed funding for community college programs and a new $250 million scholarship program for four-year colleges. Jeff also guided the development of a new strategic plan for the organization, Compete to Win: Michigan’s Path to Top 10, and provided leadership during the COVID-19 healthcare/economic crisis by ensuring real-time data and vaccine information was shared with member companies and their workforce.
He previously served as Director of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO), leading the state’s workforce, economic development, housing, and labor activities and overseeing 2,700 employees and a $1.6 billion budget. Prior to LEO, Donofrio served as the Executive Director of Workforce Development for the City of Detroit and as an executive at Ford Motor Company.
At LEO, Jeff created numerous programs focused on expanding workforce training and economic competitiveness, including the Michigan Reconnect and Futures for Frontliners, with the goal to increase the number of Michiganders with a post-high school credential from 44% to 60% by 2030. He also created the state’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification and the Poverty Task Force. While with the City of Detroit, he helped increase adult training from a few hundred a year to more than 3,000 annually; raised millions of dollars to expand training and support services; helped increase Detroit’s summer youth program to more than 8,000 annually and championed a new law to eliminate $640 million of outstanding debt, which allowed thousands of Michiganders to restore their driver’s licenses. At Ford, Jeff worked closely with company leadership in Dearborn and elected officials and staff in Washington, D.C., to advance policy on trade, autonomous and connected vehicles, safety, and fuel economy.
He led the Michigan operations for Congressmen John D. Dingell and Sandy Levin and served in the Granholm administration. Jeff grew up working in his family’s small businesses and earned his bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and MBA from Georgetown University.
Jeff co-chairs Launch Michigan (Michigan’s K-12 education coalition). He also serves on the boards of the Michigan Workforce Development Board, Detroit Economic Club, United Way for Southeastern Michigan, the Michigan Educational Excellence Foundation and the [Detroit] Mayor’s Workforce Development Board, as well as the University of Michigan Innovation Partnerships National Advisory Board and the Protect Michigan Commission. Previously, Jeff chaired the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, was a member of Michigan Economic Development Corporation Board, Michigan Strategic Fund, and U.S. Conference of Mayors Workforce Development Council. In 2018, he was appointed to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s transition team as Special Advisor for Jobs and the Economy and was named to Crain’s Detroit Business 40 under 40 class.
Randi Berris is the Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Business Leaders for Michigan. She is responsible for managing all strategic communications, including public relations/media relations, Board communications, social media, advertising and sponsorships.
Berris previously served as director of corporate communications at TCF Bank prior to its merger with Huntington National Bank and played a critical role through the transition. She later became director of external communications at Huntington, where she served as strategic advisor and counselor to the bank and its executives and was responsible for directing the development, implementation and management of external communications strategies, reputational risk management and crisis communications. Berris also spent a number of years at DTE Energy in a variety of positions of increasing responsibility in corporate communications.
Berris started her career as a journalist and was the long-time news editor at the Associated Press bureau in Detroit, including guiding coverage in Michigan through the Great Recession. She directed a large team of reporters covering the state’s business sector, multiple administrations, the state legislature, and the state’s political landscape.
Berris has a degree in broadcast journalism from Syracuse University and currently serves on the Board of Advisors of Vista Maria.
Lindsay Case Palsrok is the Vice President of Government Affairs and is responsible for managing our talent agenda, including work with Launch Michigan and K-12 reform, workforce development and other policy issues.
Lindsay previously served as executive director of Launch Michigan, a partnership of leaders representing business, education, labor, government and philanthropy who care deeply about education and are working to reimage how education can be properly structured and funded to ensure equity, performance and accountability for all learners.
Prior to that, Lindsay was the senior director of government relations at Detroit Regional Chamber. She also worked at the Michigan Republican Party for both the 2004 and 2006 campaign cycles and later served as a legislative director in the Michigan House of Representatives. She also was a fellow of the Michigan Political Leadership Program and a policy fellow of the Center for Health and Research Transformation at the University of Michigan.
Lindsay has a bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University and a MBA from Michigan State University.
Dawn Harding serves as Administrative Assistant for Administration, Communications, Government Affairs and Public Policy. She assists with special projects and provides administrative support to the Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, and Vice President of Public Policy and Economic Development. Dawn also plays a supportive role in the organization’s events, board meetings and outreach activities.
Dawn holds an associate’s degree from Baker College and a continuing legal education certificate. She has more than sixteen years’ experience in a law office, serving as a paralegal and legal assistant.
She also has previous experience as a police cadet and executive assistant for the city of Taylor.
Amy Novak serves as the Executive Assistant for Business Leaders for Michigan. Amy provides support to the President & Chief Executive Officer and to the Chief Operating Officer. Prior to this role, she was Special Assistant for Projects and Outreach, where she provided administrative support to the communications, government affairs, administrative and public policy staff.
Before joining Business Leaders for Michigan, she served in an executive support role at Valenti Capital. Amy attended Oakland Community College and has more than 17 years of experience as an executive assistant. Amy lives in downtown Detroit and is very involved in her local community.
Gabe Rodriguez-Garriga is Vice President for Strategy for Business Leaders for Michigan. He is responsible for leading the organization’s efforts around COVID-19, reviewing the organization’s work plan and strategic priorities, and developing a long-term strategic direction. He also conducts research and develops and executes strategies for accomplishing policy objectives for the state’s economic recovery.
Previously, Gabe was the Senior Vice President of Strategy and Partnerships for the Detroit Regional Partnership where he was responsible for developing the organization’s strategy, regional partnerships, and supporting connections throughout the economy in Southeast Michigan.
Gabe was also the Chief Strategist for the MERC, working alongside co-chairs Gerry Anderson and Nancy Schlichting to advise state government on COVID-19 pandemic policies.
Prior to his work at DRP, Gabe worked at DTE Energy, supporting several Regional CEO Group initiatives, including the formation of the Detroit Regional Partnership. As a project leader at Boston Consulting Group, he managed multiple strategic projects for Fortune 500 companies, including leading the project management office for the Detroit Region’s bid for Amazon HQ2.
Gabe has a Bachelor’s degree in Science, Financial Mathematics and Economics from the University of Michigan, and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Tim Sowton is Vice President of Public Policy and Research for Business Leaders for Michigan and is responsible for policy advocacy, policy development, and supporting the organization’s benchmarking efforts.
Prior to joining Business Leaders for Michigan, Tim was Regional Director of Government Relations for R. L. Polk & Co., based in Southfield, Michigan. In that position, Tim managed all government relations efforts for a 17-state region, including Michigan. In addition, he supported the company’s business development efforts, negotiating agreements with private vendors. Tim also served for nine years in the administration of former Governor John Engler, holding several positions focusing on policy and legislation, with his last position being Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs.
Tim has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Michigan.
Ryan Tarrant is Chief Operating Officer for Business Leaders for Michigan. He is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the organization, overseeing the execution of the organization’s work plan, managing major events, and directing Board member engagement.
Tarrant previously served for five years as president and CEO of the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce. Under his leadership, the chamber added hundreds of new memberships and secured more than $1 million in funding for a talent attraction and retention initiative. The organization also was named the 2019 Michigan Association of Chamber Professionals Large Chamber of the Year.
Prior to the chamber, Tarrant held a variety of positions in government and politics. He served as chief of staff to U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar and as district director for U.S. Rep. Dave Camp. He also was a political affairs manager for the Michigan Bankers Association.
Tarrant has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Saginaw Valley State University.
Stephen Walters is Strategy Analyst at Business Leaders for Michigan. He works to improve Michigan’s competitiveness by collecting and organizing data, abstracting trends, researching best practices, and supporting the development of benchmarks and actionable solutions.
Previously, he worked as a public policy and strategy analyst at MJ Capitol Consulting, LLC. In that capacity, he researched and analyzed federal healthcare legislation and regulations, consulting on behalf of the largest healthcare provider in the state of Michigan.
Stephen earned a Bachelor of Business Administration with high distinction from the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
Bonnie Zorn joined the Business Leaders for Michigan team in October 2022 as Chief of Staff. She oversees office management, logistics, events, many of our team’s operations and countless other things to keep everything running smoothly.
Bonnie has spent much of her career in municipal and federal government, including in leadership roles in several Congressional offices and the City of Taylor. She has her Bachelor’s degree in communications studies from University of Detroit Mercy and a Master’s of Public Administration from University of Michigan Dearborn.
