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, as well as a framework for holistic economic development. He also 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 focused on expanding talent development and economic competitiveness, creating the Michigan Reconnect and Futures for Frontliners programs, and the 60 by 30 initiative 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 worked to rebuild and expand the City’s workforce development system, helping tens of thousands of Detroiters find new and better jobs, increasing Detroit’s summer youth program to more than 8,000 youth participants annually, raising $20 million to renovate Detroit Public School’s Career Technical Education centers and increasing adult worker training by more than 10x. He also led the effort to eliminate Michigan’s “Drivers Responsibility Fees” eliminating $640 million of individual debt and allowing hundreds of 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 is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Launch Michigan (Michigan’s bipartisan nonprofit organization to reform K-12 public education). He also serves on the boards of the Growing Michigan Together Council, Michigan Workforce Development Board, Detroit Economic Club, 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, 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.
Randi 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 at 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.
Lindsay 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 at 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.
Dawn 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.
Haleigh Krombeen is the Director of Government Affairs and Initiatives at 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.
Haleigh previously served as Director of State Advocacy for the Michigan Credit Union League, where she managed the association’s state policy agenda, PAC fundraising efforts and grassroots engagement. In this role, she was the main advocacy voice for all Michigan headquartered credit unions.
Haleigh has a bachelor’s degree from Grand Valley State University, a J.D. from Thomas M. Cooley Law School and is licensed to practice law in the state of Michigan.
Amy Novak serves as the Executive Assistant at 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.
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.
Tim Sowton is Vice President of Public Policy and Research at 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.
Tim 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.
Stephen Walters is Strategy Analyst at 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.
Stephen 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.
Jacqueline J. Wiggins is Chief Operating Officer 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.
Jacque brings a strong background in shaping organizational strategy and aligning investment, large-scale initiatives, communications and teams to drive results. She has extensive experience in private and public companies spanning professional services, banking and nonprofit.
Most recently, Jacque served as Chief Strategy Officer for Baker Tilly, a Top 10 advisory CPA firm where she was responsible for business strategy, brand, marketing and communications. She first joined Baker Tilly in 2016 as Chief of Staff and played a pivotal role in the firm’s 19 acquisitions completed during her tenure.
Prior to Baker Tilly, Jacque served as Chief Operating Officer at Inforum, a Detroit and Grand Rapids-based organization that accelerates careers for women. She began her career in banking, working in Detroit and Chicago in a range of leadership roles including sales, marketing, process reengineering and public affairs.
A Detroit native, Jacque has her bachelor’s degree in economics from Wayne State University and a master’s degree in finance from Walsh College.
Bonnie Zorn is Chief of Staff at 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.
Bonnie 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.
