Bill Anderson is Government Finance and Operations Specialist for the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, the regional planning organization for Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw and Wayne counties. In his current role, Anderson coordinates legislative activities that impact Southeast Michigan in Lansing and Washington D.C., and is Policy Specialist for the Metropolitan Affairs Coalition. In the early 1990s, he worked on legislation related to implementation of Proposal A. Anderson is well known in the Brighton area, having served on the Brighton Area Schools Board of Education from 1998 to 2005 and again from 2010 to 2015, and was Brighton Township Supervisor from 1992 to 1996. Anderson was Legislative Liaison for the Michigan Townships Association from 2001 to 2013, and earlier Senior Policy Advisor for the Michigan House Republicans’ Programs and Research Section. Anderson holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and public administration from Michigan State University.
Dr. Tyrone Bynoe is an Assistant Professor of Education at the University of Michigan-Flint and an Associate Professor of Education Previously, he held teaching and educational leadership responsibilities with the University of the Cumberlands in Kentucky. Bynoe earned an Ed.D. in Educational Administration from Teachers College-Columbia University. He also earned an M.A. in Social Sciences, M.S. Ed. in Educational Administration and Policy Studies, an M.A. in American History, and a B.A. in American History, all from the University of Albany, NY. He has several administrative and teaching licenses in Kentucky and New York. Dr. Bynoe has a rich background in supervisory and pedagogical practice. He has been a New York State public school administrator involving grades K-12, and has experience as a History and Social Studies teacher. His academic interests include school finance, effective schools, teacher quality, organizational behavior, public school supervision, educational history and computer applications.
Dianne Byrum is a Partner at Byrum & Fisk Communications, along with Mark Fisk. She is recognized nationally and statewide as one of the most effective political strategists around. Byrum has extensive experience successfully directing complex, multi-layered projects that are national in scope, and bridging diverse, inter-related industries. Byrum has more than 24 years’ experience as an Ingham County commissioner and in the Michigan Legislature, including serving two terms as the Michigan House Democratic leader – the first woman to lead a caucus in the state Capitol. In 2008, Byrum was elected to the Michigan State University Board of Trustees with nearly 2.2 million votes statewide.
Mark Fisk is a Partner at Byrum & Fisk Communications, along with Dianne Byrum. Fisk is widely acknowledged as one of Michigan’s best political strategists, and a paid and earned media expert who gets results. An award-winning print journalist and a veteran of numerous communications projects and campaigns at the national, statewide and local levels, Fisk is viewed as one of the best practitioners of the craft of message development. Prior to forming Byrum & Fisk in 2007, Fisk was the political and communications director for the Michigan House Democratic Caucus. He was previously communications director for Democratic attorney general candidate Gary Peters, and press secretary and spokesman for U.S. Congressman David Bonior during his 2002 bid for Michigan governor.
Robert F. Moore, Jr. became Deputy Superintendent at Oakland Schools in July 2005 after leaving his position as Senior Deputy CEO for Detroit Public Schools. At Oakland Schools, Moore oversaw auxiliary services, maintenance and facility operations, financial services, government relations and legal affairs. He has also overseen Community Programs, Technology Services and Workforce Development at Oakland Schools. In Detroit, Moore’s responsibilities included facility maintenance, capital improvement, contracting, transportation, food service, security and legislative affairs. He was previously Deputy Superintendent and CFO for Colorado Springs School District 11, and Executive Director of Financial Services for the Pueblo School District in Colorado. Moore, a U.S. Coast Guard veteran, holds an MBA from the University of Southern Colorado and a bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Moore retired in 2018.
John L. Myers has been an educational consultant since 1993 and hails from Commerce City, Colorado. He recently retired as Vice President of Augenblick, Palaich and Associates. APA specializes in education finance policy and is the firm that was hired by the State of Michigan to conduct the adequacy study, which was released in June 2016. APA succeeded Augenblick & Myers Inc. (A&M) in 2003, and Myers was a partner in the firm for the 10 years leading up to that point. He joined A&M after six years as the Education Program Director for the National Conference of State Legislatures. Prior to working with the NCSL, Mr. Myers served as executive assistant to the governor of Kansas and served six years as a member of the Kansas House of Representatives. In addition to his legislative experience, Myers has worked as a newspaper reporter, Boy Scout executive and community education coordinator. He previously served as the founding Co-Director of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers and as Director of the Colorado School Finance Project. He also worked for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards from 1997 to 2015.
Craig Thiel is Research Director for the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, a not-for-profit public policy research organization that celebrated its centennial birthday in 2016. Thiel has extensive knowledge of state, local and educational public policy issues that frame the CRC’s work. He has authored many CRC reports, including some recognized by the Governmental Research Association. His research focuses on education and school finance issues. Thiel joined the CRC’s full-time research staff in 2006 after serving as the Lent Upson-Loren Miller Fellow from 1993 to 1995. Prior to his return to the CRC, Thiel worked as a fiscal analyst for the Senate Fiscal Agency for six years and for the House Fiscal Agency for three years. Before working for the Michigan Legislature, Thiel worked for the Michigan Secretary of State, Office of Policy and Planning from 1995 to 1997. Thiel began his professional career with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Chicago in 1991. He holds an M.P.A. from Wayne State University and a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Kalamazoo College. He holds positions on various professional, nonprofit and local government boards and associations.
Jessica Thomas is a local government turnaround expert who helps distressed governments improve their financial health, thereby improving the lives of those who live and work in those communities. Thomas is currently Consent Agreement Consultant for Royal Oak Charter Township. In January of 2016, she was appointed to the Lincoln Park Receivership Transition Advisory Board after Gov. Rick Snyder announced that the Lincoln Park financial emergency had been resolved. Her background includes 16 years in municipal finance, operational development, governmental affairs, corporate restructuring, budget analysis, negotiations, governmental audits, procedure development, and financial reporting and analysis. She has been recognized as one of Oakland County’s Elite “40 Under 40.”
Judy Wright is a partner in Plante Moran. She leads the Education Consulting Practice for Plante Moran and works with clients on transformation, cost containment and IT initiatives. She has over 25 years of experience in the education industry. Her experience includes: project management, strategic initiatives — including shared services facilitation — process improvement, transformation and technology planning. Wright has worked with over 100 educational clients over the past 10 years. Prior to joining Plante Moran, Wright was the Director of Computing Services at Wayne State University School of Business Administration and an adjunct faculty member in the Management Information Systems program. She holds an MBA from The University of Michigan and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Wayne State University.
