Our Team
WHO WE ARE
Meet the officers and staff on Michigan AFL-CIO’s team. The Michigan AFL-CIO is staffed by a team of folks dedicated to improving the lives of working families, bringing economic justice to the workplace and social justice to our state and the nation.
Ron Bieber
PRESIDENT
Daryl Newman
SECRETARY-TREASURER
Derek Dobies
CHIEF OF STAFF
Conner Wood
DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF
Stephanie Brown
OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR
Ryan Sebolt
DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
Gwen Jordan
HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR
Michael Kohler
CAMPAIGNS DIRECTOR
Veronica Martinez
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR
Joseph Bellgowan
ORGANIZING DIRECTOR
Payton Ferris
DIGITAL DIRECTOR
Joey Andrews
POLICY ANALYST
Carly Rose
EXTERNAL ORGANIZING SPECIALIST
Cody Lemley
IT SPECIALIST
Bill Elliot
FACILITIES MANAGER
Chris Palette
NATIONAL AFL-CIO SENIOR STRATEGIST & DATA TEAM LEAD
Luke Canfora
NATIONAL AFL-CIO SENIOR FIELD REPRESENTATIVE
John Taylor
REGIONAL FIELD DIRECTOR (WESTERN)
Trent Varva
REGIONAL FIELD COORDINATOR (HURON VALLEY & MONROE-LENAWEE)
Maxwell Lewis
FIELD DIRECTOR
Advocates
Michigan AFL-CIO Advocates is our public advocacy nonprofit organization. Our mission is to unite labor leaders, policy makers, and the general public to educate and advocate around policies, programs and projects that can bring economic justice to the workplace and social justice to communities across Michigan.
Jasmine Kaltenbach
Executive Director
Jasmine Kaltenbach was born and raised in Dearborn, Michigan where she comes from a family of union members. While attending the University of Michigan, Jasmine participated in student activist movements on campus, in College Democrats, and wrote for the MichiganEnsian yearbook. She graduated from the Ford School with a BA in Public Policy, focus in the Economics of Poverty and Inequality.
She ran a competitive mayoral race in Jackson, Michigan and has experience in sales, field organizing, event planning, and fundraising. She continues to consult campaigns on field, finance, and communications. Jasmine is also a presenter at Great Lakes Political academy on Coalition Building, Coordinating, and Outreach to Partner Organizations and Progressive Internship Programs: Best Practices.
She is excited to work at the Michigan AFL-CIO advancing pro-labor municipal policies that will help Michigan’s working families. Jasmine is a member of UAW Local 1981.
Labor Foundation
The Michigan AFL-CIO Labor Foundation is our affiliated charitable nonprofit organization. Our mission is to curtail generational economic and social injustice through long-term investment in the memorialization, education, and association of the Michigan labor movement within our communities.
Workforce Development Institute
The Michigan AFL-CIO Workforce Development Institute is our affiliated nonprofit developing the next generation of Michigan workers. Our mission is to combat economic and environmental injustice by connecting the unemployed or underemployed with the training and resources necessary to find gainful employment and transition to a cleaner, greener economy.
Derek Dobies
INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Colleen Sullivan
DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Annette Donnelly
FISCAL / CONTRACT MANAGER
Walter R. Lodes
DIRECTOR APPRENTICESHIP & TRAINING
Southwest
Battle Creek, Coldwater, Kalamazoo, and Three Rivers
Blaine Farr
WIOA COORDINATOR / BUSINESS SERVICES / CAREER COACH
Julie L. Gregory
Program Tech III
Theresa Olvera
ACCESS FOR ALL CASE MANGER
Megan Tappenden
CAREER COACH
Sandra Payne
PROGRAM TECH III
Samuel Dougherty
SOUTHWEST OPERATIONS DIRECTOR
Michelle Fowler
PROGRAM TECH III / CAREER COACH
Michael Piper
APPRENTICESHIP NAVIGATOR
Brianna Ward
BUSINESS SERVICES REPRESENTATIVE, CAREER COACH
Karen Knox
DIRECTOR APPRENTICESHIP & TRAINING
Nikki Lumsden-Romeri
CAREER COACH
Tina Ferguson
CAREER COACH
Southeast
Highland Park and Detroit
Kevin Weeks
SOUTHEAST DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Kiah O. Esaw
ACCESS FOR ALL COORDINATOR
Beverly A. Hogan
CASE MANAGER
Bethany Smith
PROGRAM ASSISTANT
Ron Merritt
LEAD ACCESS FOR ALL CASE MANAGER
Kenneth Miller
BUSINESS SERVICES REPRESENTATIVE
Sherry White
WIOA COORDINATOR
Access for All
JoAnn Bailey
DIRECTOR OF ACCESS FOR ALL
David Gregory
INSTRUCTOR
Annette Avery
ACCESS FOR ALL, FORD FAST TRACK & YOUTHBUILD INSTRUCTOR
Malik Rollins
INSTRUCTOR
Tyrese West
INSTRUCTOR
Zachary El Amin
SKILLED TRADES INSTRUCTOR
La’Tasha Smith
INSTRUCTOR
Daniel Mahoney
ACCESS FOR ALL CASE MANAGER JACKSON
Theodore Spencer
SKILLED TRADES INSTRUCTOR
John Perkins
SKILLED TRADES INSTRUCTOR
Larry Tolbert
SKILLED TRADES INSTRUCTOR
Shandra Dunn
ACCESS FOR ALL RECRUITER
Community Services
The Michigan AFL-CIO Community Services Department represents the partnership between the Michigan AFL-CIO and the Michigan Association of United Ways. The convening provides education, training, and service opportunities for union members to join with local United Ways in developing powerful responses to challenges faced in communities across Michigan.
Michele Basemore
METRO-DETROIT AFL-CIO
Tiffany Bush
UW SOUTHEASTERN MI
Jesse Cloman Sr.
UW GENESEE COUNTY
Alicia Dennis
UW SOUTHEASTERN MI
Richard Franz
TRI-COUNTY LABOR AGENCY
Tanise Hill
SE MICHIGAN UW
Steve Lamb
UW SAGINAW COUNTY
Teresa McGinnis
UW GENESEE COUNTY
Rella Bittner
UW WASHTENAW COUNTY
David Pawloski
UW BATTLE CREEK/KALAMAZOO
Dan TenHoopen
HEART OF WEST MI UW
Nikkia Hurlbert
UW JACKSON COUNTY
Robert Cramer
MI ASSOCIATION UW
Janavive Routt
UW LAKESHORE
