2017 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Betsy Williams

Training Services at Northwestern Michigan College

Term expires in 2020

Betsy works in the Training Services Division of Northwestern Michigan College as a Sales and Training Specialist, specializing in human resource management. Betsy is a former travel executive and consultant, with over 30 years of statewide operational development and management experience.

Her current professional affiliations include:
• Traverse City Chamber Healthcare Committee Member
• SHRM Human Resource Specialist
• Traverse City Area Human Resource Board Member
• Michigan Lean Consortium Event and Annual Conference Committee Member
• Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center Annual Conference Committee Member
• Certified DISC Trainer

Rob Pease

MLC Chair

Term Expires in 2019

Kata/Improvement Manager at N U C R A F T

Rob has over 20 years of leadership and coaching experience. He has been influential for change and culture with accolades from the military, government, and corporate environments. Currently working within the furniture industry he is coaching an organization through a cultural transformation to achieve substantial growth (of 300%). Rob has traveled the nation focusing on his passion for training, speaking, and coaching in a myriad of organizations and venues. Rob has been married for 18 years, the father of two teenage boys, currently a basketball coach, pursuing his graduate degree at Western Michigan University in Organizational Change Leadership, as well as being the chair of the Michigan Lead Consortium board.

Brian DeVries

MLC Technology & Social Media Lead

Term Expires in 2019

Continuous improvement Manager at Zeeland Farm Services Inc.  

Brian has global experience in the development and execution of continuous improvement/lean strategy and assessment within manufacturing facilities in various locations within the U.S., as well as facilities in India, China, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, and France.  Before joining ZFS, Brian was a CI Manager with Dean Foods, and a Global Continuous Improvement Champion at Haworth Inc.  Brian also had worked as a Production Supervisor where he was introduced to Lean, and began building his formal lean skills by self-studying Toyota Kata and working as part of the Lean/Quality team at Steelcase. Prior to his lean journey, Brian was a Golf Course Superintendent in various areas of the country including Southampton, NY, Williamsburg, VA, and Las Vegas, NV.

Brian has a Masters of Global Business Administration from Cornerstone University, is a Lean & Six Sigma Project of the Year Award Recipient, a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and is Google Analytics Certified.

Holly Plaga, LSSBB

Secretary

Term Expires in 2019

Operational Excellence Leader at Dart Container

Holly has a background in industrial engineering and has spent over 20 years fostering organizational change and strategically deploying methods of process improvement in both the manufacturing and transactional environments. She has been invited to work in government, non-profit, pharmaceutical, healthcare, energy, aerospace, defense, finance, fabrication and tier 1 and tier 2 automotive manufacturing. She enjoys working together with organizations to develop a positive team atmosphere, while implementing effective and efficient systems to facilitate process excellence; creating the linkage needed to sustain positive change.

Born and raised in Michigan, Holly graduate of Michigan State University in Interior Design and began her journey at Dart Corporation December 27th, 2014.

She has been an active member of the Michigan Lean Consortium since 2010 and currently serves on the Board of Directors.

Outside of work Holly and her husband, Ken enjoys raising their two highly energetic teenagers and two dogs. She looks forward to any activity out of doors, especially gardening and running. She samples as much chocolate as possible and loves singing in the local chorale.

Favorite color is Green, with purple as a close second

• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certified
  
• Lean Leader Certified
  
• Change Pro Simulation Certified
  

Jeff Bankowski

Treasurer

Term expires in 2018

In his role as OPT Chief Performance Officer, Bankowski actively works to foster an innovative and efficient government in Michigan where employee input is valued, efforts are recognized

and teams are always striving for continuous improvement. Within OPT, he oversees the lean process initiatives and helps state departments establish a more effective system of customer service, performance measurement and regulatory and business practices.

Bankowski brings a fresh perspective to government work, removing barriers to make the State of Michigan an employer of choice. He has extensive experience in administration, risk management and cost management, including operational improvement and business transformation.

Prior to being appointed OPT Director in April 2016, Bankowski served as the State’s Chief Internal Auditor for 16 months. He led the transformation of the group and their approach to risk management to be recognized as trusted advisors to the executive branch.

Bankowski came to state government from Capital for Merchants, LLC in Troy, a subsidiary of North American Bancard, where he was president and established a customer-centered business model focusing on enhanced service and more efficient operations.

He also worked for six years at Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. in Warren as Director of Internal Audit and then vice president. He successfully transformed business units by aligning strategic direction in recognition of fundamental industry changes through data analytics, process optimization, and performance management.

From 2004 to 2007, he worked for Teskid Aluminum, LTD in Southfield as Director of Worldwide Accounting Operations and Chief Accounting Officer. He moved back to his home state in 2003 after working as Senior Audit Manager at Chicago Mercantile Exchange CME Group, where he managed financial, operational and compliance audits.

Bankowski earned his Master’s degree from DePaul University and Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan. He returned to Michigan to make a difference in his home state. He currently lives in Ann Arbor with his wife Laura and their two children.

Anthony DeCaria

MLC Membership Liaison 

Term expires in 2020

As an improvement strategist, hack psychologist and fun enthusiast, Anthony DeCaria is always looking for unique ways to inspire lean thinking.  He's helped DTE Energy and other organizations work toward creating a flourishing culture of seeing and solving problems by working with all employees, from front lines to founders.  He has advised Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, and non-profits in the food, finance, and energy sectors on developing lean strategy, building operating systems, and sparking entrepreneurial behavior.  Anthony lives with his wife, two kids, massive cat, and secret punk-rocker status in Milford, Michigan.  He's released four albums and won an international songwriting competition.

Lucy Young

Term expires in 2020

Lucy Young has thirty-seven years of experience in healthcare leadership, project management and process & quality improvement. She has led and been involved with several types improvement initiatives related to quality improvement, cost reduction, re-engineering, benchmarking, information systems implementation, mergers, and opening new hospitals and facilities. Currently, Ms. Young is the Director of the Corporate Performance Excellence Department where she leads a team to support System transformation initiatives, including population management strategies and system-wide transformation initiatives.

Her previous role was Director of Quality and Performance Excellence at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. In that role, she was responsible for key operational improvement initiatives, risk management, infection control and Regulatory compliance. While in that role, she was also the project manager for the EMR go-live for the Hospital and campus clinics.

Additional past roles at Henry Ford Health System (HFHS) included the Director of Henry Ford’s Corporate Management Services department, where she supervised a team of 14 and staffed HFHS’s Performance Council, the System’s most senior level leadership team responsible for strategy development and deployment.

Previously, Ms. Young was a Senior Consultant for Premier, Inc. where she was assigned as the Director of Performance Engineering at McLaren Health Care Corporation in Flint, Michigan. Lucy also worked for the Detroit Medical Center (DMC) for fourteen years, finishing her tenure there as their Director of Corporate Operations Analysis.

Lucy served on the Society for Health System’s (SHS) Board from 2006 to 2008 and was SHS President from 2011-2012.

Lucy has a BS in Industrial and Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Oakland University, in Rochester, Michigan. She is married and stays plenty busy with six children and a new puppy, Porter! Lucy loves Michigan lakes and water, and enjoys water-skiing, kayaking and paddle-boarding in the summer, bike rides among the beautiful Michigan spring blooms and fall colors, and ice-skating or cross-country skiing in the winter.