Every year, the Michigan Lean Consortium is lucky to be surrounded by people who give more to this community than they ever ask for in return. This year, we're especially proud to shine a light on three of them; one Distinguished Service Award recipient and, for the first time ever, two MLC Challenge Coin honorees.
If you've been part of an MLC event, virtual coffee, or book club in the last year, chances are one of these people has touched your experience with us. Here's why we're so grateful for each of them.
2026 Distinguished Service Award: Ruth Archer
Ruth Archer, Director of Continuous Improvement at Michigan Technological University, is this year's recipient of the MLC Distinguished Service Award, recognizing her exceptional contributions to the MLC and the broader continuous improvement community.
Ruth has left her mark on MLC in more ways than one. She's led our Book Club, facilitated virtual coffees that turned casual conversations into real connections, and been one of our most consistent advocates on social media. At Michigan Tech, she's a dedicated ambassador for everything MLC stands for.
What ties it all together is Ruth's generosity, she shows up, again and again, in the small and large ways that make a community feel like a community. We're grateful for her passion and her commitment to advancing the Lean community here in Michigan and beyond.
Thank you, Ruth.
Introducing the MLC Challenge Coins
This year also marks something brand new for MLC: our first-ever Challenge Coins. These coins recognize members whose impact and legacy have shaped who we are as an organization.
Impact Coin: Melissa Sherman
The Impact Coin goes to Melissa Sherman, whose 27+ years in the utility industry have given her a front-row seat to nearly every corner of the business.
Throughout her career, Melissa has woven Lean methodology and change management together, applying both to everything from scheduling and warehouse redesigns to value stream analysis. She's built a reputation for turning data into action, analyzing processes, driving root cause analysis, and delivering sustainable, measurable improvements that hold up over time.
Melissa is the current MLC Vice Chair and Events Director. She has been the glue holding us together and we could not have brought you all the programming this past year without her.
Congratulations, Melissa, your impact on this community is felt far beyond your day job.
Legacy Coin: Dr. Debra Levantrosser
The Legacy Coin goes to Dr. Debra Levantrosser, Faculty at the University of Michigan and, fittingly, the founder of the Michigan Lean Consortium.
Debra brings more than 35 years of executive-level international leadership experience to everything she does. For the past 15 years, she's been full-time faculty in U-M's College of Engineering, Industrial and Operations Engineering department, teaching lean manufacturing, leadership for engineers, and senior design, while also leading career readiness workshops and serving as Faculty Director for the Leadership Program at U-M Online and Professional Education. Along the way, she's advised organizations like 3M, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Boeing on supply chain and leadership challenges.
Before U-M, Debra was The Change Leader for Johnson & Johnson, leading a global supply chain transformation, and served as the corporation's Executive Director of Lean Strategy and Deployment. Earlier still, she directed the Southeast Asian Automotive Practice in Bangkok for PricewaterhouseCoopers, helping build it into the top firm in Asia — with additional leadership roles at Ford, Exide Technologies, Vassar Brothers Hospital, and her own companies along the way. She also hosted The Leaning Edge on the Michigan Business Network.
This year, Debra returned to the MLC Board of Directors and has brought her legacy along with new life to our organization. As the Higher Education Program Director, she has tirelessly worked to create partnerships between the MLC and higher education institutions; growing our next generation of Lean leaders.
Everything MLC has become traces back to Debra's vision. It's only fitting that the very first Legacy Coin bears her name.
Thank You
Ruth, Melissa, and Debra each represent something different about what makes this community work: service, impact, and legacy. Together, they remind us that MLC isn't really about methodology. It's about the people who show up for each other, teach each other, and build something worth belonging to.
Congratulations to all three of you. We're proud to call you part of the MLC family.
