We’re excited to be joined by four new members for our board of directors
Join us in wishing a warm welcome to our newly elected board members: Jerina Cleveland, David Miechiels, Melinda Powers and Brittany Simmons!
Jerina Cleveland
Jerina serves as the Community Manager for the Catch a Ride Network, where she works directly with riders to help them bridge transportation gaps. She also has over two decades of experience in community advocacy, workforce development, and education. Jerina has lots of experience bringing all kinds of voices, from professional to community, to the table to ensure regional transportation decisions are made to serve everyone.
David Miechiels
David works at the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy as their Governance & Project Manager, strengthening the board’s governance of the Riverfront. He also ran the Riverfront’s volunteer program for over 3 years, engaging over 500 volunteers annually and major partners. David has tons of experience mobilizing people for change, and can help TRU step up our volunteer efforts.
Melinda B. Powers
Melinda is a small business consultant and legal advisor, who has served in countless nonprofits over the years helping with fundraising efforts. She grew up in Detroit, and spent 15 years living in Florida before returning home as a car-free resident. Melinda offers insight as a Detroiter who left home but has come back & relies on transit, and will greatly help TRU with our fundraising efforts.
Brittany Simmons
In her day job, Brittany is a professional transportation planner at OHM, working on public engagement events and using various technical planning skills. However, you likely know as SignedBritt, a popular planning & urbanism content creator who focuses on car-free living in Detroit. Brittany has introduced countless young people to transportation issues, and has seen first-hand the amount of unmet demand that exists for transit throughout Metro Detroit.
Stay tuned to learn more about our new board members over the coming months, and to hear more from them!