Updates About People

On April 28, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced staffing updates to the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, & Energy (EGLE), as well as other executive office staff updates.

Aaron Keatley, who served as chief deputy director at EGLE, was selected to become the acting director of the department. Keatley was previously responsible for managing and coordinating Michigan’s environmental programs. Keatley will hold the position as acting director until Whitmer announces a permanent placement in the coming weeks. This comes after former director Dan Eichinger announced he was taking a new opportunity outside of the department.

In the executive office, a handful of individuals have new positions:

• Emily Paski is joining the governor’s legal team as the Tribal Liaison and Associate Counsel
• Dan Osher will join the legal team as Deputy Legal Counsel
• Alex Thibodeau will serve as the Director of Appointments
• Nate Engle was promoted to Director of the Office of Community Engagement
• Amanda Youssef was promoted to Director of Constituent Services

On Wednesday, January 4, Justice Elizabeth Clement was unanimously elected to serve as chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court for the two-year term following the resignation of former Chief Justice Bridget McCormack.

Chief Justice Clement was first appointed to the bench by former Republican Governor Rick Snyder. She will lead the 4-3 Democratic-appointed majority that will also be majority female with the recent addition of Justice Kyra Harris Bolden.

Following approval from federal officials, Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) has officially named Amy Hovey as the executive director.

Hovey served as a contract consultant for MSHDA while awaiting the finalization of her appointment as executive director. Hovey’s priorities include collaborating with the Housing Partnership Advisory Board to implement their housing goal of creating 75,000 new housing units across Michigan over the next five years. This is in accordance with Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Executive Order signed in September which created the Housing Partnership Advisory Board to ensure federal funding for affordable housing and housing equity.