5HF is governed by a 15-member Board of Directors
“This Board of Directors is a group of people willing to start an organization from nothing, get a little messy during the development stage, and move fearlessly forward to the vision of a healthy, vibrant community.”
Joanne Rau
Chair
Joanne is the president of Chelsea State Bank. She has 19 years of distinguished banking experience, most recently as Senior Vice President, Business Banking Executive overseeing the Great Lakes Region for Fifth Third Bank. Joanne received her Bachelor of Business Administration from Eastern Michigan University. She currently serves as an Executive Committee member of Ann Arbor SPARK and was a previous board member and mentor of Winning Futures as well as Power of the Purse Chair for United Way of Washtenaw. She resides in Chelsea with her family.
Ginny Leikam
Secretary
Ginny is currently the Superintendent of Park Planning and Natural Areas for Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission. Ginny holds a B.S. in Biology and Environmental Science from Baylor University and a M.S. in Natural Resource Policy from the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment. Ginny currently serves as Vice President of the Board for Legacy Land Conservancy and is a trustee on the board of Heart of the Lakes.
Prior to working for Washtenaw County, Ginny worked for over 15 years with non-profit organizations, most recently with The Conservation Fund. While at The Fund, through a contract with the City of Ann Arbor, she managed their Greenbelt Program, focused on farmland preservation. In addition, Ginny provided oversight and direction for Food Security projects to increase the supply of healthy food for underserved communities across Michigan and West Virginia. Additional past experience includes grant writing and management, budget management, international development and public outreach. She also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Russia, focusing on environmental education.
Jeff Wojcik
Treasurer
Jeff is an independent consultant, providing CFO advisory and strategic management consulting services to clients across different industries. In addition to his work with 5 Healthy Towns, Jeff is a member of Avalon Housing’s Finance Committee. Jeff and his wife Erika have two daughters in the Chelsea School District, and they enjoy exploring the area’s many parks, playgrounds, and festivals. Jeff loves cooking, learning about new foods, and is an early-morning regular at the Chelsea Farmers Market to buy the best local ingredients.
Steve Petty
CEO
Healthy Towns Foundation (5HF), whose mission is to cultivate improvements in personal and community wellness in Chelsea, Dexter, Grass Lake, Manchester and Stockbridge Michigan, is pleased to announce Stephen D. Petty as the new Chief Executive Officer of 5HF. Steve will join the Foundation in mid-July as the successor of Amy Heydlauff who is retiring from that position after 12 years.
Steve has held numerous positions over the last 15 years at the Ann Arbor YMCA, most recently as Vice President of Healthy Living & Social Responsibility. His responsibilities included oversight of health & wellness programs and facilities, aquatics, youth sports & camps, teen programming, community-based programming, dance and arts. Steve also provided leadership to health management initiatives, developing referral systems and community partnerships to advance health intervention programs such as Livestrong, Diabetes Prevention Program, Moving for Better Balance, Enhance Fitness, Pedaling for Parkinson’s and Blood Pressure Self-Monitoring. Steve brings experience building authentic collaborations to better meet the needs of members, patrons and community partners.
Patrick Conlin, current Chair of the 5 Healthy Towns Board of Directors and member of the CEO search committee stated, “Steve’s experience at the YMCA and his natural skills as a leader make him an excellent CEO choice to balance internal management responsibilities with the external visibility that is vital to achieving the strategic goals of 5 Healthy Towns.”
Steve earned his BA (Hons) in Media and Cultural Studies at University of Manchester, England and holds certificates in Content Strategy (Northwestern University) and Business Strategy (University of Virginia). Steve lives in Dexter, MI with his wife Gemma, and two children, Lochlan and Georgiana.
Nick Angel
Dr. Nick Angel is the Superintendent of the Grass Lake Community Schools. Predating this Dr. Angel served as both a High School and Middle School Principal in Chelsea for 16 years and was a High School English Teacher and Coach with the Blissfield Community Schools. Dr. Angel received his Bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University, his Master’s Degree from Madonna University, his Specialist degree from Siena Heights University and his Doctorate degree in Leadership and Innovation from Madonna University.
In addition, Dr. Angel is an Assistant Professor in the Graduate Leadership program at Madonna University. Dr. Angel currently serves in leadership positions on the Chelsea Hospital Board, the Grass Lake Chamber of Commerce, the Western Michigan University Superintendent’s Advisory Council and the Grass Lake Education Foundation. He is very excited to join our Board to continue to strengthen the partnership between Grass Lake and the other towns within our organization with a focus on serving our youth and the underserved. He is married to his wife, Theresa, and is the proud Dad to four daughters who all serve in occupations related to serving their communities.
Abigael Davis
Abby holds an MS from EMU and BA from U of M. She most recently served as an Organizational Development Consultant for NEW in Ann Arbor. Prior to that she was with the Ann Arbor Y for 7 years, most recently as Director of Teen & Volunteer Programs. She has collaborated with 90+ community partners, Y of USA, and International Y’s to develop the next generation of changemakers across the organization. She also established the Staff Diversity, Inclusion, and Global Action Team to measure application of DEI strategies across key operational and programmatic areas.
She is currently a member of the Board of Directors, Ann Arbor YMCA, and a member of the following Boards and Committees; Bold Futures, Ginsberg Center Community Action, and Washtenaw Associations of Volunteer Coordinators. She resides in Manchester with her husband and new baby.
Matt Kennison
Matt is a partner in the law firm Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP. Matt focuses his practice primarily in business litigation, and was a member of the legal team that represented and defended 5HF in its property tax litigation with the City of Dexter that began in 2015. Matt was born and raised in Southern California, and obtained his BA in political science from the University of California, San Diego before joining the Long Beach Police Department. Matt moved to Michigan with his family in 2012 and obtained his JD from the University of Michigan Law School. Matt enjoys spending time outdoors with his friends and family, and playing hockey at the swanky Arctic Coliseum in Chelsea.
Stephen Keskes
Stephen Keskes, Ed.D. Stephen is a lifelong educator who has served in rural, suburban, and urban contexts. He has supported school communities in the roles of teacher, coach, assistant principal, high school director, curriculum director, assistant superintendent of curriculum instruction, assistant superintendent of human resources, and most recently as the Director of Grants and Academic Innovation with the Stockbridge Community Schools. He is married to his wife, Miranda, who is also an educator and author. Together, they have two sons Connor, 14 and Cameron, 11. They currently live in the Okemos community where they continue to give back as volunteers supporting their sons’ passions for soccer and football. Stephen is a lifelong learner, holding a Bachelor’s Degree from Eastern Michigan University, Masters in the Art of Teaching from Marygrove College, an Education Specialist Degree from Michigan State University, and he just completed his Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Michigan State University. Stephen is passionate about equity, literacy, and empowering student voices. He has previously served on the advisory board for Children’s Choice Initiative, a non-profit organization focused on helping teachers teach students with dyslexia how to read. Stephen has a knack for building partnerships with organizations outside of school communities to improve outcomes for children and communities. He is very excited to join our Board to learn more about the intersection between the work 5 Healthy Towns is performing to promote the continued development of our healthy and vibrant communities, and is interested in engaging youth in that process.
Beth Morris
Beth graduated from the University of Michigan School of Social Work where she completed her M.S.W. She holds a second master’s degree in public administration from Eastern Michigan University and completed her undergraduate work at Michigan State University in the areas of psychology and political science
Presently, Beth works as a mental health therapist at Timber Creek Counseling, LLC. She has experience collaborating with individuals, parents, families, and couples. Prior to Timber Creek, she worked for 18 years in public education (Garden City, Monroe, Chelsea and Michigan State University). Her clinical specialties include anxiety, grief, loss, trauma, compassion fatigue and burnout. Recent areas of interest include secondary trauma, dementia, and end of life transitions.
Beth was elected to the Chelsea City Council in November 2023 and is a city representative for the following Board of Directors: CAFA (Chelsea Area Fire Authority) and WAVE (Western-Washtenaw Area Value Express). She has lived in Chelsea for 20 years. Her hobbies include walking, writing, reading, finding shoes hidden by her dog, Bailey, and having Frank the Pug snore on her lap. She is married to an avid sports junkie/announcer and has a high school aged daughter who plays volleyball.
Ben Miles
Ben is the President and CEO of Chelsea Community Hospital. He comes to us from Fort Wayne IN, where he served as the President – Health Plan Services & Chief Advocacy Officer at Parkview Health. During his time at Parkview Health he significantly expanded the system’s market share while building loyalty to the hospital among patients and their families. Ben is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and American Society for Quality (ASQ).
Nicole O’Brien, MHSA
Nicole joined Saint Joseph Mercy Health System in 2001 and has served in various roles including strategy, operations improvement and operations. She is currently serving as the Director of Strategic Planning for St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor, Chelsea and Livingston. Nicole has a Masters of Health Services Administration from the University of Michigan and a Bachelors of Arts in Social Relations from Michigan State University.
Nicole is a native Michigander and has resided in Dexter for the last ten years with her husband, Coley, and two children Miles (10) and McKenna (8). Together as a family, Nicole loves any opportunity to be active outdoors – hiking, snow-shoeing, biking and kayaking.
Elizabeth Pielsticker, MD
Liz is an Interventional Cardiologist and Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory Director at Henry Ford Allegiance Health in Jackson, Michigan, previously with Michigan Heart. She performs heart catheterizations and angioplasties to open up blocked arteries. A big part of her job is secondary prevention, taking care of patients after a heart attack to prevent future heart attacks, but she also enjoys counseling patients on primary prevention of a heart attack, which was part of the allure of joining the 5HT Board, to help make our communities healthier. Liz is a Board member Michigan Chapter of the American College of Cardiology, Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and Previous marketing Director of Michigan Heart.
For activity, she likes to walk the dogs while cleaning up her neighborhood. She also likes to swim and ride mountain bikes with her family.
Rebecca Schnetzer
Rebecca is the Executive Director for the State Alliance of Michigan YMCA’s and is responsible for strategic and operational support to 26 YMCA associations and 67 branches. She has been with the YMCA for 20 years and is also the Director of the Indiana and Michigan Regional Service Hub and is responsible for consulting, coordination of projects and management of the regional advisory council. Rebecca is currently a membership and child development/day camp consultant for Y USA across the country. She lives in Dexter with her husband and two children.
Dori Tamagne, MD
Dr. Dori Tamagne is a Board Certified Family Physician who earned her medical degree from Michigan State University and Specialty training from the University of Michigan. With over 20 years of experience, Dr. Tamagne has provided medical care to residents in the communities of Manchester, Chelsea, and Brooklyn, Michigan. Her commitment to health and wellness for all continues now in her retirement.
Dr. Tamagne and her husband have been proud residents of Manchester for more than 30 years, raising their two children in this community. Since retiring from clinical practice, Dr. Tamagne has continued to contribute to her community by substitute teaching, participating in the Manchester walking group, gardening, and engaging in a variety of community activities.
Cassie Watson
Cassie is the Director of Integrated Health at Lifeways Community Mental Health in Jackson as well as the Project Director for the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) grant that LifeWays received from SAMHSA in February 2021. She holds a B.S. in Human Biology, Master’s in Public Health with a graduate certificate in Food Safety and Toxicology, Associate’s Degree in Nursing, and is currently working on my Master’s of Nursing. Cassie is a member of the Jackson County United Way board and a member of the Jackson Interfaith Shelter’s board.
Recently, Cassie has been working with her team to develop programming that is youth-focused and also programming tailored to the needs of adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities. “I love being able to educate providers of care on the benefits of the whole health approach and being a voice to advocate for our most vulnerable community members in a way that reduces stigma and promotes inclusion.” Cassie enjoys reading, running, and spending time with family.