Important Ferry Transportation Update

Shepler’s will be the exclusive ferry service to Mackinac Island starting August 19, with ferries departing more frequently from Mackinaw City and St. Ignace to the island.

CONVENTION 2024

September 11-13

The Michigan Municipal League’s annual Convention brings together local officials, city managers, mayors, council members, municipal attorneys, and others for a three-day conference, giving them an opportunity to connect and learn about how Michigan’s communities can become forward-looking, thriving places through new measures of what matters.

Convention 2024 attendees will leave this year’s event with:

Activation

A compelling desire for action to activate their community, councils, and members to embrace inspiration and new ideas.

Empowerment

A deep belief that they have the power to affect prosperity, quality of life, and sense of trust and belonging within their community.

Innovation

A changed perspective to look at their communities through an innovative lens.

Optimism

A positive outlook about future prosperity, quality of life, and sense of trust and belonging within their community.

Tangible tools

Meaningful information and tools that help them access resources and create change.

#mmlconv

Venue

Grand Hotel
286 Grand Ave,
Mackinac Island, MI 49757

Accommodations

Grand Hotel
286 Grand Ave,
Mackinac Island, MI 49757

Speakers

Clarence E. Anthony

CEO and Executive Director | National League of Cities (NLC)

Clarence E. Anthony is CEO and executive director of the National League of Cities
(NLC), the largest and oldest organization representing America’s cities, towns,
and villages. Under his leadership, NLC helped deliver billions of dollars in direct
federal relief through the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan Act to assist
local governments recover and rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Anthony
began his career in public service as mayor of South Bay, Florida, for 24 years.
Afterward, Mr. Anthony represented local governments on the world stage as founding
treasurer and interim manager of United Cities and Local Governments.
Ethan Kent

Executive Director | PlacemakingX

Ethan Kent works to support public space organizations, projects, and leadership
around the world to build a global placemaking movement. Ethan has traveled to
more than 1,000 cities and 60 countries to advance the cause of leading urban
development with inclusive public spaces and placemaking. In 2019, he co-founded
PlacemakingX to network, amplify, and accelerate placemaking leadership and impact
globally. He builds on more than 20 years of working on placemaking projects and
campaigns with Project for Public Spaces. Ethan has been integral to the development
of placemaking as a transformative approach to economic development,
environmentalism, transportation planning, governance, resilience, social equity,
design, digital space, tourism, and innovation.

Ethan has keynoted well over 100 of the top urbanism conferences and has helped
organize dozens of the placemaking conferences that have most shaped the movement.
Teri Takai

Senior Vice President | Center for Digital Government

Teri Takai is the senior vice president of the Center for Digital Government, a national
research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in
state and local government. She worked for Ford Motor Company for 30 years in
global application development and information technology strategic planning. From
Ford, she moved to EDS, a subsidiary of General Motors.

Teri’s interest in public service led her to the government sector. She has held CIO
positions in the states of Michigan and California and was subsequently the first
woman appointed to CIO of the U.S. Department of Defense. She then served as the
CIO for Meridian Health Plan.

Teri has won numerous awards, including Governing magazine’s Public Official of the
Year, CIO magazine’s CIO Hall of Fame, Government Technology magazine’s Top 25
Doers, Dreamers & Drivers, the Women in Defense Excellence in Leadership Award,
and the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service.
Dan Gilmartin

Executive Director and CEO | Michigan Municipal League

Dan Gilmartin is the executive director and CEO of the Michigan Municipal League.
Through his work with communities, Dan is recognized as a national leader in urban
revitalization, placemaking, local government reform, transportation policy,
and community wealth building. Under Dan’s leadership, the League has steadily
grown to wield increasing influence on matters of civic engagement and equity-based
strategies to improve the quality of life for residents in communities large and small.
He is actively engaged in the National League of Cities (NLC), serves on the NLC’s
board of directors, and is frequently quoted in state and national publications on
community-related topics.

Dan is a lifelong Michigander, a Detroit native (and booster), and currently resides
in the historic downtown of Northville with his wife, Lori, and two sons.