MDE - Meet the Directors

Mike P. Flanagan
Office of the Superintendent
	Flanagan Bio - The Superintendent of Public Instruction is appointed by and responsible to the State Board of Education, which is elected at-large on a partisan basis. The Superintendent sits on Governor's Cabinet, the State Administrative Board, and acts as chair and a non-voting member of the State Board of Education. The Superintendent advises the Legislature on education policy and funding needs, as defined by the State Board of Education. The Superintendent is responsible for the implementation of bills passed by the Legislature and policies established by the State Board of Education.

Sally Vaughn

Office of the Superintendent

Vaughn Bio - The Chief Academic Officer for Education Services is responsible for the implementation of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). To be in compliance with NCLB, the Chief Academic Officer/Deputy Superintendent focuses on teaching and learning for all of Michigan ’s educational community, particularly in the areas of accreditation, accountability, school restructuring, and high priority schools. This position assists the Superintendent of Public Instruction by serving as a member of the Superintendent’s leadership team and advising on matters of education policy. This position also directs the activities and provides leadership and supervision for the department’s Offices of:

- Early Childhood Education and Family Services
- Educational Assessment and Accountability
- Professional Preparation Services
- School Improvement
- Special Education and Early Intervention Services
- Education Technology and Data Coordination and
- Career and Technical Preparation

Carol Wolenberg
Office of the Superintendent
	The Deputy Superintendent for Administrative and Support Services, provides leadership and supervision for: Grants, Coordination & School Support Services; Financial Management; State Aid and School Finance; Administrative Law & Federal Relations; Audit Functions; and Information Technology The Deputy Superintendent so coordinates collaborative efforts with other state government agencies, serves as the department's emergency management coordinator, oversees the department's responsibilities for school construction, and provides leadership for educational policy initiatives.

Martin Ackley
Office of Communications
	Responsible for the internal and external communications for the Michigan Department of Education and the State Board of Education. All media inquires to the Department begin through the Office of Communications.

Lindy Buch
Office of Early Childhood Education & Family Services
		The Office of Early Childhood Education and Family Services manages the Michigan School Readiness Program (state prekindergarten program for four-year-old children at-risk of school failure), parent education and involvement programs, Early On (Part C of IDEA), early childhood special education programs (Part B of IDEA), the Even Start Family Literacy Program, the 21st Century Community Learning Centers, and other federal and state programs, as well as providing assistance and consultation to programs serving children birth through age 8 (grade 3).

Patty Cantu
Office of Career & Technical Education
		The Office of Career and Technical Education oversees high school instructional programs that teach students skills in a specific career cluster. Most programs offer early college credit opportunities to provide a seamless transition to postsecondary education. The mission of the office is to prepare students so they have the necessary academic, technical, and work behavior skills to enter, compete, and advance in education and their careers.

Mary Ann Chartrand
Grants Coordination & School Support
		Office of Grants Coordination and School Support covers a wide range of topics and programs, including school and summer meals; child and adult care food; free United States Department of Agriculture commodity food distribution; coordinated school health and safety; pupil transportation; educational technology (educational technology plans, technology literacy standards, and e-rate); and grant procurement and distribution. Please explore our website for in-depth coverage of these topics. Please feel free to contact our staff, should you require additional information.

Rick Floria
Financial Management
		The Office of Financial Management facilitates the development of the annual agency budget, and provides oversight of Department budgets. The office is responsible for all accounting and purchasing activities for the Department. This includes disbursing, recording and reporting grants; collecting revenue; developing and securing federally approved indirect cost rates; and procuring supplies and equipment.

Lisa Hansknecht

Office of the Superintendent

The Legislative Director provides governmental services for the Superintendent, the State Board of Education, and the Department of Education staff. All major legislative initiatives that affect the Revised School Code and legislation relating to education are managed by this office. The Legislative Director maintains liaison functions with the Legislature and other internal and external organizations to facilitate communication on legislative issues.

Daniel Hanrahan
Office of State Aid and School Finance
		Distribution of funds to school districts, guidance on issues of school finance and tax policy, public school district financial accounting, various financing mechanisms available to school districts, and information on pupil accounting statutes and rules, also interpretation, analysis, and coordination of Departmental activities related to the annual development of the State School Aid K-12 budget.

Flora Jenkins
Professional Preparation and Certification Services
		The Office of Professional Preparation Services (OPPS) fosters the educational achievement of all Michigan youth and adults, Pre-K through 12th grade, by assuring that all professional school personnel complete quality preparation and professional development programs which meet standards established by the Michigan Legislature and the State Board of Education.

Elaine Madigan
School Finance & School Law
		Provides leadership and technical assistance on proposed state laws and current laws, the revised school code, the state school aid act, and other school related law, administrative rules, K-12 educational corporations, nonpublic and home schools and student issues. The Bureau also provides administrative oversight of the Offices of State Aid and School Finance, Audits, and Administrative Law, which include the calculation and distribution of state school aid, school finance, deficit districts, school district accounting, pupil accounting, federal relations, administrative law, teacher tenure, and audits.

Joseph Martineau
Office of Educational Assessment & Accountability
	The office of Educational Assessment and Accountability is comprised of five programs. Michigan Educational Assessment Program and the Merit Examination, Assessment of Students with Disabilities, Assessment of English Language Learners, Accreditation / Accountability, National Assessment of Education progress.

Nancy Mincemoyer
Office of Human Resources
		The mission of the Office of Human Resources is to provide quality, customer focused services to the Department of Education in support of its staffing, development and human resource management needs which are necessary for achieving the State Board's goal for Michigan education.

Roberta Stanley
Office of Administrative Law
		Office of Administrative Law and Federal Legislation conducts the administrative hearings for the Michigan Department of Education, administer selection and training for special education hearing officers, and acts as the coordinating office with U.S. Congress and federal agencies on federal legislation.

Jacquelyn Thompson

Office of Special Education and Early Intervention Services

The Office of Special Education and Early Intervention Services oversees the administrative funding of education and early intervention programs and services for young children and students with disabilities.

Early intervention services are coordinated for infants and toddlers (birth through age two) with disabilities and their families according to federal regulations and state standards.

Bruce Umpstead
Office of Educational Technology & Data Coordination
		The Office of Educational Technology and Data Coordination is responsible for implementing the states online learning graduation requirement, the Michigan Educational Technology Standards (METS), and accomplishing the eight goals of set forth in the State Board's Educational Technology Plan. The Office also serves in the vital role of encouraging and coordinating the use of data to drive decision making in schools and at MDE.

Betty Underwood
Office of School Improvement
		The Office of School Improvement (OSI) is one of the largest offices within the Michigan Department of Education and is dedicated to providing leadership and assistance at a state and local level to improve the academic achievement of Michigan schools and students. OSI is comprised of three units. Curriculum and Instruction is responsible for the development of Michigan’s K-12 education standards, benchmarks, Grade Level Content Expectations, MI-Plan, and administers the federal Reading First program. The Field Services Unit provides leadership, guidance, and technical assistance to engage all schools in meaningful school improvement efforts, with a special focus on High Priority schools. In addition, this unit administers twelve federal grant programs, including Title I. The Academic Support Unit provides guidance and support to Public School Academies (Charter Schools), Migrant Education, and English Language Learner/Bilingual educational programs.

Kathy Weller

Office of Audits

Our office performs desk reviews and quality control reviews, and provides technical assistance, guidance and training on audit requirements for the Michigan Department of Education. Our web page is designed with pupil membership auditors, public accounting firms, and school district business managers in mind.

We hope you will find the resources on our web page of value to you and that you enjoy visiting our web page.