George Lahanas City Manager 410 Abbot Road East Lansing, Michigan 48823 (517) 319-6821 glahana@cityofeastlansing.com City Manager George Lahanas began his tenure with the city in 1999. Since that time, Lahanas has been served as the interim city manager of East Lansing since October 2011 and, prior to that, served as the deputy city manager of East Lansing from July 2008-October 2011. He has served in various capacities with the City of East Lansing since 1999, including serving as a labor relations specialist from 1999-2001, the director of Human Resources from 2001-2005 and the director of Administrative Services from 2005-2008. In January 2012, he was selected as the fifth city manager to serve East Lansing in its history. Originally from New York City, George came to Michigan to attend Northern Michigan University where he earned a BS in Criminal Justice with a minor in English. He subsequently completed his master's degree in Public Administration, also from Northern Michigan University. Following graduate school, George was hired on as the human resources coordinator for the Eastern Upper Peninsula Mental Health Board, later moving into the position of director of administrative operations for the Shiawassee County Mental Health Board before coming to the City of East Lansing. Over the 13 years that George has been employed by the City of East Lansing, he has distinguished himself by upholding a high standard of professionalism. He has represented the City of East Lansing on the regional 911 collaboration committee, served as chief spokesperson for the City of East Lansing during collective bargaining negotiations, co-chaired the City's collaborative Health Care Task Force and served as staff liaison to the Human Relations Commission.
He notes that one of the most rewarding aspects of working for the City of East Lansing is the relationships he's forged with fellow employees. He also takes pride in the East Lansing community and all that it has to offer. George resides in East Lansing with his wife, Shelley and young daughters Eleni and Marina.
Marie McKenna City Clerk / Assistant City Manager 410 Abbot Road East Lansing, Michigan 48823 (517) 319-6920 mmckenn@cityofeastlansing.com
Date of hire December 3, 2005 As a proud 1981 graduate of East Lansing High School, Marie McKenna jumped at the chance to serve the citizens of her hometown when the opportunity arose in January 2006. Her responsibilities as assistant city manager include departmental communications, special projects, strategic planning and directing the activities of the administrative assistant to the City Manager/City Council. Most recently, she participated in the planning and implementation of the 2007 East Lansing Emerging Leaders Program with partners Wendy Wilmers Longpre (Parks, Recreation & Arts) and Annette Irwin (Code Enforcement and Neighborhood Conservation). Certainly, as she is pleased to note, "There is never an idle moment in the office of the city manager and this department faces new challenges and opportunities every day." Prior to joining the City of East Lansing, Marie was employed for three and a half years by the Michigan Municipal League (MML), the statewide non-profit association of cities and villages. While there, she worked in the Ann Arbor location as an information coordinator providing research and support for local governments, serving as the liaison to the Cool Cities for Michigan Blueprints Downtowns program, and writing about special topics for the Michigan Municipal Review. She also worked in Municipal Consulting Services as the program administrator for the League's Executive Search Program, assisted local officials with pay system development and contract analysis, and participated in numerous consulting projects entailing job evaluation, job description development and market surveys. Most recently, Marie transferred to the MML's Lansing office where she served as legislative & communications coordinator. Her duties in Lansing included compiling and generating weekly updates on legislative issues and communicating extensively one-on-one with local officials regarding issues affecting local government. In 1999, Marie returned to college to earn a master's degree in Public Administration. While in graduate school at Eastern Michigan University she served as a graduate assistant in the Political Science Department, at the same time completing an extensive management internship with the City of Wayne. She notes that she has greatly enjoyed her experience working for the City of East Lansing, in part because it is her hometown (and she frequently encounters EL grads) but also because it is a vibrant and well-managed organization with terrific employees. She is eagerly looking forward to the years ahead! Marie is married to Meridian Township police officer, Jon Wicks and is the proud "bonus parent" of Nicholas Wicks (16) and Allison Wicks (19).
Laurie Hoffman Executive Assistant 410 Abbot Road East Lansing, Michigan 48823 (517) 319-6920 lhoffma@cityofeastlansing.com Laurie Hoffman is "the voice of the city manager's office" and, like Marie, is a relative newcomer to the City of East Lansing. She began her tenure with the City in May of 2006 as the City Hall receptionist, and early on accepted a temporary assignment as the human resources assistant. Laurie also spent time working for the Department of the City Clerk. Laurie's cross-training, enthusiasm and team approach to work earned her an assignment to the Office of the City Manager where, not surprisingly, she does double-duty as the administrative assistant to the city manager/city council. Her duties and responsibilities include schedule management for the city manager and members of council for city-related events. Laurie also compiles the weekly City Council Agenda, maintains the Board and Commissions database, handles all incoming calls to the office and provides administrative support for the East Lansing Emerging Leaders Program. Laurie's outstanding customer service skills are the result of an extensive history of working with the public. Prior to working for the City of East Lansing, she was employed by Consumer's Energy as a customer service associate, by the accounting firm of Robinson, Robinson & Associates as an administrative assistant and spent more than six years with Standard Federal Bank where she was cross-trained as a customer service associate, ATM card services associate and supervisor help-desk associate. Laurie is a graduate of Waverly High School and is married to City of Lansing fire fighter, Josh Hoffman. They are the proud parents of Alyssa (15) and JJ (6).