Local Women Making History: LWV-GTA & TADL

To celebrate Women’s History Month, the LWVGTA, in partnership with the Traverse Area District
Library (TADL) and Traverse Area Community Media (TACM), will present a program focused on women
in leadership. 

Three local women leaders will join us. What made these women leaders? Who were their mentors?
What challenges did they face as they rose through the ranks of their respective organizations? We hope
this will be a fun and enlightening conversation.

The program can be attended in several ways:

•  In person at the Traverse Area District Library, 610 Woodmere, Traverse City, Michigan
•  LWVGTA Facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/lwvgta
•  TADL YouTube - TADLnotjustbooks LIVE LINK 
•  Community TV Channel 189 with Spectrum TV in northwest lower Michigan.

The three women leaders joining us for the program are:

Ms. Brandie Ekren is the Executive Director of Traverse City Light and Power (TCLP). Her passion
for energy, and the community she serves, was enabled by her growth at the Lansing Board of Water
and Light prior to joining TCLP. She started as a staff attorney, advanced to General Counsel and
rounded her career as the Executive Director of Strategic Planning & Development for Michigan’s largest
municipal utility. She has a BA with honors and a Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from Michigan State
University.

Ms. Michele Howard is the Director of the Traverse Area District Library. She served three years
as a City Commissioner for the City of Traverse and served on the Traverse City Planning Commission.
She holds a BA from Michigan State University and a Master’s Degree in Library Science from the
University of Michigan. She is actively involved in many community organizations.

Ms. Rebecca Pierce is the Executive Editor of the Traverse City Record Eagle. She is a graduate
of the University of Michigan and has worked with several newspapers in Michigan including the Big
Rapids Pioneer, The Daily News in Greenville, the Kalamazoo Gazette, the Hastings Banner and the Bay
City Times. She is an award -winning editor, writer, reporter, photographer and accomplished public
speaker.

LWVGTA offers programs and forums in face-to-face and virtual formats. Thank you to TACM and to
TADL for assisting our community in expanding and strengthening citizen access.
The LWV is a national, nonpartisan organization whose main mission is to empower and inform voters
and to defend Democracy. The League neither endorses nor opposes candidates or parties, but
encourages the informed and active participation of all citizens in government. The League works to

increase public understanding of public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and
advocacy. The website of the local league is www.lwvgta.org.