Conan Smith, MEC's Land Programs Director for the last four years, has accepted an appointment to become executive director of the Michigan Suburbs Alliance (MSA). The MSA was founded in 2002 by a group of local mayors and city managers to address problems like deteriorating infrastructure, fiscal stress, economic decline and environmental harm-regional challenges largely beyond the control of local government.

Conan's departure comes after nearly six years at MEC. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1996 and came to MEC in late 1998 from the Michigan House of Representatives, where he was a communications analyst. He succeeded Julie Stoneman, one of his mentors, as Land Programs Director in 2000. Conan has since helped build a network of more than 11,000 land use activists to advocate for Executive Branch leadership, coordinated planning, multimodal transportation and other Smart Growth tools for state and local governments. His work has been integral in creating conservation subdivision design standards for local governments, instituting an asset management program within the Michigan Department of Transportation, advancing regional governance opportunities, and securing more than $55 million in increased funding for mass transit in the state.

The grandson of Al Wheeler, Ann Arbor's first and only African-American mayor, and the son of former State Senator Alma Wheeler Smith, Conan was born with a smile on his face and politics in his blood-so it's no surprise that he has been running this summer for a seat on the Washtenaw County Commission. He also volunteers as a board member with the National Growth Management Leadership Alliance, 1000 Friends of Metro Detroit, the Michigan Economic and Environmental Roundtable and the MARAL Foundation. And he chairs Ann Arbor's Cool Cities Task Force, which is working to attract and retain 22-35 year olds to the area.

As if these contributions aren't enough, Conan has provided media skills training to participants in the Campus Green Vote Summer Training Academy, an intensive week-long effort to teach political skills to protect the environment; taught ecology and conservation to Boy Scouts from the Clinton Valley and Lake Huron Area Councils; and even published a student's guide to grassroots lobbying while on the board of governors of the Michigan Collegiate Coalition in the early 1990s.

MEC Special Projects Coordinator Brad Garmon said, "Conan has been a trusted friend and comrade since our first phone conversation three years ago, and is a role model for conscientiously inclusive and collaborative leadership. His contributions to MEC and his contagious vitality will continue to shape this organization for years to come."

Lana Pollack, MEC's President, added, "Conan is one of the most creative, high-energy and productive young professionals I've ever worked with. On the fun factor alone, I hate to see him move on, but I have to say I'm proud of the way MEC has turned into a training field for leadership in other important organizations."

Conan's fellow staffers will miss his quick sense of humor and ready smile. They will no longer benefit from his solid grasp of complex issues, his superior communication abilities, his impressive perception or his noteworthy charm. Colleagues like Conan don't come along every day.

Last summer, Conan became engaged to Rebekah Warren, with whom he lives in the downtown Ann Arbor home his grandparents purchased in 1945.

The MSA's main purpose is to continuously elevate the level of regional cooperation in southeast Michigan. For more information, call (248) 546-2380.