Washtenaw Community College

The WCC Foundation is pleased to announce four new additions to its board. On July 1 we welcomed Norman Herbert, Elizabeth Petoskey, Gloria Thomas, and Maria Thompson. They filled positions vacated by outgoing board members Kathleen Griffiths, Stuart White, Richard Dorner, and most recent Chair, Fred McDonald.

Meet the new members:
Norman Herbert is a financial consultant, currently working with the Michigan Information Technology Center Foundation in Ann Arbor. He was previously engaged as a consultant with the Ann Arbor Public Schools, Board of Education. He has been a Director of the United Bank & Trust – Washtenaw and a member of the Trust Committee of the United Bank & Trust since June 2006. He was also elected Director of United Bancorp, Inc in April 2009 and a Director of United Bank & Trust in April 2010. For thirty-five years he was a part of the financial management team for the University of Michigan, retiring in 2002 as Associate Vice President & Treasurer, a position he had held since 1995. Norman has long been active with a number of professional, civic and non-profit organizations. He was Board Chair of the University Musical Society, a director of the Commonfund, Board Chair and Treasurer of the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, a trustee of the Ann Arbor Rotary Endowment Foundation, and President of the Ann Arbor Rotary Club. He currently serves as a Director and Treasurer for the Washtenaw Housing Alliance.

Elizabeth Petoskey is an Ann Arbor native, and practices law in the areas of estate planning, probate and trust law. Her practice accepts matters with estates of every size, and regularly works with a variety of property owners, from young families to executives of closely held companies. Mrs. Petoskey has been an estate planner since she started practicing law in 1985 - a choice that made it much easier to maintain a full time law practice while meeting the needs of her marriage of 25 years and her three children. Her educational background includes: Bachelor of Science, Indiana University; Master of Business Administration, Eastern Michigan University; Juris Doctor, Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Her professional and Civic involvement includes: American Bar Association (Member), State Bar of Michigan (Member), Washtenaw County Bar Association (Member), Ann Arbor Pioneer Booster Club (Member, President 2004-2006), Board of Trustees of the historic Michigan Theater (past President), Washtenaw United Way (Campaign Committee Member), Volunteer consultant to several other non-profit organizations.

Dr. Gloria D. Thomas was appointed director of the Center for the Education of Women (CEW) at the University of Michigan on January 1, 2009. CEW provides counseling and educational programs regarding academic, career and life issues; conducts social research on policy and gender issues; and advocates for improved policy and practice to advance gender equity. Prior to returning to CEW, Dr. Thomas served in various positions at the American Council on Education (ACE) for 8 years, including associate director of the Office of Women in Higher Education, associate project director of the Center for Effective Leadership, and associate director of the ACE Fellows Program, all where the foci of her professional duties were leadership development and enhancing career success for women in academe. She holds a B.A. in English and Black studies from Swarthmore College, an M.A. in English from Villanova University, and a Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Michigan.

Maria Thompson is the President and CEO of T/J Technologies Inc. She and husband, Levi co-founded T/J Industries in 1991. The company makes nanoscale materials and components for green energy-storage devices, with consumer, defense and aerospace applications. Last year, the company was sold to Boston-based A123 Systems Inc., but retains its headquarters in Ann Arbor. Ms. Thompson serves on the boards of: Ann Arbor Spark; Wright Fuel Cell Council, Cleveland; the Michigan Small Business Foundation, Lansing; Daycroft Montessori School, Ann Arbor; Greenhills School, Ann Arbor. She has a Bachelor’s in industrial design and MBA from the University of Michigan.