July 15, 2015
LANSING, Mich. – Gov. Rick Snyder today announced the reappointments of Renee Haley, of Harrison, Cathleen Knauf, of St. Joseph, Deidre Lambert-Bounds, of Troy, and Janice Nearon, of St. Clair Shores, to the Michigan Women’s Commission.
The 15-member board works to improve the quality of life for Michigan women, including providing support for female veterans, fighting human trafficking and assisting female business owners.
“I am confident these talented and experienced women will continue to make outstanding contributions to this important commission," Snyder said.
Haley is the director of veteran’s services for Clare County, where she oversees veteran benefits and emergency assistance, the soldiers relief committee budget, and the local Michigan Veterans Trust Fund. Haley is president of the committee to build the Veterans Freedom Park in Central Michigan, the only one of its kind in Michigan, scheduled for completion by September.
Knauf is the founder of the Southwest Michigan Human Trafficking Task Force, which has raised money to help train 25 percent of the law enforcement agencies in the state. She served as the special education coordinator for Bridgman Public Schools and is a founding member of the Lakeshore Excellence Committee. Knauf earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Grand Valley State University, a master’s degree in special education from Western Michigan University and holds numerous teaching and teacher consultant endorsements.
Lambert-Bounds is partner and chief operating officer of Ignite Social Media where she manages client services, consumer insights and analytics, finance and talent teams and general agency operations. She was the very first digital director for Brogan & Partners and serves on the executive boards for the Detroit Regional Chamber and the Sphinx Organization.
Nearon retired as president of Chene Machine Repair and Scraping, Inc.; a company she founded in 1975. She is president of the Women’s Civil League in St. Clair Shores, serves on Macomb County’s Human Service Board and is treasurer for the foundation for the Martha T. Berry Medical Facility. Nearon earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Detroit.
Members serve three-year terms expiring July 15, 2018. The appointments are subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.
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