Education board posts

The following are the major-party candidates seeking posts on the State Board of Education and the state’s three elected university boards.

State Board of Education

Republicans

Eileen Weiser, 59, sat on the board from 1988-2006. The wife of Michigan Republican Party Chairman Ron Weiser, she sat on the National Assessment Governing Board, an independent bipartisan group, among several other community boards.

Dr. Richard Zeile, 55, is the headmaster of St. John’s Lutheran School in Taylor. He has taught/administered schools for 25 years. He has organized one Detroit charter school (Old Redford Academy) and served as president of another (Westwood Academy).

Democrats

Elizabeth Bauer, 72, was elected to the board in 2002. She is a selfemployed international consultant in human rights and civil society and a former executive director of Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service.

Lupe Ramos-Montigny, 66, Democrat, retired from the teaching profession in 2008 after 36 years as an elementary and middle school teacher. She serves as the Michigan Democratic Party’s second vice chairwoman and is a Michigan Education Association board member.

University of Michigan Board of Regents

Republicans

Andrea Fischer Newman, 52, elected to the board in 1994 and 2002, is the senior vice president for government affairs at Delta Airlines. She graduated from the University of Michigan in 1979.

Andrew Richner, 49, elected to the board in 2002, is a partner at the Clark Hill law firm. He served three terms in the state House of Representatives. He graduated from the University of Michigan’s business school in 1982 and its law school in 1986.

Democrats

Paul Brown, 38, is the vice president of capital markets for the Michigan Economic Development Corp. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Michigan in 1996 and his business administration degree there in 2008.

Greg Stephens, 59, ran unsuccessfully for the board in 2002. He is the business manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 252. He attended Washtenaw Community College.

Michigan State University Board of Trustees

Republicans

Brian Breslin, 59, retired as Meijer’s senior vice president. He’s also a former board member of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce. He graduated from MSU with a bachelor’s in food systems & economic management.

Mitch Lyons, 40, is a professional money manager and financial planner who played football for the Spartans under George Perles. He graduated in 1992 with a bachelor’s in general business administration.

Democrats

Dennis Denno, 40, runs the Denno Noor polling firm and is the chief of staff for state Sen. Buzz Thomas. Denno ran Virg Bernero’s first mayoral campaign and graduated with a bachelor’s from MSU. He sits on MSU’s Advisory Board of Arabic Language Instruction.

Colleen McNamara, 61, was elected to the board in 1994 and 2002. She is the executive director of the Michigan Cable Telecommunications Association. She received her bachelor’s in social science from MSU in 1974.

Wayne State University Board of Governors

Republicans

Diane Dunaskiss, 58, was elected to the board in 1994 and 2002. She is the principal at Pine Tree Elementary School. She earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education at Wayne State.

Danialle Karmanos, 37, is the wife of Compuware CEO Peter Karmanos. An former executive video producer, she runs a non-profit teaching at-risk children about nutrition and exercise. She graduated from WSU with a degree in journalism.

Democrats

Ed Bruley, 59, is a Macomb County commissioner who was a university lecturer after working for U.S. Rep. David Bonior from 1977 to 2001. Active in Democratic politics, he holds degrees from Grand Valley State and the University of Windsor.

Brenda Moon, 62, democratic, is a senior field representative for the AFL- CIO and instructor at National Labor College. She graduated from WSU in 2005 with a bachelor’s in interdisciplinary studies.