Office Staff
Executive Director Joan Moore
Administrative Assistant Pohai Müller
Joan Moore
Executive Director
Joan Moore has served as the Executive Director for the Leelanau Township Community Foundation since September 2009. Her talents for community vitality began at Michigan State University in administration where she served for twenty years. After moving to northern Michigan she had the opportunity to develop her skills even further at Munson Healthcare and is very pleased to have the opportunity to serve her community in her current position.
Pohai Müller
Administrative Assistant
Pohai has served the Administrative Assistant since May 2022, taking over from the awesome Megan Ernst. He grew up in Northport and graduated from Northport Public School in 2010. After years living in far-flung places with sporadic stints in Northern Michigan, he returned to Leelanau County full-time in early 2022. In addition to working with the Foundation, he pursues freelance work on the side and is involved in the region’s soccer community.
Board of Trustees
The LTCF Board of Trustees is comprised of community members who represent a cross-section of Leelanau Township residents. Each member brings unique skills to the board to guide the foundation’s operation, grant-making, and presence in the community.
Back row (left to right): Kristi Hallet, Doug Whitley, Ty Wessell, Rick Foster, Megan Ernst
Front row (left to right): Kim Armbruster, Barb McCann, Kristi Fischer, Beth Verhey, Deb Stannard, Barbara Nelson-Jameson
Kristi Fischer — President
Joined in 2019
Kristi is a lifelong Leelanau County resident. She graduated from Northport Public School in 1999 and went on to graduate from Michigan State University with a B.S. in Communications in 2004. Kristi owns and runs the beloved Fischer’s Happy Hour Tavern with her boyfriend Brian Hafner. She has one son, Caleb, a freshman at Northern Michigan University. She has also coached middle school JV and Varsity volleyball at Northport Public School for 7 years.
Barbara McCann — Vice-President
Joined in 2017
Having resided and raised two sons at the Capt. Peter Nelson property south of Northport since 1980, Barbara retired from her Northport Public School teaching career in 2005. She holds a Master’s Degree in Education Administration and has been involved in leadership positions at her church, Northport Boy Scouts, Northport Booster Club, and other youth-centered activities.
Ty Wessell — Secretary
joined in 2018
Ty is a retired University and K-12 educational administrator and teacher and resides in Northport, Michigan with his wife, Kathy. He is currently the Leelanau County Commissioner for District 4 and serves on the boards of the Leelanau Township Community Foundation, Northern Lakes Community Mental Health, Networks Northwest, Omena Historical Society, and Resources for Economical & Accessible Community Housing (REACH). He is also a member of the Traverse City Economics Club, Northport Lions, Suttons Bay/Leelanau County Rotary, League of Women Voters, and the Omena-Traverse Yacht Club.
Kim Armbruster — Treasurer
joined in 2019
Kimberley Armbruster graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry. She was employed for 32 years with the State of Michigan’s Departments of Natural Resources and Environmental Quality, working as a laboratory analyst and as an environmental specialist in air pollution control. After retirement, Kim moved to Leelanau Township with her husband in 2011, living in the Omena area. In the past six years, she has volunteered with Leelanau Christian Neighbors, the Inland Seas Education Association, and the Leelanau Conservancy. Kim is also current President of the Omena Women’s Club.
Rick Foster
Joined in 2016
Rick worked as a cardiologist and medical school faculty member in Grand Rapids until he and his wife, Barbara, retired to their Leelanau Township vacation house. In Grand Rapids, Rick held leadership roles in the hospital, Dwelling Place (a nonprofit affordable housing developing agency), and their church. In Northport, he is active in the Lions Club, their church, the League of Women Voters of Leelanau County, and the county’s Housing Action Committee.
Kristi Hallett
Joined in 2017
A lifelong resident of Leelanau Township, Kristi has worked at Northwestern Michigan College since 1987. Kristi resides in Omena with her husband, Eric and helps manage Eric Hallett's Home Maintenance, LLC. She is a member of the Leelanau Township Cemetery Committee.
Beth Verhey
Joined in 2022
Beth Linnea Verhey enjoyed a long career in various positions in international development, serving in headquarter positions in Switzerland, New York, and Washington DC, and living in many countries in Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Beth first specialized in child protection, working for many years in armed conflict situations, then social policy positions that focused, for example, on multi-dimensional child poverty. Upon retiring, Beth was UNICEF’s Senior Advisor on Children’s Rights and Business for almost 10 years.
Beth grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan and enjoyed many summers in Leelanau Township. Beth holds a B.A. from Miami University and an M.S.C. degree in International Development Policy from Oxford University in the UK. She and her husband are thrilled to retire full-time to beautiful Leelanau Township, and to advocate for and contribute to priorities for the wider community. Beth is on the Innovation Fund Advisory Committee of the Early Childhood Investment Corporation, and has been active in advocacy and working groups on issues related to the environment and our community’s ALICE households - Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.
Megan Ernst
Joined in 2023
Megan held the position of Administrative Assistant at the foundation from 2017 to 2022, at which point she accepted a Donor Outreach & Marketing Specialist role at Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities. Megan graduated from Michigan State University in 2008 with a B.A. in English – cognate in Art History and Anthropology. After a period living in New York City, she moved to Leelanau County and immersed herself in the local nonprofit and freelancing scenes. Prior to starting with Groundwork, she also worked as the Operations Manager at the Leelanau Children’s Center in Leland for several years.
Barbara Nelson-Jameson
Joined in 2023
Barbara Nelson-Jameson worked as a Park Planner and was the Michigan Program Director for the National Park Service - Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program. Barbara assisted communities and organizations working to protect rivers, develop non-motorized trails, conserve open space, and preserve our natural and cultural heritage.
She has served on the boards of The Leelanau Conservancy, Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance, Land Information Access Association, and The Heart of the Lakes Center for Conservation. She currently serves on the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy Board. Barbara received a BS in Outdoor Recreation Planning and an MS in Natural Resource Management from the University of Michigan, School of Natural Resources and Environment. She’s lived in Leelanau County with her husband Lee and daughter Emily since 2000.
Deb Stannard
Joined in 2023
Deb graduated from the University of Michigan, Flint with BA degrees in Political Science and History. During that time, she worked at the Flint Public Library. In 1978 Deb and her husband Chris moved to their current home near the lighthouse where they began restoring the abandoned Burt Scott house. Together they raised three children who all graduated from Northport Public School.
Deb served as the Director of Leelanau Township Library in Northport for thirty years, a position she thoroughly enjoyed. After retirement, she co-chaired the Yes! Leelanau Library committee. Their work helped to successfully pass a ballot proposal that reorganized the library as an independent library with a dedicated millage and independent board.
Doug Whitley
Joined in 2023
A native of Illinois, Doug was born in Tuscola and lived in the state for many years. He graduated from Southern Illinois University with a double major in History and Government, going on to enjoy a productive career in the economic, business, and government sectors. He first visited Leelanau Township with family in the summer of 1986 and continued to visit each year thereafter, eventually calling Northport his full-time residence upon retiring in 2015.
Doug is active in the wider community through the Northport Leadership Team, Lions Club, Northport-Omena Chamber of Commerce, and other organizations. In each of his roles throughout the community, Doug channels his experience in nonprofit work, publicly traded corporations, and the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, to name a few of his career experiences.
His management philosophy is as follows: Always encourage initiative and never fear change for without change there can be no progress.