By Journal Staff

MARQUETTE — The Community Foundation of Marquette County is welcoming four new members to its board of trustees.

Kyle Aho, Alex Flannery, Andy Herro and Emily Leach will serve on the Community Foundation of Marquette County’s Board of Trustees for three-year terms.

Aho was born and raised in Gwinn, graduating from Gwinn High School in 2010. Aho attended Alma College and graduated in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in integrated health sciences.

Following graduation, Aho remained with the Alma College men’s basketball program as an assistant coach while attending Central Michigan University in the physical therapy program. He earned his doctor of physical therapy degree in May 2017.

Following graduation, Aho joined the team at Active Physical Therapy and served as the clinic director in outpatient orthopedics for four years. During that time, he and his wife continued to grow a real estate investment company that they started in 2010. It has become their full-time role with the mission of changing the culture of attainable housing in Marquette County.

Aho serves on the Gwinn Area Community Fund, a CFMC affiliate fund.

Flannery is the first Upper Peninsula resident hired on a remote basis to the Michigan Arts and Culture Council, a state agency.

Currently, he serves as program manager and works with his colleagues to distribute over $12 million in operational and project-based grant funding to arts and culture organizations around the state.

Flannery is an alumnus of both Michigan Technological University and the University of Cincinnati, with an additional certification as a personal finance coach. His career experience has spanned multiple roles in different government, nonprofit and for-profit organizations, including grant management, finance, operations, fundraising and consulting.

Flannery also volunteers in several Michigan arts, culture, LGTBQ+ rights and other social organizations. He is an active musician in several local ensembles, including the Marquette Symphony, Marquette City Band and Keweenaw Symphony. He also currently serves on the CFMC grants committee.

Herro grew up in Manistique and graduated from Northern Michigan University. He has been in lending his entire career, holding leadership positions for over 10 years. Herro has reported to a board of directors throughout his career and believes “the role of a good trustee is to help shepherd the institution and to support the management team while providing referrals and input and guidance when needed,” according to a CFMC press release.

“He is a firm believer in a strong, positive culture as well as continuous improvement,” the CFMC press release said.

Herro’s current position is community bank president for Upper Peninsula State Bank, a position he has held since 2020. Prior to that he was the executive vice president for Miners State Bank. During Herro’s career, he has covered Marquette, Houghton, Baraga, Delta, Iron and Dickinson counties.

Leach has had her fair share of impact within local communities, according to CFMC. While studying environmental studies and sustainability as well as Native American studies at NMU, she also had an internship with the Alger Conservation District.

Leach transitioned to a program manager position with Superior Watershed Partnership, and after six years she advanced to work as senior planner with Marquette County.

Previously, she worked with CFMC on the Marquette County Master Plan 2040, Our Common Future initiative and grants, and the Clean Energy grant through CS Mott Foundation.

Her passions for forestry, recreation and community development have led her to the position of chairperson for the Marquette County Climate Adaptation Task Force since 2019.

“We are grateful for our board of trustees and their commitment to community service,” CFMC CEO Zosia Eppensteiner said in the press release. “We are so fortunate to have trustees with diverse skill sets and backgrounds that complement each other while addressing area needs.”