Lansing Mayor-Elect Andy Schor is proud to announce the team he will be bringing to City Hall in January: Samantha Harkins as Chief of Staff; Jennifer LeFevre as Office Manager; Chelsea Coffey as Special Assistant to the Mayor, and Marilyn Plummer as Community Outreach Coordinator.
Harkins is passionate about communities and lives in Downtown Lansing. She has spent the bulk of her career working with local governments beginning in 2004 as Executive Assistant to the Mayor of Norfolk, Virginia. She worked on local government policy in the Michigan House of Representatives and was Director of Government Relations at the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce. She spent 8½ years at the Michigan Municipal League where she worked with Mayor-elect Schor for four years. She led the League’s lobbying efforts before becoming President of the Michigan Municipal League Foundation. She’s worked in the private sector the last year for Munetrix, a data analytics company that represents more than 330 local governments and school districts throughout Michigan. She has a B.A. and J.D. from West Virginia University.
Most recently Jennifer LeFevre spent 12 years as Executive Director at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation Foundation. She is a natural choice for office administrator given her extensive experience including Director of Scheduling and Advance for Governor Jennifer Granholm; Deputy Campaign Manager/Communications Director for Friends of Carl Levin; Director of External Affairs for the Michigan State Senate; Director of Political Affairs for Stabenow for U.S. Senate and Deputy Campaign Manager for the Michigan Senate Democratic Caucus. She has a B.A. from Michigan State University.
Marilyn Plummer has been working with Mayor-elect Schor in his legislative office as Community Relations and Community Services Director since 2013. Before joining Schor in the House of Representatives she was the Office Manager at Knight Consulting; Legislative Assistant and Committee Clerk in the Michigan Senate and Committee Clerk for the Michigan House Tax Policy Committee. Marilyn is an active member of the Lansing community. She has chaired Lansing’s Juneteenth Celebration since 2004, has served as a commissioner for the Lansing Board of Water and Light, and is an active member of the Mask Memorial Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. She has a degree in Business Administration and Marketing from Davenport University.
Coffey joins the team after running her first successful political campaign: Schor for Lansing. She’s already a valued member of the Mayor-elect’s team and a natural fit as Special Assistant to the Mayor. Before running the campaign she served as Development Manager for Vanguard Public Affairs; an intern for Congressman Dan Kildee; Finance Intern for the Michigan House Democratic Fund. She also interned for Ready to Run, including helping to facilitate and organize a conference for women interested in running for political office. Chelsea has a Bachelor Degree in Political Science and Economics from Saginaw Valley State University.
“I am thrilled to bring a talented and experienced team with me to the Mayor’s office. Samantha, Jennifer, Marilyn and Chelsea all have unique experiences and backgrounds that will help us hit the ground running on January 1 serving Lansing residents. This team is committed to making Lansing a better city, and I’m proud to have them joining me at city hall,” said Mayor-elect Schor. The mayoral team will begin work before the first of the year starting with the Mayor-elect’s transition. The transition team will be announced next week and will be staffed by Harkins, LeFevre and Coffey.