Board of Commissioners

Semone M. James (First Ward Commissioner) serves as the Chairperson of the Board of Commissioners and Chairperson of the Executive Committee for the Lansing Board of Water & Light.  She also serves as the Chairperson for the Board of Trustees for the Lansing Board of Water & Light Pension Fund.

Commissioner James previously served on the Lansing Board of Water & Light from 2006 to 2009 and served as the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Board. During this previous appointment, she also served on the Executive Committee, Finance Committee, Nominating Committee and Committee on Rules of Administrative Procedures.

Commissioner James holds a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree from Eastern Michigan University with double majors in Finance and Real Estate. She is a State of Michigan licensed Real Estate Broker and Certified General Appraiser. For over 25 years, Commissioner James has been a dedicated public servant, working for the State of Michigan. The majority of her career has been with the Department of Treasury, Bureau of Investments, as a Senior Executive Assistant Deputy Director, Senior Portfolio Manager, and Investment Specialist. Previously, Commissioner James was appointed by Governor Granholm as the first Executive Director for the Michigan Land Bank Fast Track Authority. She also served as a Senior Property Analyst and Staff Appraiser with the Michigan Department of Transportation.

In addition to being a public servant, Commissioner James has served on several other community and professional boards and enjoys volunteering her time and real estate expertise with several community, non-profit and faith-based organizations.

Commissioner James is a life-long resident of the State of Michigan. She has enjoyed living in Lansing for over 25 years and appreciates the opportunity to be of service. 

Commissioner James was appointed to the Board of Commissioners on July 26, 2021, with a term to expire on June 30, 2025.

David Price is Vice Chair and on the Finance Committee for the Lansing Board of Water & Light. 

A 32-year resident of Lansing, Commissioner David Price was originally appointed by the Lansing City Council to the Board of Water & Light Board of Commissioners on February 23, 2011.

Commissioner Price holds a Bachelor's Degree from John Carroll University and has completed graduate coursework at Central Michigan University. He recently retired after 21 years as the Executive Director of MARO, a statewide association representing providers of employment and training services for persons with disabilities and other barriers.

Commissioner Price was appointed by Governor Snyder to the Michigan Community Service Commission from 2012 through 2018. He was a 20-year board member of the Michigan Nonprofit Association where he served as treasurer and president. Recently, he was re-appointed by the Trustees of Central Michigan University to the board of Charyl Stockwell Academy, a charter school where he has served as president for the past 22 years.

He is a board member and Secretary/Treasurer of the Glen Erin Pipe Band and served with his wife as the host family coordinators for the Hosei University-Tokyo/Michigan State University Study Abroad Program from 2007-2013. David J. Price was re-appointed by the Lansing City Council to the Board of Water & Light Board of Commissioners on July 23, 2018 and his term expires on June 30, 2026.

Commissioner Thomas is an AT-LARGE, appointed member of the Lansing Board of Water & Light Board of Commissioners and is currently serving in his 4^th term which encompasses 16 of 16 years. Mr. Thomas holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Secondary Education and a Master’s Degree in K-12 Educational Administration from Michigan State University. He is also a 2019 retiree of Waverly Community Schools where he served as an administrator for more than 32 years.

As a commissioner, he has served as Board Vice-Chairperson, Human Resources Chairperson, Nominating Committee Chairperson and as a member of the Executive Committee. Commissioner Thomas has been involved in numerous leadership positions in the community which includes serving as Chairperson of the Westside YMCA; Chairperson of the Greater Lansing Area Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Commission; Facilitator of the MSU Emerging Leaders Program; Commissioner of the City of Lansing Department of Traffic and Regulations and a member of the NAACP Executive Committee. 

Mr. Thomas has been the recipient of the Delta-Waverly Rotary Club's Frank Traviglia Red Rose Award, Uplift Our Youth Foundation's Child Advocate Award and the NAACP Community Service Award.

Commissioner Thomas was appointed to the Lansing Board of Water & Light Board of Commissioners on July 12, 2008. His term expires June 30, 2024.

Tony (Anthony H) Mullen is an At-Large Commissioner for the Lansing Board of Water & Light. Commissioner Mullen has served as Vice Chair of the Board, Chair of the Human Resources Committee and Chair of the Nominating Committee.

Commissioner Mullen is employed at GC Services. He is fluent in Spanish and previously lived in Guatemala as a volunteer for the U.S. Peace Corps. Commissioner Mullen is married with two children, both attending the University of Michigan. Commissioner Mullen was appointed to the Board on November 14, 2012 and he serves as the Chair of the Human Resources Committee for the BWL board; his term ends on June 30, 2025.

Beth Graham is a Certified Residential Appraiser and owner of her company. Beth has been appraising in the Greater Lansing area for over 30 years and has an Associate’s Degree in Accounting from Davenport University and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and Certificate in Real Estate from Ferris State University.

She has been the president of the Greater Lansing Association of REALTORS, Michigan REALTORS director, President of the Michigan and Lansing Networks of the Women’s Council of REALTORS and has chaired several GLAR, WCR, Michigan REALTOR and National Association of REALTOR committees. Beth has also served on the City of Lansing Planning Commission.

Beth was also a Girl Scout leader at North, Gardner and Everett schools and has been involved in Neighborhood Watch.

As a Commissioner, she has served as Human Resources Chairperson and currently serves as a member of the Human Resources Committee for the BWL Board. Commissioner Graham was appointed to the Board on April 12, 2017 and re-appointed on July 23, 2018, her term expires June 30, 2026.

DeShon Leek is the Third Ward Commissioner for the Lansing Board of Water & Light. Commissioner Leek was appointed to the Board of Commissioners on November 18, 2019 with a term to expire June 30, 2027.

Commissioner Leek is a lifelong resident of Lansing whose education and training includes Everett High School, Lansing Community College and a Completed Apprenticeship with the UA Local 333 Plumbers and Pipefitters.

Currently Commissioner Leek is the Southeast representative of the Michigan Building and Construction Trade Council. He has a 22-Year Membership with UA Local 333 Plumbers and Pipefitters and has served as a Union Steward for the past 7-years.  He also holds a position on the Executive Board with UA Local 333. In 2018 Commissioner Leek was appointed and served on the City of Lansing’s Plumbing Board of Appeals.

As a commissioner, he has served as Human Resources Committee Chairperson and on the Executive and Nominating Committees for the BWL Board.  Commissioner Leek currently serves as a member of the Human Resources Committee.

Commissioner Leek has devoted his time to several community and charitable events such as: Sparrow Hospital Children’s Day of Miracles, Parks and Recreation Youth Sports, Faith Fellowship Church (Praise in the park), along with serving the community of Flint, Michigan during the water crisis.

Sandra Zerkle is the Fourth Ward Representative for the Lansing Board of Water and Light Commission. She has served as the Vice Chairperson and Chairperson of the Board and has served on the Executive Committee and the Finance Committee. Commissioner Zerkle has been a lifelong resident of Lansing.  She graduated from Lansing Eastern High School and attended Lansing Community College. Commissioner Zerkle was employed for 17 years at the AFL-CIO and worked in a federally funded displaced workers program with Michigan Human Resources Development, Inc. She also worked at Job Corps for 4 years. Job Corps is a youth education and training program for low-income individuals. Commissioner Zerkle also worked for Michigan Bell Telephone Co. for 16 years and then transferred to AT&T, where she worked three years. Commissioner Zerkle worked on Proposal C (insurance proposal), a successful statewide ballot proposal petition drive.  Commissioner Zerkle was appointed to the Board of Commissioners on December 4, 2006 and her term expires on June 30, 2024.

Dale Schrader is an appointed At-Large Commissioner. As a 20-year resident of Lansing, he is proud to have served his community in many ways, notably as President of Walnut Neighborhood Organization and as former President of Preservation Lansing.

Commissioner Schrader is a US Navy veteran and attended Central Michigan University, where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration with a minor in Economics.  He then earned an MBA in International Business and Marketing from Thunderbird School in Glendale, Arizona.  After college, he was employed by Gulf and Western companies in southern California for industrial sales of steel pipe, fittings and valves. He then worked for Harrington Plastics and for Met-Pro Corporation in technical sales of corrosion resistant air pollution control systems and equipment.  In 1991 he founded Schrader Environmental Systems, Inc., a company which provided groundwater and soil remediation systems and equipment worldwide and in 2014, it was sold to Clean Harbors Environmental.  Schrader Environmental was a key player in several nationally significant projects, including cleanup efforts at the World Trade Center job site following Superstorm Sandy, Kalamazoo River cleanup of the Enbridge pipeline leak, and restoration of the entire city water supply of Sauk Village, IL, after the Illinois EPA had shut down their water due to vinyl chloride contamination.

Commissioner Schrader enjoys renovating historic buildings in Lansing and is a licensed Michigan Residential Builder.  He currently manages the rentals for his company, Schrader Properties. Commissioner Schrader was appointed to the Board on August 14, 2023, with a term to expire June 30, 2027.