City Manager

Gary Mekjian became City Manager on March 8, 2021. He joined the City in 2010 as the Director of Public Services and was promoted to Assistant City Manager in 2016.

He previously worked as the Director of Public Works and Engineering for the City of Southfield, Director of Public Services and Engineering for the City of Lincoln Park, and Director of Engineering for the Charter Township of West Bloomfield.

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He is a Registered Professional Engineer with a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Central Michigan University, a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Wayne State University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Michigan State University.

He has also served as an Adjunct Instructor at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield.

Gary is a member of the Michigan Municipal League, International City / County Management Association, American Public Works Association, and Michigan TransportationAsset Management Council.

He also belongs to the Optimist Club, Farmington Area Interfaith Association, Farmington / Farmington Hills Multicultural Multiracial Community Council, Xemplar Club, and the Resource, Recovery and Recycling Authority of Southwest Oakland County.

Contact Gary Mekjian at (248) 871-2510 or viaemail .

Director of Communications & Community Engagement

Director of Communications & Community Engagement

Biography

Vickie is a marketing and communications expert based in the Detroit metropolitan area. She has led marketing, communications, executive writing and public relations strategies for municipalities, health care, small businesses, nonprofit and for-profit corporations.

Her career spans more than 20 years, most recently as head of marketing and communications for the City of Detroit Health Department where she launched an impactful communication strategy for the Health Department’s critical role in managing the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the early months of the public health crisis, Vickie deployed a successful marketing and media campaign promoting the wearing of masks and social distancing, which led to the City’s success in curving spread of the virus and garnered national media attention.

Prior to her role at the City of Detroit, Vickie served as director of public relations at United Way for Southeastern Michigan, where she directedcorporate, public, and advocacy communicationstrategies to further elevate the brand’s market positioning.

Results of her efforts led to an expansion of the organization’s donor base in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties to support tri-county individuals and families in need.

Vickie has garnered television experience at CBS affiliate WNEV in Boston, MA where she worked as a broadcast news writer and field producer.

In Detroit, Vickie was a news writer and lead producer for CBS affiliate WKBD TV-50 for the station’s live-audience community affairs program.

Vickie has also served as writer and editor for a Detroit community newspaper,The Pipeline.

Vickie is a proud HBCU graduate of Howard University in Washington, D.C., where she earned her bachelor’s degree in communications management.

She has served as vice president of membership for the Association of Women in Communications Detroit Chapter, and board member for the Detroit Repertory Theatre.

Vickie is also passionate about mentoring youth toward cultivating the next generation of communication experts.

Vickie lives with her husband Terrance and their toy poodle Maximus, and she is proud stepmom to two young adults.

Vickie is a marketing and communications expert based in the Detroit metropolitan area. She has led marketing, communications, executive writing and public relations strategies for municipalities, health care, small businesses, nonprofit and for-profit corporations.

Her career spans more than 20 years, most recently as head of marketing and communications for the City of Detroit Health Department where she launched an impactful communication strategy for the Health Department’s critical role in managing the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the early months of the public health crisis, Vickie deployed a successful marketing and media campaign promoting the wearing of masks and social distancing, which led to the City’s success in curving spread of the virus and garnered national media attention.

Prior to her role at the City of Detroit, Vickie served as director of public relations at United Way for Southeastern Michigan, where she directedcorporate, public, and advocacy communicationstrategies to further elevate the brand’s market positioning.

Results of her efforts led to an expansion of the organization’s donor base in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties to support tri-county individuals and families in need.

Vickie has garnered television experience at CBS affiliate WNEV in Boston, MA where she worked as a broadcast news writer and field producer.

In Detroit, Vickie was a news writer and lead producer for CBS affiliate WKBD TV-50 for the station’s live-audience community affairs program.

Vickie has also served as writer and editor for a Detroit community newspaper,The Pipeline.

Vickie is a proud HBCU graduate of Howard University in Washington, D.C., where she earned her bachelor’s degree in communications management.

She has served as vice president of membership for the Association of Women in Communications Detroit Chapter, and board member for the Detroit Repertory Theatre.

Vickie is also passionate about mentoring youth toward cultivating the next generation of communication experts.

Vickie lives with her husband Terrance and their toy poodle Maximus, and she is proud stepmom to two young adults.

City Manager

LaToya Harvey

Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) & Employee Development

Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) & Employee Development

Biography

LaToya Harvey is a long-time Farmington Hills resident and has had a career in child welfare for over 25 years. Most recently since 2021, LaToya was the Chief Advancement Officer for Orchards Children’s Services in Southfield, MI where she was the executive lead for the agency’s new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives.

For 3 ½ years, LaToya was the Child Welfare Division Director for Child and Family Charities in Lansing, MI. In those roles LaToya was responsible for the development, implementation, focus group outreach, and strategic planning of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) related policies, procedures and initiatives.

Prior to those roles, LaToya spent 15 years at the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services (MDHHS), working as a Children’s Protective Services Supervisor and a Foster Care Supervisor.

Overall, LaToya has garnered experience in DEI, foster care, Child Protective Services, adoption, government payments assistance, in-home prevention services, residential services and training development and facilitation.

In 2018, in partnership with the Wayne State University Social Work Department, LaToya co-facilitated the presentation "Wayne Together Collaborative : Risks, Rewards & Lessons of High Impact Child Welfare Education and Training Practices at the National Child Welfare Workforce Initiative national conference in Chicago, IL.

In 2019,LaToya became a member of the Eastern Michigan University Social Work Alumni Association and was the President of the Association.

In 2020, she was the keynote speaker for EMU’s MSW graduate students’ commencement celebration.LaToya is a part-time lecturer at Eastern Michigan University and teaches social work-related classes, such as Social Work Practice with People of Color.

LaToya received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse in LaCrosse, WI and her Master of Social Work from Eastern MichiganUniversity in Ypsilanti, MI.

She completed her Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion certification from Cornell University. LaToya is a Licensed Master Social Worker for the State of Michigan.

She is a member of the National Association of Social Workers and the National Association of Black Social Workers.

LaToya has been married to her husband Robert for over 20 years and they share three sons. She enjoys traveling, scrapbooking, reading, and shopping.

The Council / Manager form of government is a system of representative democracy that combines the strong political leadership of elected officials with the strong managerial experience of an appointed manager.

Elected officials and appointed managers must reach out to citizens via community surveys and interaction with residents across the community to ensure that all enacted policies represent the betterment of the community as a whole.

Citizen involvement is often widespread in communities that have adopted this form of government, through processes such as visioning to community-oriented local services.

Life, Well Run

Life, Well Run is a program designed by ICMA (see below) to raise awareness of and appreciation for the value that professional government managers bring to building ethical, effective, and efficient local government in more than 73 percent of cities, towns, and counties across America with a population of 2,500 or more.

Whether it is a decision between bike lanes or parking lanes, green space or garage space, a courthouse or community center, professional local government managers, are the people behind these decisions, turning policy into action and visionary ideas into tangible results.

Professional managers help make good communities great, giving us a place we’re proud to call home. To learn more, visit LifeWellRun.org .

Diversity, Equity, andInclusion Journey

The City of Farmington Hills is embarking on a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) journey with a commitment to our employees and community that we value and welcome all diversity dimensions.

The City strives to be an inclusive workforce, and as we embark on our DEI journey, we are developing a DEI strategy that will touch many facets of the organization.

Working with a professional consultant, preliminary assessments are being completed and an employee council has been created to foster the development of an overall organizational strategy.

To assist in this effort, a new position of Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Employee Engagement has been created and is in the process of being filled.

The simple goal with this effort is to foster an environment that is welcoming, supportive, and inclusive to everyone as our community continually changes.

Diversity Statement

The City of Farmington Hills is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We work hard to enable all employees to succeed and, to that end, we welcome diverse talent and cultivate an inclusive environment that encourages collaboration and creativity.

We're committed to building a workforce where people thrive by being themselves and are inspired to do their best work every day.

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