Mackinac Center names Michael Reitz as next president

The Mackinac Center for Public Policy’s board of directors has unanimously selected a new president for the Midland, Michigan-based research and educational institute.

The board picked Michael J. Reitz, the organization’s executive vice president, to become its next president, effective Jan. 1, 2027. Reitz will succeed Joseph G. Lehman, who has led the Center for 18 years and will become president emeritus.

Lehman will continue working full-time for the Center in his new role. He will stay closely engaged with Mackinac Center supporters, deliver speeches and continue writing. He will also remain on the board of directors.

“On behalf of the board, I thank Joe Lehman for his friendship, character and strategic leadership in bringing the Mackinac Center to where it is today,” said Board Chairman Rodney Lockwood. “Joe built a strong organization with a deep bench of talent, and Mike Reitz is the board’s enthusiastic and unanimous choice to lead the organization as we celebrate our 40th anniversary.”

Lehman joined the Mackinac Center in 1995, serving as president since 2008. Under his leadership, and with the support of its many friends, the organization won major policy victories across four governors’ administrations through legislation, court decisions and shifts in public opinion. Those wins expanded school choice options, secured workers’ rights, protected retirement benefits, cut state spending and debt, and ended executive lockdown mandates. The Mackinac Center also expanded its ability to serve Michigan, growing from a $3.5 million organization with 30 employees to a $14 million organization with more than 40 full-time staff today.

“The Mackinac Center is strong and ascendant. Now is the ideal time for a new leader to focus on making Michigan more free, prosperous and competitive. Mike was my first choice to succeed me, and I am grateful to continue working alongside him,” Lehman said.

Reitz brings more than two decades of state policy experience to the role. He joined the Mackinac Center in 2012 as its executive vice president, overseeing policy development, outreach, legislative affairs and strategic planning. He has helped expand the organization’s government affairs and transparency initiatives and led efforts to educate public employees about their First Amendment rights.

The University of Pennsylvania’s most recent Global Think Tank Index ranked the Mackinac Center in the top 4% of U.S. think tanks.

“The Mackinac Center works for a Michigan where people are free to pursue their dreams,” said Reitz. “We challenge harmful policies, advance bold reforms and fight for people who want a better future. I am grateful to have worked alongside Joe Lehman and the Mackinac Center team for many years, and I look forward to the opportunity to lead the organization as we meet the opportunities ahead.”

Michael J. Reitz is active in national and international public policy circles, receiving the State Policy Network’s 2021 Overton Award and serving in leadership and mentoring roles with the American Enterprise Institute and Atlas Network. A weekly columnist for The Detroit News, his work has been cited in major national publications, and he frequently speaks on public policy issues. He has served on the boards of several organizations focused on government transparency, individual rights and legal reform.

An attorney and member of the state of Washington bar, Reitz is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Previously, he served as general counsel and director of labor policy at the Freedom Foundation in Washington, where he litigated constitutional and open-government cases, established a public interest litigation center and co-authored a guide to the Washington Constitution’s Declaration of Rights.

Joseph G. Lehman has published commentary in major media outlets and has spoken to audiences around the world. He serves on the boards of the National Taxpayers Union and Institute for the American Worker and is a member of the Atlas Network’s Global Council of CEOs. A recipient of the State Policy Network’s Roe Award, he has trained hundreds of think tank executives from over 50 countries and is a leading expert on the Overton Window model of policy change. Before entering public policy, he worked as an engineer and project manager at Dow Chemical and earned an engineering degree from the University of Illinois.

Reitz and Lehman will celebrate 40 years of liberty and service at “An Evening With the Mackinac Center,” featuring actor Gary Sinise on May 21, 2027, at Michigan Central Station in Detroit.