DETROIT – The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy Board announced the addition of three new members and the election of three vice chairs, including Sandy Pierce, a longtime leader in the Detroit banking community.
The man who helped lead the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy for the past 22 years is stepping down as chairman as Matthew Cullen will retire at the end of the year.
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Pierce was named chair-elect and will lead the Board beginning Jan. 1, 2026. She joins the Board as vice chair and chair-elect.
Pierce recently retired as senior executive vice president of Huntington Bank, where she also served as director of the private client group and regional banking and chair of Michigan operations.
One of Detroit’s most respected civic leaders, Pierce was appointed to the Michigan State University Board of Trustees by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in December 2022.
Pierce is a board member of Penske Automotive Group, American Axle & Manufacturing, ITC Corporation, and Barton Malow Enterprises.
She also serves as the chair of the Henry Ford Health Foundation, chair of the Detroit Economic Club, and a board member of Renaissance MAC.
Also elected today as vice chairs:
- Steven K. Hamp, a member of the Conservancy Board from its inception until 2008 and again since 2019, is engaged in a variety of projects and institutions in Detroit and Michigan that focus on creating a robust educational reform system for urban K-12 schools, incenting new economic pathways, and investing in public recreational and conservation amenities. He is chair of the Michigan Education Excellence Foundation, the Eastern Market Capital Campaign, and the Empowerment Plan. He is also a board member of The Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan, the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund, and the Purple Rose Theatre.
- Roderick (Rod) Gillum is a principal in the Detroit office of Jackson Lewis P.C. Prior to joining the law firm, Gillum was a senior leader at General Motors, where he rose to become secretary to the GM Board of Directors and later vice president, corporate responsibility, chair of the GM Foundation, and co-leader of the Global Public Policy Center. He serves on the Board of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (past chair), Invest Detroit (vice chair), Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History (past chair), and Detroit Economic Club (secretary).
Amy McMillan, director of Huron-Clinton Metroparks, is joining Gillum and Pierce as a new Conservancy Board member.
She has over 25 years of leadership experience in the parks and recreation sector, including serving as director of the Genesee County Parks and Recreation Commission and the city of Ypsilanti’s parks and recreation department.
