Township Trustee Tammy T. Patton named a 2022 Taubman Fellow  

Selected to attend Senior Executives State and Local Government program at Harvard University

CLINTON TOWNSHIP – Clinton Township Trustee Tammy T. Patton has been named a Taubman Fellow by the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG). Along with Macomb County Commissioner Mai Xiong, she was selected to attend the prestigious Senior Executives State and Local Government program at Harvard University this summer.  
 
Tammy T. Patton was elected to the Clinton Township Board of Trustees in 2020. She is the first African American ever to win elected office in the Township’s history. Patton sees it as her responsibility to represent everyone in the Township, regardless of their partisanship, gender, religion, ethnicity, or anything else.  
  
“My family and I have always been deeply involved in our community, but having the position of trustee provided something the community had never seen,” said Patton. “The responsibility I have assigned myself has been to help bring the different cultures of the community together. The goal continues to be that, at the end of the day, we are all people and that there is more strength in diversity than there is in division,” she said.  
 
Patton looks forward to participating in the program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government this summer. 
 
“Coming together at the Harvard Kennedy School with others from diverse backgrounds and environments will create a template for growth and understanding,” she said. “I can use this as a resource for my quest for clarity, understanding, and apply principles that I learn in the program to my professional and personal life.” 
 
Patton serves on numerous Township committees, including the Planning Commission, Emergency Management, Economic Development, Diversity, Beautification, Budget Ways & Means, and Election Committee. 
 
“Soon after Tammy was elected, she got involved with as many committees as possible,” said Township Supervisor Bob Cannon. “I appreciate her representing the Trustees at our public events, and she’s to be commended for her support of our first responders and military, being former military herself,” he said. 
 
Administered through SEMCOG, the Taubman Fellowship for Executive Excellence provides local public officials with demonstrated leadership an opportunity to broaden their awareness of effective approaches to public-sector problems. 
   
“For over 30 years, we have supported this program because of the valuable opportunity it provides for our local leaders to connect with and learn from colleagues all over the world,” said Robert S. Taubman, chairman, president, and CEO of Taubman Centers, Inc. “This experience ultimately enables local officials to better serve Southeast Michigan.” 
   
“We are proud of our partnership with Taubman and the dozens of regional leaders who have brought lessons and relationships home with them to the benefit Southeast Michigan,” said Amy O’Leary, Executive Director of SEMCOG. “We are truly grateful for the company’s commitment to regional excellence.” 
 

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The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) is the only organization in Southeast Michigan that brings together all governments to develop regional solutions and enhance the quality of life for the seven-county region’s 4.7 million people.