Office of Executive Director
Erin Kuhn, Executive Director
(231) 722-7878 ext. 180
Erin is the Executive Director of WMSRDC. She has been with the agency for more than 20 years working in the economic development and local government services programs prior to becoming the executive director in 2014.
Erin is a governor appointee and voting member of the Michigan Infrastructure Council and serves on several of the Council’s sub-committees including the Asset Management Self-Assessment Data Committee and chairs the Asset Management Champion Program Committee. She served as President of the Michigan Association of Regions from 2019 through 2022 and is former chair of the West Michigan Prosperity Alliance. She currently serves as Chairperson on the United Way of the Lakeshore Board of Directors. Erin is a member of the Muskegon Rotary Club, former Lakeshore Athena Award nominee, and a Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce Agent of Change.
Erin was born and raised in West Michigan. She earned degrees from Muskegon Community College and Grand Valley State University. She currently lives in the City of Norton Shores with her husband and three children.
Syndi Copeland, Office Manager
(231) 722-7878 ext. 100
Under the supervision of the Executive Director, Syndi oversees the day-to-day operations of the Commission office; acts as Secretary to the Executive Board; and is responsible for providing administrative services to other professionals in the Commission. Syndi has been with the Commission since 2008.
Syndi attended college at the Grand Rapids School of the Bible and Music and Moody Bible Institute. Throughout her career she has provided various office support to a K-12 school, psychologist, insurance agency, food service provider, aerospace industry, tobacco corporation, church, hospital, university and finally, WMSRDC.
Syndi resides in Grand Haven with her husband, Paul. She enjoys baking, quilting, hosting dinners and game nights, and the West Michigan beaches! She especially loves spending time her three grown children and their families!
Finance and Budget
Amanda Snyder, Finance Manager
(231) 722-7878 ext.120
Amanda is the Finance Manager of WMSRDC. She joined the Commission in 2019 after working nearly a decade as an industry accountant specializing in non-profit accounting.
Amanda is passionate about marrying accounting and operations with technology. Since her arrival at the Commission, she has strived to modernize operations utilizing cloud-based, paperless systems. In early 2021, she led an organization-wide technology migration to improve operational efficiency and flexibility. The best part of her job is when someone wants to talk about accounting and finance. Her continuous goal is financial transparency, and she enjoys engaging the staff and board members about the Commission’s operations.
Additionally, Amanda serves as Vice-Chair and Treasurer for the Walden Green Montessori Board of Directors and is a member of the Association for Governmental Accountants. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Western Michigan University and a Master of Professional Accounting from the University of Miami, Coral Gables. She resides in Whitehall with her husband and two children where she enjoys gardening and lazy beach days.
Economic Development, Community Development, and Local Government Services
Stephen Carlson, Program Manager
(231) 722-7878 ext. 110
Stephen (pronounced “Steffen”) oversees the economic development and local government services program areas. He has been with WMSRDC since 2003 and earned a degree in Geography from Grand Valley State University in 2004. He believes in supporting the work of local governments and promoting regional cooperation. Stephen has written or collaborated on more than two dozen documents spanning regional economic development, local master and recreation plans, hazard mitigation, wildfire protection, flood mitigation, brownfields, and shoreline resilience. He has training in infrastructure asset management, leadership, and GIS to go along with experience with grant writing, public engagement, and facilitation.
Stephen enjoys the outdoors, playing sports, gardening, and traveling. His personal achievements include receiving a Muskegon Community College golf scholarship; involvement with the Grand Valley State University men’s club volleyball team as co-founder, player, and coach; teaching a course in map design at Muskegon Community College; and many summers spent playing semi-professional beach volleyball on the Midwest Professional Volleyball Association tour. Stephen lives in Norton Shores with his wife and two children.
Transportation Planning and Air Quality
Joel Fitzpatrick, Planning Director
(231) 722-7878 ext. 160
Joel is the Transportation Planning Director and has worked for WMSRDC since 2007. In this role he oversees all transportation programs for the Commission, managing the small urban and rural transportation initiatives across the five county region. He is responsible for the selection and programming of transportation projects and administers the MPO’s traffic count program, which collects approximately 100 traffic counts annually. Additionally, Joel oversees the region’s asset management program which gathers data on hundreds of miles of federal aid-eligible roads each year.
Joel is an active member of the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Rural Task Force Oversight Board as well as its education sub-committee. He holds membership with the American Planning Association and is a Certified Planner through the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). He has also completed the Michigan Infrastructure Council’s Asset Management Champion Program. Joel’s prior experience includes serving on the City of Roosevelt Park’s Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals. Prior to joining WMSRDC, he worked in several planning roles, focusing on economic development, historic district planning, grant writing, and recreation planning. Joel holds an undergraduate degree in economics and a master’s degree in public administration, both from Central Michigan University.
Brian Mulnix, Program Manager
(231) 722-7878 ext. 200
Brian Mulnix has been with the agency since 1998 and works primarily in transportation planning but has experience in all areas of the agency including GIS, local government services, and environmental planning. His current role is the Program Manager for the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) where he is responsible for the planning of over $15 million in federal transportation funding annually to improve the multi-modal transportation system and network in West Michigan. Brian also develops short- and long-range transportation plans for the transit and road agencies within the MPO.
Brian earned his bachelor’s degree from Central Michigan University and his Master of Public Administration from Grand Valley State University. Brian has served on his local planning commission for over 15 years and volunteers for various groups and events in the area. Brian grew up and continues to live in the White Lake area in northern Muskegon County with his two children.
Lauryn Blake, Planner
(231) 722-7878 ext. 230
Lauryn joined WMSRDC in 2024 as a Planner under the supervision of the Transportation Planning Director, Joel Fitzpatrick. She is responsible for attending meetings for the MPO. TIP, Technical and Policy Committee meetings, as well as participating with the MITC-IAWG on air quality for the Clean Air Coalition (CAC). She also is engaged in public involvement for rural and small-urban areas as well as transportation decision making and annual PASER road ratings.
In 2023, Lauryn graduated from Grand Valley State University where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Geography, as well as certifications in Sustainable Urban and Regional Development, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and Environmental Remote Sensing (RS). Before becoming a Planner, Lauryn was a designer, working to customize dream spaces for all levels of skill – DIYers to contractors. She emulates this do-it-yourself attitude by teaching herself to paint, write, and scross-0stitch. Currently, she resides in Allendale where she roller skates by day and stargazes at night!
Jack Grice, Planner/GIS Technician
(231) 722-7878 ext. 150
Jack joined WMSRDC in 2025 as a Transportation Planner and GIS Technician, working under the supervision of the Transportation Planning Director, Joel Fitzpatrick. In this role, Jack is involved in the annual PASER road ratings, assists in coordinating the maintenance of the Highway Performance Monitoring System database within the region, and contributes to the Small Urban, Regional, and Traffic Count Programs. Jack also is responsible for attending MPO, TIP, and committee meetings. In addition to these duties, Jack serves as a GIS Technician where he is responsible for administering WMSRDC GIS datasets and assisting all WMSRDC programs, as needed, for spatial analysis and reporting.
Jack graduated from Grand Valley State University in 2024 with a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources Management, complemented by minors in Biology and Geospatial Technologies. Additionally, he holds certifications in Geographic Information Systems, Applied GIS in Natural Resources, and RX-310 Prescribed Burns. In his free time, Jack enjoys hiking along the lakeshore, engaging in pickleball and disc golf, and watching sports.
Environmental Planning
Fallon Chabala, Program Manager
(231) 722-7878 ext. 130
Fallon joined WMSRDC in 2021 as the agency’s Environmental Program Manager. She is responsible for project development and grant proposals. When funding is awarded, Fallon oversees grant management including competitive selection of contractors, project oversite, grant reporting, facilitation of project meetings, and education and outreach.
Fallon was born and raised in Norton Shores. She earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Grand Valley State University and spent multiple years working as a student intern at Grand Valley State University Annis Water Resources Institute. Prior to joining WMSRDC, Fallon was the coordinator of a Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (CISMA) first in the Saginaw Bay region and then for the Barry, Calhoun, Kalamazoo region. She currently lives in Norton Shores with her family.