Board of Directors

ohn Lemire is an enrolled member of the Grand Portage Band, Minnesota Chippewa. He is the Associate Judge of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians in Petoskey/Harbor Springs, Michigan. He is a retired Family Court Referee, having served the 3rd Circuit Court in Wayne County for more than 25 years. Judge Lemire has been involved in Indian law and welfare for decades. He has been a Court appointed Mediator/Arbitrator. He has served as a Board member and Vice Chair of Michigan Indian Legal Services for over thirty years until his appointment to the Tribal Court. He has participated in programs to assist Native American Law students and served other Michigan tribes in various legal capacities. He is past Chair of the American Indian Law Section of the State Bar.
In his legal career, Judge Lemire has served as a Referee for the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, as a chair panelist of the Attorney Discipline Board, and as an Assemblyperson for the State Bar of Michigan. On a personal level, Judge Lemire is an Army Veteran of Vietnam and has been happily married for many years to his wife Marlene with two grown children.

Dr. Roubidoux is a Professor of Radiology at the University of Michigan School of Medicine, a Fellow of the American College of Radiology and a Fellow of the Society of Breast Imaging. She completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Microbiology Magna Cum Lauded at Brigham Young University, graduated from the University of Utah School of Medicine in 1984, completed a Radiology Residency and fellowship at Duke University Hospital in 1990. She is an enrolled member of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska and is a 35 year member of the American Association of Indian Physicians. She is an author of 106 peer reviewed scientific publications, 286 scientific presentations and a funded investigator of NIH grants in Radiology. She collaborated for 12 years with the Great Plains Indian Health Service to provide mobile screening mammography. She works to improve access, research, and opportunities among diverse populations.

My name is Marcia Ryan. I have been a board member since 2010 and am presently the Secretary. I am a Registered Nurse and a Certified Case Manager. My bachelor’s degree is in Health Management. I have a good knowledge of health insurance policies as I worked for Blue Cross Blue Shield for 15 years. I have worked in health care clinics, in hospitals, and in a nursing home. I am a mother of 3 daughters, grandmother of 6 and great-grandmother of 6!! Although I am a non-native, I consider myself to be a part of the American Indian Health Center.

Joanne Sobeck is the Director of Research and the Center for Social Work Practice and Policy Research at Wayne State University School of Social Work. Prior to joining the faculty, she was on staff at the Addiction Research Institute involved in applied areas of alcohol and drug abuse prevention and program evaluation. Dr. Sobeck has 20 years experience working closely with health, mental health and substance abuse agencies and other nonprofit organizations. She has published her research on risk and protective factors in drug use and abuse, co-occurring disorders, capacity building for community-based organizations, and processes related to policy and program development. She is a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and enjoys reading, gardening, fishing and hunting with her family.

Steve Erskine is from Southeast Michigan and a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Band of Chippewas. He graduated from Michigan State University with a BS in Electrical Engineering and the American Indian Studies Specialization. After college, he lived and worked in Alaska for 7 years focusing on new health care construction projects in remote and rural Native communities. His professional experience also includes time living and working in Antarctica as the Facilities Engineer for McMurdo Station. He is currently a construction manager at the U of M Ann Arbor Medical School Campus and is enrolled in a Master’s of Science program at U of M Dearborn.

Casey Haam retired from Ford Motor Co. in late 2017 after almost 40 years of service — holding various management positions in areas of financial analysis, accounting and auditing. He graduated from the University of Michigan with business degrees in Accounting and Economics. Casey and his wife Lori have been married over 40 years and have two adult children and a bunch of pets. They reside in Dearborn, Michigan. Casey enjoys mountain biking, hiking, hockey, yard work, and working with numbers. He and Lori love camping — especially in their truck camper exploring the splendors of their home state of Michigan. Casey looks forward to giving more back to the community he loves.

Gerard Heath is a current emergency medicine resident at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan and a descendent of the Moravian Band of the Delaware Nation. He has served in a number of roles at AIHFS over the years, starting as a volunteer in the medical clinic, to working as the clinic coordinator, and now serving as a member of the board of directors. Prior to pursuing a career in medicine, Gerard worked at the Wolf Education and Research Center, a non-profit organization in collaboration with the Nez Perce tribe dedicated to the preservation of the gray wolf in the northern Rockies. Gerard completed his undergraduate degree in environmental studies at the University of Michigan-Dearborn prior to completing his MD/MBA at the University of Michigan Medical School and Ross School of Business.

A proud and registered member of the Muscogee Creek Nation. Essi Hollier is a native Detroiter. She attained a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Eastern Michigan University. She continued her education and earned a Master’s degree from the University of Michigan in Public Administration. Essi chose a career in law enforcement and joined the Detroit Police Department in 2000. She served the citizens of the City of Detroit until joining the United States Postal Inspection Service in 2007. She refers to herself as “Your Friendly Federal Agent” and serves as the alternate Public Information Officer for the Detroit Division and assists with recruiting duties. Essi serves as the Treasurer of the International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators (IAFCI) Michigan chapter. She is also a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority; where she serves as the chair of a committee tasked with safety. Essi seeks to make the world a better place every day.

George Luckey is a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma. He is a mechanical engineer from The University of Tulsa with a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Michigan Technological University. George moved to Michigan in 2000 to accept a dream job in manufacturing research at Ford Motor Company. He and his wife Amy, along with their four children live in Dearborn, where George still works at Ford, and still considers it his dream job. His children attend public school and his family attends Dearborn First United Methodist Church. They also tolerate his love for and practice of guitar. George is excited to join the AIHFS board and honored to have the opportunity to serve Detroit’s urban Indian community.