EAST LANSING, Mich. — The City of East Lansing is pleased to welcome new Finance Director Penny Wright to the staff at City Hall. Her first day of work was Monday, May 8.
Wright previously worked for the State of Michigan for 30 years in various finance positions. She served as the chief accountant for the Michigan Civil Service Commission for several years and, for the past 10 years, Wright worked in the Department of Insurance and Financial Services, serving as the chief financial officer and director of finance and administrative services. There, she was responsible for finance, budget, purchasing, information technology, mail services, telecommunications and human resources liaison services.
“We are very excited to have Penny join the City as our new finance director,” said East Lansing Interim City Manager Randy Talifarro. “Penny has a deep breadth of knowledge and experience in the field of finance and we are lucky to have her join the City in this capacity.”
In her new role as the City’s finance director, Wright is responsible for planning, directing, managing and overseeing the activities and operations of the finance department as the chief financial officer, budget officer and risk manager for the City. The finance department has 16 employees including four professional managers for each operational division: assessing, budget and accounting, income tax and treasury.
“I love East Lansing and grew up coming here,” said Wright. “But it is the people I have met since starting this new job, and their warm welcome toward me, that make me most excited for this new role. We have a very special team here in the City of East Lansing.”
Wright earned her Bachelor's degree from Northwood University. In her time away from the office, she enjoys the performing arts, crafting, traveling and spending time with her family. Wright and her husband, a design engineer, have three adult children and two grandchildren.