Leadership

The Public Lighting Authority is overseen by a five-member board that is appointed by the Mayor and City Council. All board members are residents of Detroit.

Lorna Thomas, M.D.

Chair

Lorna Lacen Thomas M.D., a ninth generation Detroiter from the east side, has been a physician for more than 31 years while serving as a committed advocate for the City of Detroit, and the city’s civic, cultural and social matters.

Rod Parker, CPA

Treasurer

Rod Parker is a financial manager with more than 30 years of experience. He started at the Ernst and Young CPA firm where he received his Certified Public Accountants License.

Patrick L. Padgett, P.E.

Secretary

Patrick Padgett, P.E. is a professional engineer who is currently leading the growth of the global manufacturing, installation and service operations for the GE SPINlab product, working with medical research institutions in North America, Europe and Asia.

Melvin Butch Hollowell

Director at large

Butch Hollowell is managing partner of the Miller Law Firm in Detroit. He most recently served as corporation counsel for the City of Detroit and was general counsel of the Detroit Branch NAACP.

Ric Preuss

Director at Large

Ric Preuss, a lifelong Detroiter and Detroit business agent for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 58 (IBEW), is a licensed electrician with 21 years of electrical construction and maintenance experience.

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Discover our Mission

The Public Lighting Authority (PLA) is a state-created authority whose mission is to improve, modernize and maintain all street lights in the City of Detroit with brighter, more reliable, more energy efficient lights. The new lights in neighborhoods are 150-watt equivalent LED lights, twice as bright as the 75-watt equivalent High Pressure Sodium Lights that were the standard under the old system. The LED lights are also much more energy efficient than the High Pressure Sodium lights.