Verna McDaniel - Ann Arbor

Verna J. McDaniel is the administrator for Washtenaw County government, a position she's held since May 2010 when she was hired by the county board of commissioners to replace retiring administrator Bob Guenzel. In February 2015, McDaniel announced her intent to retire by the end of May. The county board subsequently proposed a contract with her to stay as interim administrator for up to two years, at a pay rate of $14,417 per month plus a car and other expenses paid. [vmaccontract.pdf contract given initial approval at the board's March 18, 2015 meeting.]

Verna McDaniel at a May 2013 meeting of the Washtenaw County board of commissioners. (Photo courtesy of The Ann Arbor Chronicle.)

Prior to her promotion, McDaniel had served as Guenzel's deputy administrator since 2007. Before that she had worked for the county for 28 years, much of that time serving as executive director of human resources.

McDaniel serves on the board of the United Way of Washtenaw County and on the executive committee of Ann Arbor SPARK, an economic development agency that receives county funding.

McDaniel has a bachelors degree in business administration from Western Michigan University School of Business and a masters of public administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

She was selected by the United Way of Washtenaw County Women's Leadership Initiative as the 2015 Woman of the Year, an award presented at the annual Power of the Purse event on March 11, 2015 at the Eastern Michigan University Student Center Ballroom.

She is married to local attorney Tim McDaniel. They have a daughter, Samantha, who is a University of Michigan graduate. The couple has lived in Ann Arbor for more than 35 years. McDaniel is also one of 11 siblings of casino magnate Don H. Barden, who died in 2011 at the age of 67.