Department and Services - City of Farmington Hills, MI (2024)

Biography

Gary Mekjian became City Manager on March 8, 2021. He joined the City in 2010 as the Director of Public Services and was promoted to Assistant City Manager in 2016. He previously worked as the Director of Public Works and Engineering for the City of Southfield, Director of Public Services and Engineering for the City of Lincoln Park, and Director of Engineering for the Charter Township of West Bloomfield.

He is a Registered Professional Engineer with a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Central Michigan University, a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Wayne State University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Michigan State University. He has also served as an Adjunct Instructor at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield.

Gary is a member of the Michigan Municipal League, International City/County Management Association, American Public Works Association, and Michigan TransportationAsset Management Council. He also belongs to the Optimist Club, Farmington Area Interfaith Association, Farmington/Farmington Hills Multicultural Multiracial Community Council, Xemplar Club, and the Resource, Recovery and Recycling Authority of Southwest Oakland County.

Contact Gary Mekjian at (248) 871-2510 or viaemail.

Biography

Biography

LaToya Harvey is a long-time Farmington Hills resident and has had a career in child welfare for over 25 years. Most recently since 2021, LaToya was the Chief Advancement Officer for Orchards Children’s Services in Southfield, MI where she was the executive lead for the agency’s new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives. For 3 ½ years, LaToya was the Child Welfare Division Director for Child and Family Charities in Lansing, MI. In those roles LaToya was responsible for the development, implementation, focus group outreach, and strategic planning of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) related policies, procedures and initiatives. Prior to those roles, LaToya spent 15 years at the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services (MDHHS), working as a Children’s Protective Services Supervisor and a Foster Care Supervisor. Overall, LaToya has garnered experience in DEI, foster care, Child Protective Services, adoption, government payments assistance, in-home prevention services, residential services and training development and facilitation.

In 2018, in partnership with the Wayne State University Social Work Department, LaToya co-facilitated the presentation "Wayne Together Collaborative: Risks, Rewards & Lessons of High Impact Child Welfare Education and Training Practices”at the National Child Welfare Workforce Initiative national conference in Chicago, IL. In 2019,LaToya became a member of the Eastern Michigan University Social Work Alumni Association and was the President of the Association. In 2020, she was the keynote speaker for EMU’s MSW graduate students’ commencement celebration.LaToya is a part-time lecturer at Eastern Michigan University and teaches social work-related classes, such as Social Work Practice with People of Color.

LaToya received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse in LaCrosse, WI and her Master of Social Work from Eastern MichiganUniversity in Ypsilanti, MI. She completed her Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion certification from Cornell University. LaToya is a Licensed Master Social Worker for the State of Michigan. She is a member of the National Association of Social Workers and the National Association of Black Social Workers.

LaToya has been married to her husband Robert for over 20 years and they share three sons. She enjoys traveling, scrapbooking, reading, and shopping.