Patricia J. Benner served as director of operations for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy until November 2009, when she was promoted to vice president of operations. She was responsible for supervising the Center’s operations staff, ensuring the efficiency of office and clerical functions, and guaranteeing the timeliness and accuracy of the Center’s financial statements and accounting. Benner started at the Mackinac Center in October 2003 as an executive assistant to the executive vice president.

Benner has more than 20 years of accounting and management experience with a variety of companies, ranging from small businesses to a Fortune 500 firm. She has worked in virtually every aspect of accounting, including inventory valuation, budgets, payroll, accounts payable, accounts receivable, general ledger, financial statement preparation, financial statement analysis, job costing, cash management, fixed asset management, risk management, and Securities and Exchange Commission reporting. She has also helped manage audits from the Internal Revenue Service, the Michigan Department of Treasury and various private accounting firms.

Benner has a master of business administration degree from Saginaw Valley State University, where she graduated with honors, and she earned her undergraduate degree from Northwood University in 1986. She has taught principles of economics as an adjunct instructor for SVSU, and she has been an adjunct business instructor at Delta College, located near Bay City, Mich.