Dennis is serving his second term on Berkley City Council. He was first elected in November 2017.
In his first term...
- Made over 1,000 posts to Berkley social media groups.
- Helped more than 250 people with city issues.
- Hosted 15 coffee talks to hear from the public.
- Attended 76 open houses and community events.
- Participated in over 300 hours of continuing education.
- Helped write legislation to protect trees.
- Promoted a budget increase to plant more trees.
- Increased transparency by posting meeting materials and videos.
- Wrote new legislation instituting training and attendance requirements for our board and commission members.
- Introduced a resolution to reimburse permit fees for sewer backflow valves and looking for ways to provide them for free or to help finance their installation.
Dennis is...
- A resident of Berkley since 2011.
- Council Liaison, Zoning Board of Appeals.
- Council Liaison, Tree Board.
- Vice President of the Michigan Municipal League's (MML) Elected Official Academy.
- Recipient of Elected Official Academy's Education Award and Leadership Award.
- Member of the MML's Municipal Services Committee and Elections Subcommittee.
- Master Citizen Planner Certification from Michigan State University.
- Senior Software Engineer with a Bachelors of Science in Math and Computer Science and a Masters of Science in Computer Science.
- The owner of a successful technology consulting firm 28 Studios.
- Active member, volunteer, and leader at church.
- A supporter of the Friends of the Berkley Public Library, the Friends of Berkley Parks and Recreation, the Berkley Junior Women's Club, Berkley/Huntington Woods Youth Assistance, Tri-Community Coalition, and the Berkley Education Foundation, among others.
About Me
I grew up in Wheeling, West Virginia. After receiving my BS in Mathematics and Computer Science, I settled in Columbus, Ohio to complete my Masters in Computer Science. While there, I was president of WOOSE (We Oppose Ohio State airport Expansion). We successfully prevented the Ohio State University from allowing their airport to further encroach into the surrounding neighborhoods.
In 2008, I met my future wife, Jennifer. We got married in 2010 and I moved to Michigan so we could start our life together.
In 2011, we decided it was time to set down roots and pick a place to call home for the rest of our lives. We picked Berkley. We fell in love with the excellent school system, the walkable neighborhoods, and the city's small town feel. We particularly like the close-knit community where neighbors look out for neighbors.
I am a Senior Software Engineer for Mercury Banking. I am on the fraud team, where we develop tools and processes to detect and prevent fraud. I also have my own technology consulting firm, 28 Studios.
With a group of other volunteers, I have put in countless hours on a mission to educate the residents of Berkley and help them protect their investment in our city. Through those efforts and since being elected, the city has reorganized its building department which was not serving the community and has started to improve its communications.
Jennifer and I are active members at our church. We enjoy gardening, home improvement, and walks and bike rides through the city. I also enjoy tinkering with my fleet of robots and home automation assistants.