Meet ‘the Manchester Mirror‘ board
The Manchester Mirror board, March 2026. Back row (left to right): Melissa Licavoli, Katy Hunsche, Jessica Lash, Allison Morris, and Melissa Yekulis. Front row (left to right): Fritz Swanson, Marsha Chartrand, Sara Swanson, and Colleen A. Schoenfeld (on the screen).
by Sara Swanson and Marsha Chartrand
In March 2022 the Manchester Mirror became a 501(c)(3). While we were staying on top of the day-to-day running of the Mirror (although we could always use more volunteers!), we didn’t have the capacity to also work on our goal of long-term sustainability. Bringing in a board meant adding volunteers who could focus on our long term-sustainability. We invited Manchester-area residents who were already dedicated Mirror volunteers or had specialized skills that would make them valuable additions to the board. It took us a couple of years to do it but we assembled a board and began meeting monthly in May of 2025.
Meet the Manchester Mirror board:
President — Fritz Swanson is a co-founder and publisher of the Manchester Mirror. Fritz has lived in rural Michigan all of his life, and has lived in Manchester for the past 22 years with his wife, Sara, and two children, serving as a Manchester District Library trustee for 11 years. He has taught composition and rhetoric at the University of Michigan for 25 years as part of the English Department Writing Program.
Vice President — Melissa Licavoli joined the Manchester Mirror board in November. She strives to help the paper grow and keep local journalism alive. By day, she works as the Assistant Director for the Community Resource Center. In her off time, she can be found trying new recipes or ingredients, fantasizing about a larger fenced-in garden, and playing board games with her family.
Treasurer — Colleen A. Schoenfeld moved to Manchester in 2019. She feels very fortunate to live in a community where there is still a local newspaper reporting on events that matter to the community. She began as a reader and then slowly began contributing articles and, when offered the opportunity to volunteer more, she leapt at the chance to support this vital information source. She and her children love Manchester and she never plans to leave.
Secretary — Jessica Lash lives in Manchester and loves cats, plants, and dinosaurs. She is the assistant director of the Saline District Library.
Melissa Yekulis has been a resident of Manchester Township since 2010. Though she grew up in Chelsea, her childhood is filled with memories of fireworks in Manchester and the welcoming face of the Snoopy mailbox whenever the family drove through town. As an educator, Melissa has worked in collaboration with the Mirror to feature many of the wonderful works of the children in Manchester Community Schools.
Melissa states that whenever the Mirror received a call to serve the schools, someone was generously willing to give their time with a smile and a camera to share the great stories our children and schools have been enthusiastic to share. When the Mirror came calling for help in the new venture of developing a board, Melissa was honored to serve this great team, while returning the same kindness that has been extended by the Mirror to the children, families, and greater community of Manchester for the last 10 years.
Katy Hunsche has been a Sharon Township resident for 11 years and likes to garden and read. She’s been picking up the paper from the Brooklyn Exponent, where it is printed, and delivering it to its Manchester drop-off locations twice a month since Valentine’s Day 2024.
Allison Morris moved to Manchester in 2023 with their partner, and is happy to have welcomed their parents to town last year. After a decade in restaurant and retail, Allison has spent their working life since supporting nonprofits, doing finance, volunteer management, compliance, fundraising, and other roles. They are also proud to serve on the board of the Community Resource Center. Allison feels strongly about the importance of community building through shared information, histories, stories, and practices. They also love gardening, (which they are terrible at!), art, which they are terrible at making time for, and listening to people talk about the things they love.
Sara Swanson, a co-founder and editor of the Mirror, is an introvert at heart and appreciates the way the Mirror continually pushes her outside her comfort zone. She has lived in Manchester with her husband, Fritz, and their two kids since 2003. She organizes the seed library for the MDL and loves gardening.
Marsha Chartrand, a co-founder and editor of the Mirror, has been interested in community affairs ever since coming to Manchester in 1972. She has been writing all her life but found her way to journalism when she was almost 40 by way of an invitation from Emory Garlick to join the Manchester Enterprise staff. Journalism has now become a major part of her life (other than her family). From the Enterprise to blurbs in the Manchester Journal and “M” Magazine to helping start up the Mirror, she’s still enjoying her career and doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon!
Are you interested in getting involved? The board has multiple committees that it is looking for non-board members to join, including a fundraising committee, recruitment committee, and 10-year anniversary committee planning some fun year-long projects. If you are interested in joining a committee or joining the board, let us know. Email us at themanchestermirror@gmail.com.
With the board “on board” with us, we are optimistic about what the future holds for the Manchester Mirror!
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