ABOUT MCG

Betty Mercer is the principal of Mercer Consulting Group LLC, a firm specializing in traffic safety policy, planning and leadership development.

Mercer is a member of the Michigan Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) State Operations Council and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute's External Advisory Board. Mercer is the chair of the TRB Occupant Protection Committee. Mercer Consulting Group LLC is an associate member of the Governor's Highway Safety Association (GHSA).

A former state highway safety office (SHSO) director and governor's highway safety representative for the State of Michigan, she served as the director of the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning for over 10 years. Mercer has more than 30 years of experience in state government positions including the State Lottery Bureau and Department of Agriculture.

Under her direction, Michigan enacted a primary enforcement safety belt law and a comprehensive package of repeat offender laws aimed at reducing drunk-driving recidivism. Mercer specialized in successfully convening diverse groups to accomplish complex goals including the primary safety belt coalition, the repeat offender task force, the Michigan Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking, the Traffic Safety Summit, the safety management system and the Traffic Records Coordinating Committee.

Mercer served as vice chair of the Governors' Highway Safety Association and was a member of the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety Liaison and Executive Committees. She received the 2004 Richard H. Austin Traffic Safety Award, 2003 NHTSA Public Service Award, and, the 2001 Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Michigan Senator Van Regenmorter Leadership Award for her contributions to the reduction of impaired driving in the state. Mercer also received the Prevention Person of the Year Award in 2000 from the Michigan Prevention Association, and, the Champions of Childhood Injury Prevention Award in 2000 from the Michigan Childhood Injury Prevention Conference.

Mercer has a bachelor's degree in political science from Eastern Michigan University, and, a juris doctor degree graduating Magna Cum Laude from Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Lansing, Michigan. Mercer is a member of the Michigan State Bar. She resides in East Lansing.