Aubrey Ann Parker

Meet Aubrey Ann Parker

• In her 10th year and third term; completed a 6-year term from 2017-2022; a 2-year term to fill a board vacancy from 2023-2024; in the midst of a 6-year term from 2025-2030. 

• Serves as board secretary. Long-term Planning Committee.

• Born in Traverse City; family goes back many generations in Northern Michigan region; has lived in Frankfort since 2010.

• Graduated 5th in the 2004 class from Benzie Central High School.

• B.A. in Chemistry with an Applied Mathematics minor from Kalamazoo College in 2008. (Studied abroad for 7 months at the Universidad de San Francisco in Quito, Ecuador.)

• B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering and B.S. in Spanish from the University of Michigan in 2010.

• Career in journalism, photography, and social media.

• Co-owner and Editor of The Betsie Current newspaper.

• Named among the region's "40 Under 40" list by Traverse City Business News in 2019. 

• Has served on many regional nonprofit and advisory boards (e.g. Benzie Community Water Council, Benzie Solar Initiative, Grow Benzie Art Guild, Northern Michigan Journalism Collaborative, Writer's Studio of Northwest Ed Career Tech Center, and more).

• Has created, organized, and/or volunteered for many local events (e.g. Benzie County Water Festival, Benzie Summer Soccer Camp, Benzie Votes Voting Ambassadors, Betsie Bay Frozen 5K, ATHENA after-school girls' group, Monthly Movie Club and Garden Classic Movies club at The Garden Theater, Earthwork Harvest Gathering, multiple book clubs, and more). 

• Coached middle school and girls varsity soccer at Benzie County Central Schools from 2014-2021; currently coaches cross-country skiing for 3rd-5th graders via the Crystal Community Ski Club, since 2018.

Born and raised in Northern Michigan, Aubrey has lived in Benzie County since 1994 (except for spending nine months of the year away for college from 2004-2010). Although trained in the "hard" sciences, Aubrey made a sudden switch to journalism at the end of her six-year undergraduate career, and (so far), she isn't looking back. For six years, Aubrey worked at a Traverse City-based news organization that covered the global water crisis, and she had the opportunity to report from Chilean Patagonia, Palestine, India, and the 2009 United Nations Climate Conference in Copenhagen. Since 20015, however, Aubrey has focused on telling stories closer to home through The Betsie Current and her photography business. She manages Facebook/social media campaigns for several local businesses and nonprofits, in addition to volunteering on many boards. Aubrey has also been involved with many youth mentoring and coaching opportunities. As for her time on the Frankfort-Elberta Area Schools board, Aubrey is passionate about the topics of inclusion, environmental stewardship, and citizenship. She believes that students must be prepared for the world with critical-thinking skills and compassion for their fellow human beings.