Conan was elected to the Washtenaw County Commission representing the City of Ann Arbor in November 2004.  He serves on the Planning Advisory Board, the Washtenaw Development Council Board and the Parks and Recreation Commission.  Professionally, Conan has served as Executive Director at the Michigan Suburbs Alliance since August 2004.  His passion for cities stems from a life and career supporting innovative policies for urban development and region collaboration strategies.

Prior to joining the Suburbs Alliance, Conan worked with the Michigan Environmental Council on land use issues.  As their Land Programs Director he helped build cohesive support in the environmental community for Smart Growth policies among the state’s environmental organizations and their constituents.  He has served as the chair of the Ann Arbor’s “Cool Cities” Task Force, a program established by Governor Granholm to attract and retain 22-35 year olds to the area.  In 2005 he was awarded one of 25 national fellowships from the Environmental Leadership Program.

Considered one the state’s foremost voices on Smart Growth public polices, Conan has helped build a network of more than 11,000 land use activists advocating executive branch leadership, coordinated planning, multimodal transportation, and other Smart Growth tools for state and local governments.  His work has been integral in creating conservation subdivision design standards for local governments, instituting an asset management program within the Michigan Department of Transportation, advancing regional governance opportunities and securing more than $55 million in increased funding for mass transit in the state.  The nationally recognized Redevelopment Ready Communities program is one of his signature projects at the Suburbs Alliance. 

Conan was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan where he lives today with his fiancée, Rebekah Warren, in the downtown family home his grandparents purchased in 1945.  Coming from a long line of public servants and political activists, he continues to be heavily involved in community activities through the Sierra Club, the NAACP, the ACLU and the Public Interest Research Group in Michigan.  Conan attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor where he earned a B.A. in Creative Writing and Literature.  Following graduation he worked as a communications specialist for the Michigan House Democratic Caucus where he served on the speech writing team for the speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives. 

Since a foray to northern Michigan’s Porcupine Mountains as a boy, Conan has enjoyed traveling to exotic locales and counts international travel among his passions.  His voyages have taken him through Indian prairies, Chilean deserts and Mediterranean islands, cementing a passion for protecting the natural and human environments that make traveling and living on the planet so special.