Questions & Answers with community faces

Jackie Luedtke Borozan (38) grew up in Frankfort and graduated from Frankfort High School in 2006. She then served for a year with AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), where she worked on disaster-relief and community-service projects across the country.

She then attended Western Michigan University (WMU), earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in organizational communication and a Bachelor of Social Work degree, with a concentration in nonprofit leadership in 2011. While living in Kalamazoo, Borozan worked for Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan, an experience that continued to shape her interest in service, leadership, and community-building. It was also in Kalamazoo that she met her now-husband, Chris Borozan (38), while playing ultimate frisbee.

In 2016, she earned a Master’s degree in higher education administration from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. 

During graduate school, Borozan became especially interested in how college campuses connect with the communities around them, particularly through civic engagement, service, and shared responsibility. That interest led her to work in Indiana at the University of Evansville and later at Purdue University Fort Wayne. Eventually, her early AmeriCorps disaster-relief experience brought her to the American Red Cross, where she oversaw disaster services across 11 counties in northeast Indiana.

While living in Fort Wayne, the Borozans were married in 2018 and began imagining what a long-term life there might look like. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and her father, Kurt Luedtke, suddenly died in May 2020—she essentially came home for the funeral and never left. 

At this point, Borozan began working for her family’s long-time Frankfort business, Luedtke Engineering Company, to help with the emergency transition during an already difficult and uncertain time alongside her uncle Paul Luedtke. The following years were challenging and eventually led to the wind down of operations for the company after 93 years in business with the unexpected death of Paul in October 2024.

For two and a half years, the Borozans lived apart in a long-distance relationship while they worked intentionally toward the possibility of building a life together in Frankfort. In 2023, he accepted a position out of Detroit with Endeavor Air—headquarered in Minnesota—as a commercial airline pilot, and she began working at Grow Benzie. That was when Frankfort began to feel less like a temporary landing and more like the place that they could build their future together.

At Grow Benzie, Borozan was able to do community work in the place where she had grown up, which felt both meaningful and deeply personal. Her role there—including her work on community broadband—internet gave her a new professional lens on Benzie County’s nonprofit, civic, and social-sector networks. It also deepened her understanding of systems-change work: building relationships across sectors, listening for patterns, as well as individual needs, and looking at how organizations, resources, policies, and people connect. 

But in May 2025, federal funding cuts impacted her role at Grow Benzie. The next month, the executive director position at the Housing Trust of Benzie—formerly called the Frankfort Community Land Trust, since 2020—opened up. Borozan felt ready to step into a larger leadership role, and the tangible, urgent work of building homes during a housing crisis immediately resonated with her.

Today, the Borozans live in Frankfort, where they are continuing to build a life together in the community that first shaped her. She has been intentional about putting down roots, not only through her work, but also through friendships, local relationships, and the everyday rhythms of life in Benzie County. 

Continuing with our interview series on impactful Benzie County characters, The Betsie Current caught up with Borozan while she focused on the things that keep her grounded: new homeowner life, good books, and time with friends, alongside the transition into her new job.

The Betsie Current: Tell our readers about your path to the nonprofit world; what makes you want to get out of bed every day for work?

Jackie Luedtke Borozan: During my senior year of high school, I decided to do a term of service with AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps. It was right after Hurricane Katrina, and I ended up doing almost exclusively disaster-relief work all along the Gulf Coast. That experience made something click—I wanted a career in service, and that’s been the throughline of my work ever since. When I moved back home in 2020, I wasn’t sure what a nonprofit career path would or could look like. When Grow Benzie reached out for help with a community engagement project, I jumped in. That work helped me feel truly rooted here again, and it played a big role in my husband and me deciding that we could build our life in Benzie for the long term. That experience ultimately led to my current role with the Housing Trust of Benzie, where I get to put that same service mindset to work on one of the biggest challenges facing our community, attainable housing. I’ve worked in several different industries, but I’ve always gravitated toward roles where I can do the most good. That’s what gets me out of bed in the morning: Am I helping my community? Am I making the world around me a little better?

Current: What does a typical day of work look like for you? 

Borozan: I wish I could tell you that I have an impressive daily routine, but the truth is there’s no such thing as “typical” in my personal or work life. I’m still pretty high energy, so sleep and meals are my not-so-glamorous secret weapons to keep up with everything I want to do in a day. I’m grateful that my role is flexible, because I’ve never been a morning person or someone who thrives on a rigid schedule. I try to work with my energy instead of against it, so my days tend to happen in spurts and sprints. Sometimes, if I’m in the zone or trying to get something out of my head and onto paper, I’m working after hours. Other times, I’m tapped out, need a reset, or I’m taking advantage of time with my husband, who has a non-traditional schedule as an airline pilot, so we like to make good use of our time together, when we have it.

Current: How have you seen your work grow and change? How do you hope that it will continue to grow? What is next?

Borozan: For the first time in my life, I’m happy to say that I’m not looking ahead to what’s next! Since taking the Housing Trust of Benzie position, it’s truly felt like the culmination of all my roles and experiences, and I feel both ready for the work and that I’m a great fit for the role. I’ve primarily worked in the nonprofit and higher education sectors, and both tend to see high turnover, because there’s never enough time, people, or funding to do what needs to be done. I’ve been lucky to work on some great teams over the years, and I’ve learned the power of prioritization, collaboration, teamwork, and self-awareness. A lot of my growth so far has been in building those skills, and I see myself continuing to sharpen them in the years to come.

Current: What do you think that your organization is doing differently than what others are providing? 

Borozan: What drew me to HTB is our community land trust model. It’s a genuinely unique approach in Benzie County, and we hope more people see the value of a community nonprofit that’s building attainable housing for the long haul. Homebuyers purchase and own their home, while HTB retains ownership of the land through a long-term, renewable ground lease. This shared structure lowers the cost of buying a home, while still giving the homeowners the stability and pride of ownership. In other words, the house price is significantly lower than it would be if the home buyer was also buying the land associated with the house. When a homeowner chooses to sell, the resale process is designed to let them build any potential equity through a set resale formula, in order to keep the home attainable for the next income-qualified buyer. In this way, each home creates opportunity, not only for one household, but for generations of homebuyers to come. I also want to be honest: “affordable” can feel different, depending on your situation. Our lane is “working households” who earn up to 120 percent of annual area median income (AMI) in Benzie. Practically, this means a single person could make up to $80,400 and a household of four could make up to $114,840 and qualify for one of our homes. For some, this may still be unattainable, but this just shows that we need a variety of housing options at many different price points in order to fully address the housing crisis. No one agency can do it all and we are proud to be working alongside other non-profit housing developers like Habitat for Humanity of Benzie County and HomeStretch in building housing for Benzie. 

Current: How successful has this model been so far? What is next for the Housing Trust of Benzie

Borozan: The short answer is yes, this model is working. Grove Place was our first project, which was a set of four, single-family homes, each with three bedrooms, in the neighborhood behind the Frankfort A&W. We started construction in 2023 and sold the last home in early 2025. We are now wrapping up our second project, Cottages at Corning, and are already hearing great feedback about how well these homes fit into the existing neighborhood on the northeast side of Frankfort. They are a mix of one- and two-story two-bedroom homes with attached garages, covered front landings, and comfortable backyards. We have seen strong interest, given their location and price point, and are engaging with our first homeowners, which is an incredibly exciting time! What feels most encouraging is that we are building a model that can grow with the community. Constructing two to four homes at a time allows us to stay nimble and cost effective, while still working with local contractors for site work, foundations, and interior finishing. It keeps projects manageable, supports the local building community, and helps ensure that each development feels like a natural extension of the neighborhood. We also remain a young organization, so part of our success has been learning as we go, listening to homeowners, neighbors, and partners, and adapting thoughtfully. We have an incredibly dedicated working board that helps to keep everything moving—from construction oversight to communications—and that shared commitment has been essential to getting everything off the ground over the past six years. Looking ahead, we hope to identify our third project later this summer or fall. As with our first two, we will plan our next project carefully around the right location, lot size, housing type, and community feedback. Our goal is steady, sustainable growth and continuing to build high-quality attainable homes while expanding our capacity in ways that are thoughtful and responsive to Benzie County’s needs.

Current: What kinds of things do you do for fun, when you are not working? What other things are you involved with? How did you get involved with them, and why are you passionate about these causes?  

Borozan: I feel like the only “typical” thing in my life is that I try to fit too much into every day! I love reading, cooking, spending time with friends and family, board games, hiking, camping, and traveling, and there’s never enough time for all of it, let alone finding time to rest and build a mindfulness practice. But I do what I can and try to give myself grace when I don’t make as much progress as I’d hoped in any given month or year. Because my work life is in community, I’ve recently had to step back from a lot of other outside commitments; I’m always trying to find the balance between showing up for work and showing up for the people around me. One of my intentions moving forward is to find a better balance between staying present for more people and initiatives in smaller ways—I’m not going to join the board or chair that committee at the moment, but I can spread the word and show up for events and initiatives, when presence and energy is needed most. I do still volunteer at The Garden Theater in the concessions, and I love all of the energy happening in some of our third spaces, like Mills Community House and Grow Benzie. I’m a member of Frankfort Rotary and recently wrapped up my time on the boards of Habitat for Humanity of Benzie County and Lakeside Shakespeare, now under the umbrella of a new nonprofit called A World’s Stage and the Lakeside Shakespeare Festival. This past “off-season,” I’ve also worked on building a social network for other younger people looking to connect, and that has added a new depth to my Up North life that I’m really cherishing and appreciating. Building and sustaining community is a continued throughline through all of these activities.

Current: You have a long and storied family history here in Benzie County, and in Frankfort, specifically. What do you think about the Luedtke legacy, and how does that shape how you walk through the world?

Borozan: Thank you for asking this question. It’s something I’ve only recently been able to truly sit with and understand. Leading a life that I know my dad, Kurt Luedtke, and my uncle, Paul Luedtke—along with Sue and Karl, Erich and Joan, Duke and Lucille—would be proud of is a real driver for both my husband and me as we build our lives together in Frankfort. TThe Luedtkes were involved in so much of what a community needs: schools, the hospital, infrastructure, local church life, and more. But civic duty was never presented to us as a lecture or an obligation. It was simply what people in my family did. Once I was old enough to recognize it, it already felt ingrained: you show up, you help where you can, you listen for the voices that might otherwise be missed, and you support the place you call home. Their example continues to remind me to advocate for the minority voice, build genuine connections across backgrounds, and be present for others in meaningful ways. But my connection to Frankfort runs through both sides of my family. On my mom Kelly Luedtke-Fairchild’s side, the Fairchilds have also been a part of this community for generations. Many people know my Uncle Kim Fairchild*, but my Grandma Edna was a kindergarten teacher in Elberta, and my Grandpa Webb was a postal worker. Before that, Fairchild’s Market was a staple in Frankfort. From that side of my family, I’ve learned humility, perseverance, and the importance of meeting life with a sense of humor whenever possible. So when I think about legacy, I think about my whole family. I think about the people who served, taught, built, made music, laughed, and cared before me. It shapes how I walk through the world by reminding me that community is not something you simply inherit, it’s something you keep earning, through how you treat people and how you choose to show up.

Current: How have you seen Benzie County change since you grew up here? What are your hopes for the area in the future? 

Borozan: That’s a doozy of a question. The Frankfort and Benzie County I grew up in looks incredibly different today, and I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t hit me sometimes. There are people, places, and little pieces of character I miss so much that it can bring me to tears. And at the same time, I remind myself that change is part of every person and every place. “The only constant is change,” as they say. Every generation looks around and feels that mix of love, grief, and pride, and I know there is a path forward for Benzie County where we can channel the best of what built us and channel the momentum of change in a way that doesn’t leave people behind. My biggest hope for the future is I want more people to be able to live and stay in Benzie County all year long. We can celebrate the progress and improvements we’ve seen over the last decades and still be honest about the affordability crisis growing right alongside it. I choose to stay hopeful, because, in the end, it’s the people who make a place great. If we can keep showing up for our neighbors, making room for the folks who work here, and investing in our year-round—or mostly year-round—community, Benzie can stay the kind of place people don’t just visit but truly belong.

Current: You, yourself, have had an interesting journey to home-ownership here in Benzie County—what can you tell us about it?

Borozan: My housing journey reflects what a lot of people who grew up here are facing—the only way to find and afford housing is often through family support. In rural communities, there is a long history of families helping one another across generations by subdividing land, renting to relatives, or selling a home at a price that makes the owner whole while helping the next generation get established. But that wealth and ability to support the next generation is becoming harder and harder, even for long-time residents, due to taxes and the cost of living overall. When we first moved back in 2020, we rented from my uncle, and we recently bought my childhood home in Frankfort. We quite literally could not have done this on our own, and we were and are deeply grateful to my mom and aunt and uncle who could provide that level of support. At HTB, this is exactly the kind of gap we are trying to address: helping people access good housing, even when they do not have a family connection that makes it possible. 

Current: What are the biggest challenges and rewards of living/working in Benzie County, and in Northern Michigan, in general? What is the best or most rewarding part of your job?

Borozan: Right now, it honestly feels like the biggest challenge is not over-scheduling myself for summer! The biggest reward is being surrounded by good people and the beautiful outdoors. Lake Michigan has long been the heartbeat of my days and my timekeeper through the seasons. I’m incredibly happy and deeply grateful that I’ve been able to move back and work in the place I call home. And in return, I’ve continued to be embraced and supported by the people and places I love and respect most. 

Current: What could Benzie County do to attract more and/or retain talented people in this area? What else does Benzie County need?

Borozan: I’ll echo what so many Benzie residents have been communicating, which is affordable housing, access to childcare, and high-speed, reliable internet. Areas like environmental stewardship and conservation, year-round events and gatherings, and thoughtful economic development also need to be a part of that balance, too. But the first three I named are the top priorities for a reason—they truly drive people’s ability to put down roots in Benzie and engage with and support their community in meaningful ways. 

Current: What are your favorite local events and activities? Any favorite dining, recreation, hiking spots?

Borozan: All of them! My husband and I try to support as many local places as possible, and there aren’t too many trails in Benzie County that I haven’t stomped around on in the last few years. The last photo I have with my dad is of us hiking Baldy Dunes as a family, so that trail has become especially significant for me in recent years.  

Current: What does your perfect spring day look like in Benzie County? How would you spend it?

Borozan: The perfect spring day is just after a rainstorm, when the sun is out and the wind has died down. After getting some amount of work done, I’d try to get out walking or hiking. Then I’d look to gather with friends, either out and about or at home. If The Garden Theater has a movie on or there is a community event happening, all the better! During one of the inevitable cold and rainy days, though, it’s all about the couch and a good book!

Learn more about Housing Trust of Benzie at HousingTrustOfBenzie.org online, “Housing Trust of Benzie” on Facebook, @HTBenzie on Instagram, or on LinkedIn. HTB’s second project,“Cottages at Corning,” is currently under development near the corner of 9th Street and Corning Avenue in Frankfort, and the organization expects to close on the homes starting in late June. At 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 11, there will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony and reception for the Corning project. Meanwhile, HTB is actively looking for sites for the third project and welcomes any leads for land or homeowners who may be interested in creating more attainable housing in Benzie County. 

*Editor’s Note: The Betsie Current published “That Guy Who Walks Doone,” a feature on Kim Fairchild, back in 2016, which you can read in our online archives.

Featured Photo Caption: Jackie Luedtke Borozan (38), who grew up in Frankfort, has returned to set down roots—she is currently renovating her childhood home, while her day job has her helping to create affordable housing as the executive director for the Housing Trust of Benzie. Here, she is pictured with HTB’s second project, “Cottages at Corning,” a mix of one- and two-story two-bedroom homes with attached garages, covered front landings, and comfortable backyards that are currently under development near the corner of 9th Street and Corning Avenue in Frankfort. Photo by Aubrey Ann Parker.