After retiring from a civil engineering career with the Michigan Department of Transportation, Bobbi Welke retired to live full time on Beaver Island. In 2022, Welke began a new career as the St. James Township Supervisor. Beaver Island is located in northern Lake Michigan, 32 miles from Charlevoix.

As a member of the Beaver Island Association's Housing Taskforce, Welke is working to create bettter housing options on the island and was able to support the work of a private developer in developing a 12-unit workforce housing project. MSHDA financially supported this project and is helping the township by funding the planning and zonining ordinance updates currently underway within the township.