Source: Poverty Solutions
Luke Shaefer speaks at the podium while Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield, left, looks on. Photo courtesy of Poverty Solutions.
Luke Shaefer speaks at the podium while Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield, left, looks on. Photo courtesy of Poverty Solutions.
University of Michigan public policy professor Luke Shaefer has been named chief executive of Health, Human Services, and Poverty Solutions for the city of Detroit as part of Mayor Mary Sheffield’s administration.
The new chief executive role is part of the city government’s reorganization plan aimed at improving quality of life and facing health inequities and homelessness head-on with revised strategies and approaches. It also reflects Sheffield’s commitment to a unified, community-centered approach that integrates public health, human services, and homelessness response.
Starting in February, Shaefer will oversee the Detroit Health Department, the Office of Immigrant Affairs and Economic Inclusion, and a new Department of Human, Homeless and Family Services directed by Benita R. Miller. Shaefer will take a two-year leave from U-M to take on this role with the City of Detroit, with plans to return to his faculty post.
“Confronting poverty has been Luke’s life work, and now he brings that passion, expertise, and national leadership right here to the City of Detroit,” Sheffield said at a press conference on Monday. “As the Chief Executive of Health, Human Services, and Poverty Solutions, Luke will bring data-driven, city-wide strategy focused on poverty, service gaps, and systemic barriers that prevent families from achieving stability.”
