Speakers

Sheila Cockrel 

Sheila Cockrel is founder and CEO of Crossroads Consulting Group, a public policy and public affairs consultancy. Crossroads provides a select and diverse client base with strategic advice and consultation on local government process, protocols and government permitting. Cockrel established Crossroads in 2009 after four consecutive terms on the Detroit City Council. A native Detroiter, she has a long history of social activism in the city. She is co-founder with Dr. Irvin D. Reid of CitizenDetroit, a civic engagement and voter education program based at Wayne State University. Cockrel is an adjunct faculty member in the Irvin D. Reid Honors College at Wayne State University.

Suzanne Feetham PhD, RN, FAAN

Suzanne Feetham, Ph.D, RN, FAAN, Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is an internationally recognized leader in her field. She has affected policy change through pivotal positions in academia, health systems and the federal government. Her leadership and scholarship have advanced science in family research and the integration of genetics and genomics in national education, practice and policy.  The Feetham Family Functioning Survey, developed in 1977 at Wayne State, assesses the strengths of families and is used internationally in research across disciplines. She has written landmark publications in research  pertaining to urban families, genetics and genomics.  In 2011 she was designated a Living Legend by the American Academy of Nursing.

John Gallagher

John Gallagher is a veteran journalist and author whose book, Reimagining Detroit: Opportunities for Redefining an American City was named by the Huffington Post as among the best social and political books of 2010. His most recent book is Yamasaki in Detroit: A Search for Serenity, a biography of architect Minoru Yamasaki, designer of the McGregor Memorial Conference Center at Wayne State University. Gallagher joined the Detroit Free Press in 1987 to cover urban and economic redevelopment efforts in Detroit and Michigan, a post which he still holds. His other books include Revolution Detroit and Great Architecture of Michigan.

David Hecker 

David Hecker has been president of AFT Michigan (AFL-CIO) since 2001 and was elected a vice president with the American Federation of Teachers in 2004. AFT Michigan is a statewide union of 95 locals and more than 30,000 members working for PreK-12 and intermediate school districts, community colleges, and universities. Hecker is a member of the Michigan State AFL-CIO Executive Council and is chair of Community in Schools Michigan, vice chair of the Metropolitan Affairs Corporation, and serves on the boards of the Education Alliance of Michigan and New Detroit. He holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Relations from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has served as an adjunct Professor of Labor Studies at Wayne State University.

Herbert C. Smitherman, Jr., MD

Dr. Smitherman is Assistant Dean for Community and Urban Health and Interim Vice Dean, Diversity and Inclusion, at the Wayne State University School of Medicine. He is also President and CEO of Health Centers Detroit Foundation, a Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike. His research and expertise focus primarily on creating sustainable systems of care for urban communities. He has spent the past 21 years working with diverse communities in Detroit to develop urban-based primary-care delivery systems. In 2009, Dr. Smitherman received the Community Service Award from the Michigan State Medical Society for his efforts to battle health care disparities. He is co-author of Taking Care of the Uninsured: A Path to Reform.
 

Alice Thompson

Since 1994, Alice Thompson has been CEO of Black Family Development, whose mission is “to strengthen and enhance the lives of children, youth and families through partnerships that support safe, nurturing, vibrant homes and communities.” Thompson received her M.S.W. from Wayne State University and for 10 years was Adjunct Professor in the School of Social Work. In 1992 and 2007 she received the Social Work Alumna of the Year Award. Thompson serves on many boards, with a focus on quality of life issues and the revitalization of Detroit. In 2013 she completed the Harvard Business School Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management program, and is now Dean of the Joseph Business School-Detroit Campus.