While Kevin Naud was born and raised in Ann Arbor, the Ford School alumnus’ offspring will be born and raised in Detroit.
Naud, who graduated with a Master’s of Public Policy degree in 2021, and his wife are expecting their first child and just bought a house in the city. He had to go far from home to realize the work he was most passionate about could easily be done in his new hometown.
He spent his undergraduate years at Denison University in Ohio, competing on the swim team and studying philosophy, politics and economics. He also spent some time in South Africa studying post-Apartheid economic development. He spent a few years in Washington, D.C., first interning for U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow and then working for the National Association of State Workforce Agencies.
At the Ford School, he landed the Bohnett Fellowship and started working in the Detroit Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development. The fellowship, funded by University of Michigan alumnus David Bohnett, includes two years of tuition support and a paid internship with the city of Detroit. So far, 39 Ford School graduate students have received the fellowship since 2011.
He now serves as the workforce strategy advisor for Detroit at Work, which offers a host of workforce training for Detroiters.
So tell me about what you did at U-M and how you landed where you are now?
Yeah, so I think I’ll start back a little bit. I grew up in Ann Arbor and so always had familiarity with the university. Both of my parents went there for grad school. I wanted to try something else and went to Denison, a small liberal arts college. I moved to D.C. right after graduation to intern for Debbie Stabenow. That was my first work experience andI had a great experience in a lot of ways. I came to understand that I didn’t want to work in Congress, but I still wanted to work in public policy.
I ended up spending the next about five years working for an association in DC that represents state workforce agencies. And I’d say really my main motivator for getting into that type of work was some time spent in South Africa. I did a study abroad program and studied social and political transformation in South Africa. I really came to the conclusion that some transformative policies in education and training would go a long way. And coming back to the states, I looked around southeast Michigan and saw a lot of the same dynamics. Seeing that inequality so starkly made me realize I don’t need to go halfway around the world to do work that’s interesting and fulfilling. I can do it around here.
So what do you think it is that a U-M grad has that the city needs?
The core curriculum at the Ford School forces you to be interdisciplinary. In policy work, I think that there is a huge advantage in having someone who can write and communicate clearly but also is comfortable working with data and that type of research and analysis. I often refer to it as speaking both languages. And so I think that there’s a broad skill set that comes from the Ford School training. I also think that there is an emphasis on applied work, which I think is so important to prepare you for real life policy work and understanding what parts of the work you like more or don’t as much.
What are the elements of the job that you like the best? What are you applying from your Ford school experience?
I think at a high level, I really like the idea that I can spend my time thinking strategically about economic trends and the types of interventions we offer through different programs, and how we might impact that at the community development level. But at the end of the day, we’re serving human beings and people and that kind of connection to real tangible human services. I get to talk to people all the time who go through our programs and are touched by the work.
And I think that combination of feeling really close to the people that you’re hoping to help while also getting to do a lot of high-level strategic thinking, I really like that part about the job. There’s also just a real variety to what I do. And so it’s this combination of research and evaluation, strategic planning and project management. Sometimes I am doing pretty heavy data analysis and other days I’m writing a speech and it really varies based on what are the needs of the day and what are we focusing on. But I really like that my job isn’t a typical day.
So what would you say is the mission of the office?
The bulk of what we’re trying to do is serve two customers. First, the residents of Detroit who are looking for jobs, and then the employers in the city that need talent. We are trying to serve both of those and make the connections where there is that kind of perfect combination of a job that someone really finds fulfilling and a company that really benefits from their contributions. And so we do that in a number of ways. There’s kind of basic level work search assistance. We can help you look through job listings, do a little bit of thinking about career exploration. Maybe you just need to polish up your resume, do some interview prep, something like that, all the way up to occupational training programs. So we’ve got healthcare technicians, carpenter apprentices, IT training, getting into some of the more emerging industries around electric vehicle charging station technicians and semiconductor techs. So we do that real kind of hands-on job training.
We also partner with other organizations to provide adult education, GED courses. And then a lot of what we have to do is provide supportive services so people can keep their jobs. They may not have reliable transportation or childcare or stable housing. It’s really hard to be successful in the job search when you’re not sure where you’re going to sleep or eat that night. And so I think the fact that there is still such a high level of poverty in Detroit makes that a really crucial part of what we do. But in the end, it’s all about getting people into successful careers.
How many residents do you serve per year?
Off the top of my head, I think it’s something around over 30,000 are served either through one of the job centers or we have kind of an online portal. So there are people that come in and use the portal to search for jobs and may never come into a job center, but it’s over 30,000 individuals a year and between 3,000-5,000 employers.
What advice would you give students at the University of Michigan who want to work in Detroit? What are some of the things that you would recommend that they do?
I think one of the amazing things about a place like U-M is the network, and especially the network in southeast Michigan. I think my main advice would be just ask for stuff because it feels uncomfortable sometimes as a student. And so I think not being afraid to just see if you can try something new, but I think that network’s really important. I think just visiting Detroit is a big piece of advice. I think too few people really do it, and if they do, it’s often for dinner and a game. But I think spending a little time in Detroit just unplanned will go a long way. You don’t need an agenda.
About the fellowship
The David Bohnett Foundation Leadership and Public Service Fellowship, generously funded by University of Michigan alumnus David Bohnett (MBA ’80), is competitively awarded to three incoming master’s students each year. The fellowship includes two years of in-state tuition support and a funded internship with the City of Detroit. Through the fellowship, the Bohnett Foundation seeks to improve society through social activism and advance a spirit of community and justice. Read David Bohnett’s description of the fellowship.
This post was written by Greta Guest from Michigan News