Nicole Sherard-Freeman, a Detroit native and nationally recognized leader whose career has connected philanthropy, public service, and economic opportunity, will join Luke Shaefer for a featured keynote conversation at the inaugural Kohn Social Policy Conference on Friday, September 18, 2026, in Detroit.
The conversation will explore how leaders across sectors can work together to strengthen the systems that shape opportunity, stability, and well-being. It will connect directly to the conference's central question: What can a city do to promote human thriving?
Sherard-Freeman is the president and CEO of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. Since its inception, the Community Foundation has distributed more than $1.4 billion through approximately 95,000 grants to nonprofit organizations across southeast Michigan.
Before joining the Community Foundation, Sherard-Freeman served as group executive of Jobs, Economy & Detroit at Work and executive director of the Mayor's Workforce Development Board for the City of Detroit. A graduate of the Detroit Public Schools system, she serves on several civic and economic development boards and is also a senior advisor to the University of Michigan's Poverty Solutions initiative.
"Nicole Sherard-Freeman's leadership reflects the kind of cross-sector, deeply engaged public work that the Kohn Social Policy Conference is designed to elevate," said Celeste Watkins-Hayes, Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of Public Policy. "Her deep commitment to Detroit and to expanding opportunity will bring an essential perspective to her exchange with Luke Shaefer, grounding the conference's central question in the real work of policy, public service, and community investment."
Shaefer is the Hermann and Amalie Kohn Professor of Social Policy and Social Justice at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and is currently on leave while serving as Chief Executive of Health, Human Services, and Poverty Solutions for the City of Detroit. His work focuses on poverty, economic mobility, and evidence-based policy approaches to improving well-being.
As the inaugural faculty director of U-M's Poverty Solutions initiative, Shaefer worked closely with the City of Detroit for years to help shape an economic mobility policy agenda and connect U-M expertise and resources with efforts to improve the well-being of Detroiters. He is also a professor of social work and a faculty affiliate of the Survey Research Center and Population Studies Center at U-M's Institute for Social Research.
Shaefer's research, including his award-winning book $2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America, helped inform the design of the federal expanded Child Tax Credit in 2021, which contributed to a historic reduction in child poverty. He is also the co-founder of Rx Kids, the nation's first community-wide prenatal and infant cash prescription program, now active in communities across Michigan.
The featured keynote conversation is part of the inaugural Kohn Social Policy Conference, a new biennial Ford School convening focused on emerging social policy challenges and practical, evidence-informed solutions. This year's program will explore interconnected issues including health, education, childhood poverty, and housing and homelessness.
Learn more about the conference and express interest in attending on the Kohn Social Policy Conference webpage.
