Leadership | Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
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Leadership

Learn more about the Ford School Leadership Initiative

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Visiting faculty

Abdul El-Sayed

Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence
Dr. El-Sayed is a public servant, Michigan politician, former public health professor, and a medical doctor. He served as executive director of the Detroit Health Department and Health Officer for the city from 2015 to 2017, before running for governor of Michigan.
Visiting faculty

Lori Lightfoot

Harry A. and Margaret D. Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence
Lori Lightfoot served as Chicago's mayor from 2019-2023. She is the second woman, first Black female and first openly gay person in that role. Before becoming mayor, Lightfoot served as senior equity partner in the Litigation and Conflict Resolution…
Faculty by courtesy

Kenneth Lowande

Associate Professor of Political Science; Associate Professor of Public Policy (by courtesy)
Kenneth Lowande studies American political institutions and policymaking.
Core faculty

Yazier Henry

Teaching Professor in Public Policy
Henry has written and published on the political economy of social voice, memory, trauma, identity, peace processes, Truth Commissions, international transitional justice and international humanitarian law. His research and writing projects focus on how structural and administrative violence come to be institutionalized during post-colonial transitions. His current work is on the discourse of human rights, structural violence and the politics of official voice.
Core faculty

Morela Hernandez

Ligia Ramirez de Reynolds Collegiate Professor of Public Policy; Faculty Director, Leadership Initiative
Hernandez is an internationally recognized scholar with deep expertise in applying behavioral science insights to design and improve organizational systems and decision-making practices. She is widely published in top-tier academic journals and popular media outlets, and serves on several editorial boards. At Michigan, Hernandez teaches courses on leadership and serves as faculty director of the Ford School's Leadership Initiative.
Core faculty

Paula Lantz

James B. Hudak Professor of Health Policy; Director, BA Programs
A social demographer, Lantz studies the role of public policy in improving population health and reducing social disparities in health. She is currently engaged in research regarding innovative financing approaches for supportive housing among Medicaid beneficiaries, and also on how COVID-19 is exacerbating existing social and health inequalities in the U.S.
Core faculty

Jeffrey D. Morenoff

Associate Dean for Research and Policy Engagement, Professor of Public Policy and Sociology, Director of the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP)
Morenoff's research interests include neighborhood environments, inequality, crime and criminal justice, the social determinants of health, racial/ethnic/immigrant disparities in health and antisocial behavior, and methods for analyzing multilevel and spatial data.
Core faculty

Don Moynihan

J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Professor of Public Policy
Donald Moynihan is the Ford School’s J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Professor of Public Policy. Previously he served as Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy Chair of Public Policy and the director of the La Follette School at the…
Core faculty

Susan D. Page

Professor of Practice in International Diplomacy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and Professor from Practice at University of Michigan Law School. Director; Weiser Diplomacy Center.
Page applies her vast foreign policy experience to the Weiser Diplomacy Center. She has served the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the United Nations, and non-governmental organizations in senior roles for decades, across East, Central, and Southern Africa, and in Haiti and Nepal. Page was the first U.S. ambassador to the Republic of South Sudan and served as Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations in Haiti.
Core faculty

Attia Qureshi

Lecturer
Attia Qureshi is a lecturer in negotiations at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and in communications at the Ross School of Business. An organizational culture consultant, she lays the groundwork for progress and…
Core faculty

Megan Tompkins-Stange

Associate Professor of Public Policy
Tompkins-Stange is a scholar of education policy and philanthropy, focusing on the influence of private foundations on the politics of K-12 school reform.
Staff

Cindy A. Bank

Associate Director of Policymaker Engagement, Office of Public Affairs
Prior to coming to the Ford School, Cindy spent more than 22 years in the University of Michigan's Washington DC office where she served as a liaison for the University with Congress, the Administration and national higher education associations on…

Ford School votes

Vote early or on election day In our community dedicated to the public good, we believe that participating in democracy is an irreplaceable way to strengthen it. We welcome everyone in our community into that work, and we strongly encourage all...

Leadership development

Tools to impact and influence others “Leadership doesn’t come by title. You don’t have to be the head of an organization to have an impact. Morela Hernandez, Ligia Ramirez de Reynolds Collegiate Professor of Public Policy and faculty director...

Extracurricular programming

The Leadership Initiative hosts workshops, immersive experiences and talks designed to equip Ford School students with the competencies needed to lead self, others, organizations and communities. Each program or event supports the development of a...

Leadership coaching

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Leadership Initiative

The Ford School's Leadership Initiative develops and offers a growing suite of graduate and undergraduate student leadership courses, coaching, and extracurricular programs that build on and complement the school's excellent, rigorous curriculum....

Service to Service

National Service to Service InitiativeVeterans and military families seeking careers in public service now have greater access to graduate education and career development support through Service to Service, a national initiative led by the Volcker...
In the Media

We have too much faith in the law - Moynihan

Mar 23, 2025 Financial Times
Current government operations under the Trump administration are pointing to signs of democratic backsliding. The Ford School's Don Moynihan has stated that Americans have put too much faith in the lawn. Quoted in an article from the Financial...
In the Media

Stange comments on cuts to education research funding

Mar 21, 2025 Bridge Michigan
Following the recent executive order designed to dismantle the Department of Education, the Ford School's Kevin Stange spoke with Bridge Michigan about what this means for education research. Strange shared that his biggest concern is the fate of...
In the Media

Herd on Trump's return-to-office order

Mar 16, 2025 Reuters
Pam Herd, Ford School professor, talked about the Trump administration's strategies to cut the government work force, saying "It's the move fast and break things approach, without really thinking through the implications of a range of different...
In the Media

Wolfers offers what to expect with Trump's proposed tariffs

Mar 13, 2025 CNN
If Trump's proposed 200% tariffs on alcohol coming from the EU are enacted, “it means your liquor store probably won’t stock it." Noted Justin Wolfers, an economics professor at the Ford School. He told CNN that he believes the tariff “would drive...
In the Media

Jacob: Trump cuts to the Department of Education are "slash and burn"

Mar 12, 2025 Click on Detroit
“There’s really very little thought going into what to cut, when to cut, and how much to cut. It’s kind of slash and burn,” said the Ford School's Brian Jacob on the major funding and employment cuts happening across the Department of Education and...
In the Media

Stevenson: government spending should be included in GDP

Mar 11, 2025 Planet Money
As the commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, pushes for cutting government spending from GDP calculations, alarms have been raised for the Ford School's Betsey Stevenson. Stevenson told Planet Money in a discussion about the GDP and government work...
In the Media

Why DOGE may advocate for a government shutdown - Moynihan

Mar 11, 2025 Wired
“A shutdown is aligned with the goals of DOGE,” said Don Moynihan, a professor of public policy at the Ford School speaking with Wired. The network turned to Moynihan for insights regarding the federal employee firings taking place through DOGE's...