In March 2021, President Biden tapped Ann Arbor native Gene Sperling, a longtime top economic aide to Democratic presidents, to oversee the implementation of the administration’s coronavirus relief plan,

Gene was director of the National Economic Council under President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama. In Mr. Obama’s administration, where he first served as a counselor in the Treasury Department, he helped to coordinate a bailout of Detroit automakers and other parts of the administration’s response to the 2008 financial crisis.

Jim is president and chief executive officer, Ford Motor Company, effective October 1, 2020. He also serves as a member of the company’s board of directors. As CEO, Jim is focused on accelerating Ford’s transformation through operational excellence that benefits customers and delivers sustainable profit growth.

In his previous role as Chief Operating Officer, Jim worked to strengthen Ford’s automotive operations, overseeing all of Ford’s global markets and automotive operations including Product Development, Purchasing, Enterprise Product Line Management, Manufacturing & Labor Affairs, Marketing, Sales & Service, and Quality & New Model Launch. He also oversaw Mobility Partnerships and Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC.

He also represents Ford on the U.S. China Business Council Board of Directors and has been appointed co-chair of the Future of Mobility Commission.

Previously, Jim served as president of New Businesses, Technology and Strategy. In this role, he led Ford’s strategic transformation into a higher growth, higher margin business by leveraging smart, connected vehicles and breakthrough customer experiences. In this role, Jim oversaw Corporate Strategy, Global Data Insight and Analytics, Global Partnerships, Research & Advanced Engineering as well as Ford Smart Mobility and Ford Autonomous Vehicles.

Dominique is the author of The Detroit Project (A 3-Play Cycle) which includes the following plays: Skeleton Crew (Atlantic Theater Company), Paradise Blue (Signature Theatre), and Detroit ’67 (Public Theater, Classical Theatre of Harlem and NBT).

She is also the TONY nominated book writer on the new Broadway musical Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations (Imperial Theatre). Dominique is alumna of The Public Theater Emerging Writer’s Group, Women’s Project Lab, and Lark Playwrights Workshop and has developed work at Sundance Lab, Williamstown Theatre Festival and Eugene O’Neil Playwrights Conference.

Additional plays include: Pipeline (Lincoln Center Theatre), Sunset Baby (LAByrinth Theatre); Blood at the Root (National Black Theatre) and Follow Me To Nellie’s (Premiere Stages).

Under Darren’s leadership, the Ford Foundation recently became the first nonprofit foundation in US history to issue a $1 billion social bond in the US taxable bond market to increase grant making to stabilize and strengthen nonprofit organizations in the wake of COVID-19. He is a member of Governor Cuomo’s Reimagining New York Commission and co-chair of NYC Census 2020.

He also chaired the philanthropy committee that brought a resolution to the city of Detroit’s historic bankruptcy. Before joining Ford, Darren was vice president at Rockefeller Foundation, overseeing global and domestic programs. In the 1990s, he was COO of the Abyssinian Development Corporation, Harlem’s largest community development organization.

Delane is currently the Founder and CEO of PlayVS, the venture-backed startup building the infrastructure for amateur esports. He is also a partner with Detroit Venture Partners.

Prior to starting PlayVS, Delane worked at IncWell Venture Capital where he became the youngest black venture capitalist in The United States. Delane was then part of the early team at Rocket Fiber that raised$31M and focused on retail strategy directly with the CEO. While at Rocket Fiber, Delane founded Rush Esports, an esports team that was acquired by Team Solomid.

A lifelong entrepreneur, Delane started his first job at 13, working 40 plus hours a week during the school year. At 17, Delane used the money he saved to purchase three cell phone stores and joined the founding team of Executive Car Rental that now has 16 locations across Michigan.

Wendy is the managing director for the Detroit Program. She leads The Kresge Foundation’s efforts to revitalize Detroit and to strengthen its social and economic fabric. Her work supports organizations providing economic opportunity for low-income people and addresses the needs of vulnerable children and families.

Prior to joining Kresge in 2008, Wendy was a program director for Children and Family Initiatives and executive director for education initiatives at the Grand Rapids Community Foundation in Grand Rapids, Mich. She taught at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich., and has co-authored and assisted in the publication of several reports and publications that address community needs and problem-solving.