Today, Michigan Future announced that Dr. Sheryl Kennedy will be joining the Michigan Future staff as a vice president. Kennedy joins Michigan Future after a long career as a public school teacher, administrator, university lecturer, state representative, and Michigan Department of Education official.
“Sheryl has spent her entire career working to improve the lives of Michiganders, in the classroom, as an administrator, and as a policymaker,” said Michigan Future, Inc. President Lou Glazer. “The expertise and relationships she has built over her career will be invaluable in our efforts to improve educational outcomes for Michigan kids, retain and attract talent here in Michigan, and ensure working Michigan households are supported in achieving economic stability.”
In her most recent post, as the director of policy and strategy for the Michigan Department of Education, Kennedy oversaw the four largest and most equitable school aid budgets in Michigan’s history, the inception of bold new policies around early literacy, and the expansion of professional development and support systems in Michigan public schools. Her time at the department came after serving for a term in the Michigan House of Representatives, a position she ran for in order to have a more direct role in the education policy-making process after working in and around schools for much of her career.
Before working in state government, Kennedy spent twenty years as a music teacher, and another ten years as a school administrator. She received her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Oakland University in 2012, and her research regarding the development of teacher and organizational efficacy was presented at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) conference in 2012, published in the journal Teaching and Teacher Education, and is widely cited.
“I value public education as the great equalizer in our society, and I’m thrilled to join an organization committed to promoting opportunity through our education system,” Kennedy said. “I’m eager to contribute to Michigan Future’s work not only in education, but in all their efforts to promote prosperity here in Michigan and improve the well-being of all Michigan households.”
