Crain's Detroit Business, April 27, 2020 issue by Crain's Detroit Business

THE CONVERSATION Connaé Pisani, founder of National Real Estate Management Group. PAGE 27

Editorial: New racial disparities task force can save lives. PAGE 8

CRAINSDETROIT.COM I APRIL 27, 2020

COPING WITH COVID-19

PLANNING FOR THE POST-LOCKDOWN WORKPLACE

I hear everybody from President Donald Trump to Dr. Anthony Fauci to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to four doctors with whom I have been consulting tell me we Jay need more tests to GREENE feel safe in public gatherings, to get back to work or get a haircut, to go to the health club, to go to the dentist, or get on an airplane and even travel to Florida to hit the beaches. Oh, my, what thoughts. But what do more tests mean if nobody can count on the results being accurate? In other words — if you don’t trust them? Take, for example, my wife Olya, a health care worker who was exposed to coronavirus in mid-March. I’ve written previously about her three positive COVID-19 tests (March 30, April 8 and her latest on April 21), and her one positive serologic coronavirus antibody test (March 14). All tests were conducted during a 21day period. She firmly believes she was exposed on March 16 at her hospital in Detroit and started exhibiting strong symptoms of fever, chills and shortness of breath on March 21. This means she has probably been positive for at least 31 days, much longer than the 14 days doctors originally believed was possible. Some doctors are saying coronavirus can stay within our bodies for 35 days or more. At this point, she feels recovered and is asking about donating what she hopes is coronavirus antibody-filled blood plasma to those still suffering. Wayne State University and other researchers are studying this, but people must first answer a series of questions, including having proof of a negative COVID-19 laboratory test. See TESTS on Page 25

BY DUSTIN WALSH

A subset of executives from Roush Industries Inc. meets — virtually — twice a day. The purpose of the newly established task force is to wade through the rapidly evolving information, recommendations and mandates linked to the COVID-19 response and adjusting its own protocols. Right now, the Livonia-based engineering firm’s roughly 50 build-

See RETURN on Page 24

Black and blue: Universities take financial battering Schools make contingency plans for fall classes as they wrestle with revenue hits BY KURT NAGL

More than a month after the coronavirus pandemic closed campuses across Michigan, universities and colleges remain in triage mode. Their focus has shifted from the

NEWSPAPER

ings are only open to around 300 of its 3,000 employees and 2,000 contractors. Those select employees are working on deemed-essential work in aerospace, defense and medical programs. The massive reduction in employees, which included layoffs, during Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home order makes keeping workers distanced easier, and makes performing temperature screenings and health surveys easier.

ILLUSTRATION BY BJORN RUNE LIE/GETTY IMAGES

Why testing may not be ready for prime time

Managing a return to work brings some devilish details

safety of staff and students to the health of the business. With hundreds of millions of dollars being hemorrhaged, and further financial hardship looming with the threat of declined enrollment and cuts in state aid, the prognosis is bleak.

“Virtually every source of revenue is going to be hit and potentially hit hard,” said Dan Hurley, CEO of the Michigan Association of State Universities. The University of Michigan said anticipated losses will range from $400 million to $1 billion through

the end of the year. Michigan State University said losses have so far totaled between $50 million and $60 million. The financial impact is likely to be more devastating for smaller schools. See UNIVERSITIES on Page 24

FOCUS | VENTURE CAPITAL REPORT  The COVID chronicles: As the fast-paced venture capital world shifts online, we asked several investors what their days look like. PAGES 10-11

NEED TO KNOW

MOBILITY WIND-DOWN

THE WEEK IN REVIEW, WITH AN EYE ON WHAT’S NEXT ` $23M EFFORT TO GET TABLETS TO DETROIT STUDENTS THE NEWS: A group of businesses and nonprofits, alongside the Detroit public school district, is spending $23 million to give students computer tablets and internet connectivity amid the coronavirus crisis. DTE Energy Co., the Skillman Foundation and Quicken Loans Inc. joined the Detroit Public Schools Community District and city of Detroit on Thursday in announcing the investment. The school district plans to distribute wireless internet-enabled iView brand tablets to all 51,000 students by the end of the school year and provide free LTE data access through those devices until December, Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said. WHY IT MATTERS: The COVID-19 outbreak and its closure of school buildings has made bridging the digital divide an even more urgent priority.

` RETAIL INDEX HITS ALL-TIME LOW THE NEWS: Nearly 90 percent of respondents to the Michigan Retail Index survey reported huge declines in March, which saw the lowest hiring and sales numbers in the index’s 26year history and echoing national numbers as the coronavirus outbreak took hold. The monthly survey, conducted by the Michigan Retailers Association and Federal Reserve Bank

of Chicago’s Detroit branch, is based on a 100-point range, with values above 50 typically signifying positive activity. The index for sales in March was 11.6, down 50 points from February and 31 points from the year prior, according to figures released by the Michigan Retailers Association.

Plug pulled on Maven mobility venture

Detroit — and its predecessor organization known as Detroit Renaissance — for the past 15 years. The organization, made up of many of the state’s major corporate entities and higher education, will conduct a national search for a new leader.

` General Motors is shutting down Maven, its first prominent foray into the mobility space, amid the coronavirus pandemic. “We’ve gained extremely valuable insights from operating our own car-sharing business,” Pamela Fletcher, vice president of Global Innovation for GM, said in an emailed statement to Automotive News. “Our learnings and developments from Maven will go on to benefit and accelerate the growth of other areas of GM business.” Maven notified customers last week, but the business will wind down gradually by market, spokeswoman Katie Downey said. All operations will likely be shut down by late summer. Maven’s assets and resources will be transferred to GM’s Global Innovation organization, as well as the larger enterprise, the statement said.

WHY IT MATTERS: Rothwell has been a fixture on the state’s economic-development scene for most of three decades, beginning with his work at the Michigan Jobs Commission under Gov. John Engler.

` 24% OF LABOR FORCE HAS FILED FOR UNEMPLOYMENT

WHY IT MATTERS: U.S. retail sales tumbled in March by the most on record as the coronavirus forced thousands of the nation’s merchants to close and left millions of Americans without a paycheck.

` ROTHWELL, BLM CEO, ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT THE NEWS: Doug Rothwell, president and CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan, plans to retire at the end of the year, according to a statement from the organization on Thursday morning. Rothwell has led the statewide business roundtable based in

THE NEWS: Approximately 24 percent of Michigan’s labor force has filed for unemployment in the past five weeks as the COVID-19 outbreak continues to devastate the economy. The fiveweek total smashes all previously recorded unemployment records at 1.18 million new unemployment claims between March 15 and April 18. Last week, 134,119 initial unemployment claims were filed in Michigan, according to state data. A year ago, in the week ending April 20, 2019, initial unemployment claims were 4,842. WHY IT MATTERS: Michigan’s insured unemployment rate — which does not include the long-term unemployed like the traditional rate — now sits at 17.4 percent, the highest in the nation.

Maven launched in 2016 in Ann Arbor, as a short-term vehicle rental service.

` BEAUMONT HEALTH TO SELL AMBULANCE COMPANY THE NEWS: Beaumont Health, an eight-hospital system based in Southfield, has signed a definitive agreement to sell its ambulance division to Superior Air Ground Ambulance Service Inc. Some 500 employees in Beaumont’s ambulance division move to Superior as part of

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the transaction, pending approval by the Michigan Attorney General’s Office, Beaumont said Wednesday in a statement. WHY IT MATTERS: Over the past two years, Beaumont has sold a number of subsidiaries and divisions as it pares down its enterprise to primarily hospitals, ambulatory and urgent care centers and a physician organization.

REAL ESTATE

EDUCATION

Agree Realty amasses ‘war chest’ for acquisitions Retail REIT looks at spending $100M BY KIRK PINHO

IMAGINING A BRIGHT FUTURE A sign at the end of the hallway reads “We enter as student athletes and we exit as Champions,” shown after school hours in March in Benton Harbor High School. | DAYTONA NILES FOR CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Benton Harbor district sees possibility, even amid pandemic BY ANNA CLARK | SPECIAL TO CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

For Benton Harbor, a small town on the shining shore of Lake Michigan, a global pandemic can’t get in the way of dealing with its other emergency. Public education in this community of 9,800 residents is a long-simmering crisis. In the last decade, with the rise of school choice and charter programs, Benton Harbor Area Schools lost half its students — and the state funds that come with them. The 1,766 students that are enrolled across six schools are among the neediest: more than 82 percent qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Benton Harbor is still working to serve students, 92 percent of whom are black, but it has a budget deficit of $4.4 million. This is actually an improvement: Between 2010 and 2017, when debt

was restructured, the district’s average deficit was $14.7 million. Altogether, BHAS is nearly $18 million in debt. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposed last year that Benton Harbor close its high schools and restructure as a K-8 district, but she met passionate pushback from a community that was just five years removed from a state-imposed emergency manager at City Hall. So, closure is off the table — but change is still needed. And it may already be in the works, in the form of a new schools chief and a $13.3 million blueprint for change that offers public policy lessons and insights into one of Michigan’s most vexing problems: turning around a public education system that ranks near the bottom in student achievement. Andraé Townsel imagines a

bright future for Benton Harbor students. The tall, engaging Detroit native began in February as the new superintendent, and he is no stranger to a city in crisis. While earning postgraduate degrees at Howard University in Washington, D.C., Townsel was disturbed by the news coming out of his hometown. It was a never-ending slog: City hall scandal. Auto bankruptcies. Depopulation. Schools closing. Emergency management. Foreclosures. But the Cass Tech graduate loved Detroit, and he wanted others to see why. Under the name DraeTown, he and a friend made a song and video called “City of Gold,” that celebrated what is beautiful about Michigan’s largest city. It caught some fire, and earned him a Spirit of Detroit award. See FUTURE on Page 26

Superintendent Andraé Townsel of Benton Harbor School District arrived in February from Wayne Westland School District. | DAYTONA NILES FOR CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Agree Realty Corp. plans on going on a bigger shopping spree than it originally imagined. The Bloomfield Hills-based retail real estate investment trust (NYSE: ADC) says it expects to buy perhaps $100 million more in property this year than anticipated, up to $800 million, in part as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic clearing the field of Agree competition for assets. It’s not uncommon for the company to tweak its acquisition guidance to Wall Street, sometimes even on a quarterly basis — it acknowledged a $100 million increase for $600 million to $700 million in February, for example — but to do so specifically because of the distress a global pandemic is putting on retail real estate is unique. “The lack of liquidity in the market, the impaired balance sheet that they currently have plus the stress COVID-19 has produced on a number of retailers, which will impact EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), frankly puts all of our peers in a fairly stressful position. We have the second-least levered balance sheet right now in the entire real estate industry, and thus a significant amount of firepower, approximately $2 billion, and a lack of competition for assets,” CEO Joey Agree said in an interview. The company’s core funds from operations increased to $37.6 million in the first quarter, a 31.4 percent bump from $28.6 million in Q1 2019, Agree Realty said last week. It has a current recurring EBITDA of about $195 million and net debt of approximately $934 million. See AGREE on Page 22

NONPROFITS

Vista Maria to open state’s only ‘secure’ site for young human trafficking victims BY SHERRI WELCH

Sally, a human trafficking victim, had a place she called home in Washtenaw County, but it really wasn’t. There were no hot dinners, homework help or happy family times. Her mom was too busy catering to a boyfriend to spend time with her daughter. Soon, Sally found a new family. She’d run away every time police officers brought her back home. She was raped, introduced to drugs and cycled in and out of shelters and

hospitals for overdose and psychiatric treatment because she was suicidal, beginning at the age of 12. Sally — whose name was changed to protect her identity — felt more at home on the streets. She always made her way back to her “boyfriend,” who provided her with both a fix and a sense of family. The last time she left home, she was 14 years old. She overdosed, and after her mother refused to pick her up from the hospital, she wound up at Vista Maria, which provides residential treatment and schooling for girls

in need from its Dearborn campus. It took time, but Sally gradually opened up about what happened to her. Her boyfriend would say things like, “If you loved me, you’ll do this for me,” said Meredith Reese, chief of integrated behavioral health at Vista Maria. Or he’d tell her that to get more drugs, she needed to provide sexual favors, Reese said. “He knew he had her.” See TRAFFICKING on Page 23

Angela Aufdemberge, president and CEO of Vista Maria, stands in front of the new secure treatment site the nonprofit will open in May. | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS APRIL 27, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 3

HEALTH CARE

Health executives cut compensation as thousands of workers are furloughed

NOMINATE AN INSPIRING PROFESSIONAL

BY JAY GREENE

Today

A growing number of health system CEOs and C-suite executives in Michigan are cutting their pay, with at least two systems donating part of their compensation toward frontline health care workers, while the financially strained systems furlough or lay off thousands of workers. The job and pay cuts are in response to financial havoc brought on by COVID-19, which has stretched hospitals’ resources while at the same time eliminating elective surgeries and other sources of revenue for the health systems. The executive pay cuts vary greatly, from 5 percent to 70 percent, though not all systems are saying whether those cuts are from base salaries or the total compensation for the executives. It is difficult to compare system executive pay cuts because they vary in time from one month to several months up to a year. Starting earlier this month with Trinity Health, a 93-hospital system based in Livonia, Rob Casalou, president of eight-hospital Trinity Health Michigan in Ann Arbor and his boss Michael Slubowski, CEO of Trinity Health, took pay cuts. Other health system executives at Beaumont Health, Detroit Medical Center, McLaren Health Care Corp. and Henry Ford Health System have followed suit in cutting their pay. Top leaders at the University of Michigan have taken some pay cuts. Crain’s asked many top systems in Michigan to report whether their top leaders have taken pay cuts, including Spectrum Health, Ascension Health and the University of Michigan. On Wednesday evening, Henry Ford announced temporary furloughs up 2,800 workers. Top executives, including CEO Wright Lassiter III and COO Bob Riney, have agreed to donate 10 percent to 25 percent of their compensation into two employee relief funds. Ruthanne Sudderth, senior vice president of public affairs and communications with the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, said hospital executives are extremely appreciative of the hard work and sacrifice frontline health care workers have faced during

Since 1991, Crain’s Detroit Business has gathered 40 of the community’s overachievers for a special salute. Past winners have started (and sold) companies, precociously climbed executive ranks and made a lasting difference in their communities. Honorees will be featured in a special section on Sept. 7* and honored at the 20s and 40s Celebration in November. *REMINDER: Candidates must be 39 years old or younger on September 7, 2020 to qualify

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NOMINATE A CANDIDATE TODAY: CrainsDetroit.com/Nominate JACOB LEW

The first ofDEfour new DTE Energy UN R Co. wind parksY to go online in 2020 FORT has been switched on in Gratiot County, company officials announced last week. The Polaris Wind park, DTE’s largest to date with 68 turbines generating 168 megawatts, is providing electricity to power 64,000 homes, DTE said. “DTE is leading Michigan’s clean energy transformation,” Trevor Lauer, president and COO of DTE Electric, said in a statement. “Bringing projects like Polaris Wind online provide tremendous benefits for our customers, the environment and the state of Michigan. We are committed to continued growth of our renewable energy portfolio, including wind and solar,

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DEADLINE TO NOMINATE: May 4

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the pandemic, which has claimed more than 2,977 lives in Michigan as of Thursday. “They have been put in harm’s way, and any gesture is welcomed. (Hospitals) are all in very different financial positions as well and (contributing funds to help the workforce) is a testament to the respect they have for staff.” Bob Clarke, CEO of Chicago-based the Furst Group, said a number of leading health care companies across the country are taking similar steps with layoffs, furloughs and salary cuts.

“WE ARE LEAVING NO STONE UNTURNED TO REDUCE COSTS AT A TIME WHEN NORMAL PATIENT VOLUMES AT OUR HOSPITALS, OUTPATIENT CLINICS AND PHYSICIAN PRACTICES ARE DOWN BY AS MUCH AS 60 PERCENT TO 80 PERCENT.” — Kevin Tompkins, McLaren’s senior vice president of marketing

“The current crisis is impacting health systems in very different ways,” said Clarke, an executive compensation expert. “While they are very busy focusing on patients with COVID-19, many other service areas have become dormant. The resulting significant drop in revenue is forcing layoffs and furloughs and salary cuts. System executives are accepting this reduction as well showing exceptional leadership.” Through the example of Ron Rittenmeyer, CEO of Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare Corp., DMC CEO Audrey Gregory and many of the for-profit

Gregory

Incarnati

health system’s executives have taken 10 percent pay cuts. In an April 15 memo to employees, Rittenmeyer said the compensation from Tenet executives across the country is being placed in the Tenet Care Fund, which was established several years as a 501(c) (3) to provide assistance to employees who have experienced hardship. “We have made some changes to the program to help employees tap into this resource when faced with the extreme challenges posed by COVID-19,” said Rittenmeyer, who plans to donate 50 percent of his salary from April through June to the fund. “My executive leadership team has joined me in this effort, donating 20 percent of their salaries, along with many other leaders across the enterprise, who will contribute 10 percent,” he said. DMC spokesman Brian Taylor confirmed CEO Audrey Gregory has voluntarily reduced her salary and will contribute 10 percent to that fund. At Tenet, employees who need financial assistance related to COVID-19 can apply for grants from the fund. Donations also can be made to the fund. Last month, Tenet postponed annual funding of the company’s 401(k) match until later this year. However, Rittenmeyer said furloughed employees will be matched now so they can have that resource available in the near term. DMC has furloughed more than 480 employees to reduce costs. At McLaren, CEO Phil Incarnati, his top C-suite executive team and 850 of the 14-hospital system’s top leaders have agreed to take a 25 percent pay cut for the month of April as part of a number of steps to reduce costs, said Kevin Tompkins, McLaren’s senior vice president of marketing. But that

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DTE opens mammoth Polaris Wind park

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as we work to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.” Polaris Wind will offset more than 355,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually — the greenhouse Lauer gas equivalent of taking more than 76,000 cars off the road for a year — and represents a significant step toward the company’s goals of reducing carbon emission by 50 percent by 2030, DTE said. Greater Gratiot Development Inc. said that between 2012 to 2018, the county received nearly $43 million in tax revenue from its wind parks. “Wind development has unques-

tionably brought increased economic prosperity to Gratiot County,” Jim Wheeler, president of Greater Gratiot Development, said in a statement. Wheeler said the tax revenue was used to leverage a grant for infrastructure in the Breckenridge Industrial Park, which now houses five companies and more than 100 jobs. Since 2009, DTE has invested $3 billion in renewable energy infrastructure and over the next five years will spend another $2 billion in wind and solar projects. DTE is operating 15 wind parks and 31 solar park arrays, generating about 1,300 megawatts of renewable energy. Contact: jgreene@crain.com; (313) 446-0325; @jaybgreene

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amounts to just 2 percent of their annual salaries. “The trouble with these percentages” of salary reduction that system executives are announcing is that there is a question of the timeframe, said Tompkins in an email to Crain’s. “If (an executive) reduces his salary by 70 percent for one month, that percentage reduces to 6 percent of that person’s compensation for a year.” Tompkins said the percent reductions system executives are taking aren’t apples-to-apples comparison. “Our team of 850 top leaders gave up a week’s worth of pay,” he said. “That’s 50 percent of their biweekly paycheck. Or it’s 25 percent of their monthly takehome pay. Or its 2 percent of their annual pay.” Earlier this week, a coalition of labor groups, including the Michigan Nurses Association, asked McLaren executives to cut their own salaries before laying off employees “so no person makes more than a million dollars this year.” The labor groups asking for McLaren executive pay cuts include OPEIU Local 459, Teamsters Local 332, SEIU Healthcare Michigan, OPEIU Local 40, UNITE HERE! and Local 688. “We are leaving no stone unturned to reduce costs at a time when normal patient volumes at our hospitals, outpatient clinics and physician practices are down by as much as 60 percent to 80 percent,” Tompkins said. “McLaren is supporting all of its employees, especially those on the front-

line of this crisis, by providing additional PTO and time off benefits from McLaren, as well as access to state and federal benefits, during the state of emergency,” Tompkins said. Steps such as reduced executive compensation McLaren has taken, said Tompkins, have limited the number of furloughed and laid-off employees. McLaren has not released numbers of furloughed or laid-off workers. “Providing added benefits or making job cuts in a time of crisis can have long-term consequences,” Tompkins said. “McLaren is cautious as we make the necessary temporary changes to weather this storm financially. Our goal is to prevent permanent layoffs or reductions and return to normal levels of patient care and staffing over the next several months.” Ascension Health’s President and CEO Joseph Impicciche has committed to donate half his salary to an associate relief fund, the national health system said. At the University of Michigan, President Mark Schlissel has agreed to cut his monthly base salary by 10 percent starting May 1 through the end of this calendar year. The Dearborn and Flint chancellors also have volunteered to reduce their salaries by 10 percent, according to the university. UM’s other executive officers, chief diversity officer and athletic director have volunteered to reduce their salaries by 5 percent. They and all employees also have agreed not to accept

merit increases that have been announced for all employees. Marschall Runge, M.D., who heads up Michigan Medicine, is also taking a 5 percent pay cut. While top Blue Cross Blue Shield executives, including CEO Dan Loepp, who earned $12.1 million in 2019, aren’t taking pay cuts, Blue Cross has taken steps to help the community, said spokesperson Helen Stojic. “We waived cost share for members for COVID-19 testing and treatment, advanced incentive payments for physician groups, waived administrative requirements for hospitals, are covering telehealth visits to help prevent infection, are reaching out to seniors, have added mental health programs for our members, and other ways to help the community,” Stojic said.

On Tuesday, Beaumont Health announced it is temporarily laying off 2,475 employees, permanently eliminating 450 positions and slashing executive pay. However, Beaumont did not specify whether its executives would be donating money to laid-off workers. In a statement, Beaumont said employees whose jobs are eliminated will receive a lump-sum severance package. Many also could be able to take advantage of enhanced state and federal unemployment benefits. CEO John Fox will take a 70 percent cut to his base salary starting April 1 and other Beaumont executives will take temporary pay cuts of up to 45 percent of their compensation, the Southfield-based hospital system said in a news release. Fox’s base salary in 2018 — the most recent year available — was $1.85 million, according to IRS filings. He earned total compensation that year of $5.9 million. If Fox were to forgo 70 percent of his 2018 base pay over the next eight months, he will take an $863,000 pay cut and take home about $832,000 in base pay. It’s not known what his current base salary is and bonuses that increase executives’ total compensation aren’t yet known for this year. Beaumont has taken the largest share of COVID-19 patients in Southeast Michigan, the hardest-hit part of the state. More than 575 people have died and nearly 6,200 have been treated for COVID-19 at Beaumont hospitals since early March. “We must adjust the way we operate our organization moving forward,” Fox said in a statement. “This pandemic has changed the delivery of health care, and we will be treating patients with this virus until we get a vaccine.” As a result, the 38,000-employee

hospital system reported a $278.4 million loss in the first quarter, a $407.5 million decrease in revenue from the first quarter of 2019. Fox used the layoffs Tuesday to continue his advocacy for Congress to create a $300 billion to $600 billion “super fund” to bail out the nation’s hospitals. Michigan hospitals have received $468 million from the CARES Act so far. Of that pool, Beaumont has received $75 million. On April 1, Casalou said Trinity Health Michigan will furlough about 2,500 employees and cut executive pay as it deals with the financial impact from the coronavirus. Another 1,500 of the Catholic health care company’s approximately 28,000 staff and employees in Michigan were redeployed to other jobs as required to address effects the coronavirus is having on the health system’s workforce. At least 83 senior executives in Trinity Michigan will take a temporary base pay reduction ranging from 15 percent to 25 percent, effective next week, with the more senior executives taking a higher percentage reduction, Casalou said. “Management should lead by example for the sacrifices made by all dealing with this crisis,” said Casalou, adding that Trinity Health national CEO Michael Slubowski will take a 50 percent cut in base pay. Trinity Health Michigan operates eight hospitals and health care facilities in two state regions. The largest is Ann Arbor-based Saint Joseph Mercy Health System with five hospitals in Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Howell, Livonia and Pontiac. The second region is three-hospital Mercy Health, operating in Grand Rapids and Muskegon. Contact: jgreene@crain.com; (313) 446-0325; @jaybgreene

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COVID-19 HEROES

Company ‘hodgepodges’ tents to squeeze into parking garage Belleville-based firm pivots design to help Sparrow Hospital with ER patient overflow BY CHAD LIVENGOOD

The urgent call came in from a customer at 8 p.m. on a Saturday night. Stacy Hart, general manager of Delux Tents & Events’ Lansing store, picked up the call from Sparrow Hospital. The hospital’s operations manager was calling in an order for two tents to be erected outside of Sparrow’s emergency room entrance inside an attached parking garage to handle an influx of patients coming through the ER’s ambulance bay. “He said, ‘Hey, we need tents as soon you guys can get them to us, but there’s a catch: They have to go in the (parking) garage and the height is only 11 feet,’” Hart said. Hart immediately knew that could be a problem. Most of the Belleville-based tent rental company’s big tents have a 14foot pole in the center. And those pole tents require a surface like grass or a gravel parking lot to anchor the tent to the ground — not the solid concrete floor of a multi-story parking ramp. “Wait a minute, hold on, hold the phone here,” Hart recalls telling the customer. “There’s no way. We don’t have a tent in our inventory that we can do at 11 feet.” Hart then recalled an event Delux Tents did for the Lansing Lugnuts in

Belleville-based Delux Tents & Events modified two of its tents and cut poles to squeeze them under the ceilings of the parking garage at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing. | STACY HART

December when the minor league baseball team needed a tent to squeeze under a porch ceiling at the stadium, just blocks away from Sparrow Hospital. In that case, the company “hodgepodged” a tent without the center pole. Hart got on the phone with Delux

Tents owner Todd Irwin to get permission to cut tent poles to 10.5 feet in order to squeeze a 30-foot-by-30foot tent usually used for weddings under the ceiling of Sparrow Hospital’s garage. They also had to attach another 15-foot-by-30-foot tent to the big

tent, using a frame tent’s frame and the tent of a pole tent to form a “hybrid” tent, Hart said. “And he’s like, ‘Well, it might work,’” Hart recalled Irwin saying. On the morning of Sunday, March 15, Hart had a crew at the hospital parking garage erecting the “hybrid

tent” with a center pole that got reinforced by the hospital’s carpenters, so the pole wouldn’t collapse in the new makeshift ambulance and triage bay. “It turned out so much better than I even imagined that it would turn out,” Hart said. “And, of course, Sparrow was just ecstatic. ... And I told the guy right from the get-go, ’Look, this is going to be kind of a jenky setup.” The tents remained in place for a month as part of Sparrow’s infrastructure for receiving patients arriving at the emergency room, Hart said. On Friday, workers from Delux Tents were to erect a new tent at Sparrow’s medical arts building across Michigan Avenue from the hospital for an outdoor drivethrough COVID-19 testing site, Hart said. Hart said Sparrow’s tent rentals have been some of the only work Delux Tent & Events has gotten in since mid-March since groups that usually rent tents for spring events at the state Capitol or Michigan State University have canceled events and their orders. “This virus is crushing our business,” she said. “Our whole business model is mass gatherings.” Contact: clivengood@crain.com; (313) 446-1654; @ChadLivengood

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COMMENTARY

Pandemic budget crisis bearing down on Lansing

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appointed a Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities to examine the causes of why 40 percent of COVID-19 deaths have been African Americans, who make up 14 percent of the state’s population.

EDITORIAL

Use racial disparities task force to save lives The coronavirus’ toll on the African American community in metro Detroit and throughout the country has been disproportionately brutal. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s appointment of a task force to address these racial disparities is a positive step, but more urgent and specific action is needed to slow the body count now. The statistics are sobering. African Americans account for 13.6 percent of Michigan’s population, but nearly 40 percent of all COVID-19 deaths. Detroit, a city that’s nearly 80 percent black, continues to be the epicenter of suffering in the state, tallying 816 deaths and 8,471 cases as of Friday. Whitmer on Tuesday announced the task force to study the disparity and “recommend actions to immediately address such disparities and the historical and systemic inequities that underlie them.” It UNDERSTANDING will be chaired by Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist THE CAUSES OF and includes state THE DISPARITIES Health and Human Services Director IS VITAL, BUT Robert Gordon; Chief THERE ARE STILL Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh S. Khaldun; LIVES THAT CAN and 24 appointed BE SAVED RIGHT community members. Its work will NOW. continue until 90 days after the current state of emergency expires. Among the objectives: Increase transparency in reporting racial data; remove barriers to care, including bias in treatment; and mitigate “environmental and infrastructure factors” contributing to higher death rates for blacks. All laudable goals, but urgency seems to be lacking as people are dying. A press release announcing the task force included about 10 words on action and many dozens of words on studying. Understanding the causes of the disparities is vital, but there are still lives that can be saved right now. A few suggestions the task force could pursue now: ` Open all or some testing sites to all African

American residents, regardless of symptoms or a doctor’s prescription, especially in hardest-hit ZIP codes. Mayor Mike Duggan took a big step this week by offering testing to any “essential” workers — but at this point, all Detroit residents should be considered essential. ` Adopt aggressive contact tracing to identify and track COVID hot spots. This will be especially important after elements of the state’s stay-at-home order begin to lift. ` Encourage hospitals to admit all African American patients with underlying health conditions who test positive for the virus. A troubling Detroit Free Press report this week highlighted one family’s difficulty getting ill loved ones admitted to local hospitals, despite symptoms and relatives who had tested positive. The result was deadly. ` Consider appointing trained volunteers from a highly qualified nonprofit to monitor ER admissions for potential patterns of racial bias. ` Improve communication in high-risk African American neighborhoods to get COVID-19 information out via social media, TV, radio — even socially distant door-todoor appeals. Meet people where they are to convey critical public health news. All sectors in the coronavirus response — health care, government, first responders — are understandably overtaxed right now. And the underlying causes of COVID’s high mortality rate among blacks certainly deserves in-depth, scientifically driven academic study. But more can, and should, be done in the short term. The governor’s executive order gives the task force latitude to hold hearings, conduct inquiries, hire experts and accept donations of labor and services. Its members should use that authority to save lives now.

MORE ON WJR ` Listen to Crain’s Group Publisher Mary Kramer and Managing Editor Michael Lee talk about the week’s stories every Monday morning at 6:15 a.m. Mondays on WJR 760 AM’s Paul W. Smith Show.

In just six weeks, the state of Michigan has spent more taxpayer money buying personal protection equipment like face masks and ventilators for hospitals and first responders as it sends annually to counties for the operations of jails, courts, mental health facilities and law enforcement. As of last Thursday, the state had spent $236 million in federal emergency aid procuring PPE from all across the world, according to the state budget office. By comparison, the Legislature sends all 83 counties $226 million in statutory revenue sharing and spends $201 million annually on its own operations. The cost of PPE for the doctors, nurses, ambulance medics, police officers and other frontline workers is an immense expense for government in the coronavirus outbreak that was not foreseen two months ago. The federal government has promised to reimburse states for these emergency response expenses during the pandemic. But what Congress hasn’t promised to do is rescue states from budget crises likely to hammer tax revenue for at least the next year due to the economic upheaval the crisis has caused. Michigan lawmakers are bracing for what’s expected to be a $2.5 billion hole in the current fiscal year’s budget — and just five months to balance it. The federal CARES Act contained $3 billion in aid for the state of Michigan and $792.8 million for its five largest municipal governments: $114 million for Kent County, $117 million for the City of Detroit, $152 million for Macomb County, $189 million for Wayne County and $220 million for Oakland County. But the nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency noted in an April 17 memo that, “current guidance from the Department of Treasury indicates that these funds cannot be used to backfill state and local revenue losses. State and local organizations continue to advocate for a relaxation of the expenditure restrictions included for these funds.” Because large swaths of Michigan’s economy remain frozen, it’s unclear just how many of the 1.18 million residents claiming unemployment will be going back to work soon. “It’s hard to project revenues when you don’t know when the end is,” said House Appropriations Chairman Shane Hernandez, R-Port Huron. That the state can’t use the federal aid to simply backfill declines in sales or income taxes has every lobby group in Lansing worried. “If they do have a $3 billion deficit just for fiscal year 2020, holy cow,” said Deena Bosworth, director of governmental affairs at the Michigan Association of Counties. The COVID-19 pandemic also has spurred fiscal crises at the county level. Counties are losing fee revenue from shuttered courts and real estate services, while wrestling with overtime bills for first responders and spikes in the cost of PPE to protect them, Bosworth said. “If we start getting hit from the state, it’s going to be ugly news for a lot of counties,” she said. Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey said Friday that the hits are coming. Shirkey, a Jackson County Republican, has

Write us: Crain’s welcomes responses from readers. Letters should be as brief as possible and may be edited for length or clarity. Send letters to Crain’s Detroit Business, 1155 Gratiot Ave, Detroit, MI 48207, or email crainsdetroit@crain.com. Please include your complete name, city from which you are writing and a phone number for fact-checking purposes. 8 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | APRIL 27, 2020

Chad

LIVENGOOD

tasked the chairs of appropriations subcommittees to identify cuts of 10 percent, 20 percent and 30 percent in spending in every state department. “There’s no line item, no project, no budget and no person that’s immune from analysis because that’s how big we believe the impact is going to be,” Shirkey said on WKAR-TV’s “Off The Record.” Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has made it clear she’s looking for flexibility and a larger bailout from Congress, which has appropriated some $1.2 trillion to the rescue of businesses large and small. “I’m very dismayed to see someone like (Senate Majority Leader) Mitch McCo- FOR MICHIGAN, nnell suggest that they’re not going to LAWMAKERS fully help the states ARE BRACING and all of this infrastructure that’s so crit- FOR WHAT’S ical to your daily lives,” EXPECTED TO BE Whitmer said Friday at her news conference A $2.5 BILLION announcing an ex- HOLE IN THE tended coronavirus stay-home order CURRENT FISCAL through May 15. YEAR’S BUDGET Whitmer took an incremental step last — AND JUST week in reducing state FIVE MONTHS TO spending by temporarily laying off 3,000 BALANCE IT. of the state’s 48,000 employees for two weeks. The savings was the proverbial drop in a really big bucket: $5 million. For comparison, the Whitmer administration has spent more on medical gloves alone: $8.35 million and counting. It would take four weeks of layoffs for those 3,000 state employees to squeeze out the $10.3 million the state has spent on 557 ventilators and 5.6 million ounces of hand santizer. Whitmer called last week’s layoffs “one of the hardest” decisions she’s had to make. That might sound surprising to some, given that she shut down vast swaths of the economy to prevent further spread of the virus that has claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 Michiganians. But these cuts hit close to home for the governor who spent 14 years representing Ingham County in the Legislature. These were layoffs of Whitmer’s longtime constituents, perhaps even some old neighbors in East Lansing. With one-in-four Michigan workers unemployed, the governor faces a lot harder decisions in the coming days, weeks and months. “Every day that we wait,” Shirkey said, “that makes our flexibility to be able to accommodate those kind of changes compromised.” Contact: clivengood@crain.com; (313) 446-1654; @ChadLivengood

Sound off: Crain’s considers longer opinion pieces from guest writers on issues of interest to business readers. Email ideas to Managing Editor Michael Lee at malee@crain.com.

OTHER VOICES

Here’s a price worth paying as we deal with COVID-19 fallout BY MATTHEW X. ROLING

Matthew X. Roling is executive director of the Office of Business Innovation at Wayne State University.

They say that the only things that are certain in life are death and taxes. Tragically, we’ve seen our fair share of death in recent weeks as COVID-19 has worked its way around the globe. As I write this, here in Michigan, as of April 22, there are 32,967 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus and 2,700 deaths. Those numbers will

only climb. And it only follows that this tragedy will also create a hefty tax burden. Here’s why. If Michigan’s economy does reopen for business on May 1, most of us are going to think twice about patronizing nonessential businesses whether it’s “allowed” or not. This virus has fundamentally changed the world. Sadly, we are no longer going to be taking the safety of public spaces for granted. As we adjust to this new normal and the consequent drop in consumer spending and employment takes hold, experts and government officials warn that there will be a large, lingering impact on our state’s tax collections. Who is going to pay for these future deficits? We are. Our current fiscal options will do little to address these budget gaps. Unlike many states, Michigan does have the luxury of a $1.2 billion rainy day fund — but this may only offer partial relief. The recently passed $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) act does offer state support for direct costs related to the pandemic, but these funds may not be used for lost state revenue.

Future federal stimulus bills may spending, it is easy to imagine a $2 offer some funding so long as they billion hole in our budget. The only are not held up by partisan bicker- realistic option for us to get out of ing. And, in spite of Michigan’s rel- this mess is by raising taxes. The good atively strong news is that on a credit rating, WHILE $2 BILLION SOUNDS relative, historiour state Constical basis Michitution prevents LIKE A LARGE NUMBER — gan’s tax burden us from borrowis fairly low. The ing money to AND IT IS — IF WE ALL passage of the pay for deficits. PITCH IN, IT’S VERY Headlee amendThe FY2020 ment in 1978 state budget had ACHIEVABLE. placed a cap on originally projected over $10 billion in income tax revenue collections relative to and consumption tax revenue. If gross income, and our current tax we generously assume a 15 percent vs. income ratio provides more to 20 percent drop in wages and than enough cushion for us to raise

taxes to cover these costs. The bad news is that we all remember the gridlock and brinksmanship that plagued last year’s budget negotiations. (Negotiations which were also focused on paying for something we all could agree on — “Fix the damn roads!”). Now, more than ever, we need our leaders in Lansing to work together in order to address the economic hangover we are facing from COVID-19. Responsibly raising taxes is not only the necessary thing to do, but it is also the right thing to do. In casual conversation, I like to refer to taxes as the original form of crowd-

funding, a metaphor that feels more apt today than ever before. We are all impacted by this pandemic, and we are all in this together. While $2 billion sounds like a large number — and it is — if we all pitch in, it’s very achievable. Momentarily ignoring the role the business community must play in helping us increase revenue, $2 billion in additional tax collections equates to an increased tax responsibility of roughly $500 per Michigan household — or about the cost of a new set of tires. Which to my mind, is a small price to pay to fix the damn roads and pay for this damn crisis.

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APRIL 27, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 9

The COVID Chronicles

Charlie Rothstein in his home office. The founder and senior managing director of Beringea checks in on his team, entrepreneurs and partners daily.

As fast-paced VC world shifts online, we asked several investors what their days look like. Here’s what they said.

 KIM PASQUINO — PARTNER, WAKESTREAM VENTURES My portfolio management role involves travel to NYC, Chicago and the West Coast. Since COVID-19, those meetings take place on Zoom or conference calls. Like many, my work days now require greater patience, flexibility and agility as we shifted to work from home, whilst navigating an unprecedented global situation that affects us all personally and professionally. As a team, we normally work in a shared office space, lending to organic conversations or impromptu meetings. Post-COVID, we started scheduling biweekly “watercooler” meetings via Zoom to stay connected, informed and sane. We share what we are hearing/learning, speculate when we might emerge from the crisis, and

BY NICK MANES

Much like everyone and everything else, Michigan’s growing venture capital community has gone inside as COVID-19 continues to pound the state and country. But still, work and life must go on. Crain’s asked a handful of Michigan venture capitalists and financiers to share their accounts of how they’re navigating the day-to-day of working with their teams and their existing portfolios, all while juggling family life at home. Kim Pasquino’s home office. | KIM PASQUINO

10 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | APRIL 27, 2020

stay current on our companies outside of our (now Zoom) weekly investment review meetings. Together, these workarounds have proven to Pasquino be highly effective in meeting our team’s needs and staying on top of changing needs within our portfolio. I have also been tuning into webinars and panel discussions to hear how other companies and organizations are dealing with Covid-19. Given the current environment, it’s vital to know what programs exist, and to assist our CEOs in developing strategies, so they can best weather the storm. See INVESTORS on Page 11

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Chris Rizik in his home office. The CEO and fund manager of Renaissance Venture Capital can’t wait to be back in his regular office. | CHRIS RIZIK

INVESTORS

From Page 10

` CHARLIE ROTHSTEIN — CO-FOUNDER & SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR, BERINGEA Checking in on my Beringea team, and connecting with the many entrepreneurs and partners in our growth capital portfolio, to ensure everyone is safe and managing these unusual circumstances well has been my first priority. For us, that means virtual morning staff meetings, with a good mix of business (deal flow, portfolio updates and strategic planning) and regular office chatter (best new series to stream, return-to-normal-life speculation and the occasional dog or kid cameo). My partner, Malcolm Moss, runs our London office, and it’s interesting to get his daily report on conditions in Europe. Then, I’m typically on a series of phone calls with the exceptional management teams leading our portfolio businesses, as they shape strategies to guide their companies through this tremendous economic challenge. Some of our calls have involved conducting financial stress tests, examining expenses and procuring capital for operations. Running a rapidly scaling business is challenging in the best of times, so investing in leaders who can make decisions quickly and pivot wisely when needed has never been more important. I’m impressed every day by the brilliant and compassionate entrepreneurs we support, whose care for their employees, customers and investors is evident on our calls. I end the day feeling extremely grateful to have the ability to safely operate our business remotely, and with a team that hasn’t missed a beat. However, I really look forward to seeing my “work family” in person again soon!

technology probably would not have allowed this five years ago, and certainly not a decade ago. We’re keeping up fine, but this is not a situation we would remotely accept as permanent. We need to be together — and to be with other people — to really move forward in the exciting ways we’ve planned. So, I can’t wait to be back in my office. The squirrels may miss me at first, but they’ll get over it.

SOUTHFIELD, MICHIGAN

Tim Parker’s home office. | TIM PARKER

` TIM PARKER — PRESIDENT, MICHIGAN CAPITAL NETWORK

` CHRIS RIZIK — CEO AND FUND MANAGER, RENAISSANCE VENTURE CAPITAL It is a busy Wednesday. Oh wait, it’s Thursday. That’s been a regular theme of the first month of quarantine. With no in-person meetings and no travel, days have blurred together, camped in front of my computer in the den, my wife relocating her work setup to the dining room so that we can do our separate Zoom conferences at the same time. I’ve looked through the window to my backyard so much, I know the squirrels by name. Each day begins with an online Catholic Mass, praying for those affected by COVID-19, followed by a slate of calls and online meetings, trying to keep those who invested in Renaissance up to date, and monitoring the places where we’ve invested. It is an uncertain period for everyone, and I’m really impressed with the thoughtfulness that so many people we work with have put into their response and planning. There has also been a marked increase in my time working on the nonprofit boards with which I’m involved, each of which is addressing in its own way those hurt by the pandemic. I miss seeing our work team. We talk and text a lot, but it is tough not being in each other’s presence. The most surprising thing is how well we can all work remotely. The

Possible is everything.

Parker

We began working from home on March 12, not quite realizing how much of an impact the virus would have on our communities and the economy. Our first priority was to make sure all of our stakeholders were OK and to immediately develop new strategies with our portfolio companies. The past few weeks have involved refining our own strategies and continuing our work. Overall, we are

busier than before. We spend much of our time on the phone, email and Zoom. We have saved time, due to the inability to travel. One benefit from everyone working virtually is that we can attend more pitch competitions and see more companies across the country. Our deal flow is about the same as it was the first quarter of 2019. While our walls are starting to feel closer each day, we appreciate the wider reach we can experience. We strive to maintain our normal schedule and routines, while enjoying the occasional child walking in front of someone’s screen and being slightly distracted by the robot vacuum trying to find its home base after tormenting the cat for 90 minutes. Our “next normal” will certainly involve more gratitude, caution and smarter strategies. APRIL 27, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 11

CRAIN'S LIST: STAFFING-SER AFFING-SERVICE VICE C COMP OMPANIE ANIES S Ranked by 2019 revenue Company Address Phone; website

1 2

Top local executive(s)

Kelly Services Inc.

Peter Quigley 1 president and CEO

Tata Technologies Inc.

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

No. of W-2 forms issued 2019

No. of offices in metro Detroit 2019

440,000

Warren Harris CEO and managing director

400.0

425.5

Acro Service Corp.

Ron Shahani president and CEO

390.6

371.0

Strategic Staffing Solutions Inc.

Cynthia Pasky president and CEO

380.7

342.0

Stefanini Inc.

Spencer Gracias CEO

274.0

238.0

1,372

96.0

1,988

Epitec Inc.

Jerome Sheppard CEO Josie Sheppard president

125.0

98.0

1,145

100.9

2,114

Rapid Global Business Solutions Inc. (RGBSI)

Nanua Singh chairman and CEO

92.3

88.4

970

71.2

3,145

The Dako Group

Scott Baker president and CEO

75.4

74.0

Kyyba Inc.

Thiru Ganesan president and CEO

52.9

55.3

455

700

W3R Consulting

Eric Hardy president and CEO

48.4

41.1

324

15.0

437

G-TECH Services Inc.

Kouhaila Hammer CEO

41.8

48.9

390

691

Staffworks Group

L. William Brann III president and CEO Jason Brann president and COO

35.0

41.0

1,800

35.0

10,500

Automotive Quality & Logistics Inc.

Sangeeta Ahluwalia CEO

34.1

32.6

Contract Professionals Inc.

James Cowper president

30.8

33.5

552

957

Malace & Associates Inc.

Larry Malace II president

29.6

31.4

895

22.8

2,108

Blue Chip Talent

Nicole Pawczuk CEO

26.3

23.5

DriverSource Inc.

Jinan Dalloo co-owner and CEO David Olshansky co-owner and COO

18.0

19.2

225

12.1

755

Human Capital Staffing LLC

Mary Oxendine Adams president

5.0

4.2

110

0.5

241

Trillium Teamologies Inc.

Greg Stanalajczo vice president and CMO

2.9

2.5

41050 West 11 Mile Road, Novi 48375 248-426-1482; www.tatatechnologies.com

645 Griswold St., Suite 2900, Detroit 48226 313-596-6900; www.strategicstaff.com

Annual payroll 2019

150,000

Average daily employment 2019

$5,513.9

Revenue ($000,000) 2018

$5,355.6

999 W. Big Beaver Road, Troy 48084 248-362-4444; www.kellyservices.com

39209 W. Six Mile Road, Suite 250, Livonia 48152 734-591-1100; www.acrocorp.com

Revenue ($000,000) 2019

27100 W. 11 Mile Road, Southfield 48034 248-357-2866; www.stefanini.com

24800 Denso Drive, Suite 150, Southfield 48033 248-353-6800; www.epitec.com

1200 Stephenson Highway, Troy 48083 248-589-1135; www.rgbsi.com

2966 Industrial Row Drive, Troy 48084 248-655-0100; www.dakogroup.com

28230 Orchard Lake Road, Suite 130, Farmington Hills 48334 248-813-9665; www.kyyba.com

1000 Town Center, Suite 1150, Southfield 48075 248-358-1002; www.w3r.com

17101 Michigan Ave., Dearborn 48126 313-441-3600; www.gogtech.com

24445 Northwestern Highway, Suite 200, Southfield 48075 248-416-1090; staffworksgroup.com

14744 Jib St., Plymouth 48170 734-459-1670; www.aql-inc.com

4141 W. Walton Blvd., Waterford 48329 248-673-3800; www.cpijobs.com

5700 Crooks Road, Suite 112, Troy 48098 248-720-2500; www.malacehr.com 4

43252 Woodward Ave., Suite 240, Bloomfield Hills 48302 248-858-7701; www.bctalent.com

15340 Michigan Ave., Dearborn 48126 800-887-9095; www.driversource.net

6001 Adams Road, Suite 208, Bloomfield Hills 48304 248-593-1950; www.hcsteam.com

219 S. Main St., Suite 300, Royal Oak 48067 866-TEAM-TTI; www.trilliumteam.com

Want the full Excel version of this list — and every list? Become a Data Member: CrainsDetroit.com/data

This list of temporary-employer/staffing-service companies and companies that provide such services is an approximate compilation of the largest companies in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw and Livingston counties. It is not a complete listing but the most comprehensive available. Crain's estimates are based on industry analyses and benchmarks, news reports and a wide range of other sources. Unless otherwise noted, information was provided by the companies. Companies with headquarters elsewhere are listed with the address and top executive of their main Detroit-area office. Technosoft Corp. which was No. 7, Reliable Software Resources Inc. which was No. 11, Modis Inc. which was No. 12 and Arrow Strategies LLC which was No. 20 on last year's list were all not able to respond before publication. AccessPoint LLC which was No. 5 last year declined to participate. NA = not available. 1 Succeeded George Corona as CEO on Oct. 1. 2 Crain's estimate. 3 Fiscal 2018 revenue listed on company website. 4 Parent company is Computer Consultants of America Inc. LIST RESEARCHED BY SONYA D. HILL 12 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | APRIL 27, 2020

They’re chief financial officers, executive directors and controllers; financial planners, wealth managers and bankers. The work they do is make-or-break: They’ve saved their companies millions (or more), negotiated big mergers and acquisitions and charted the coursre to sustainability and prosperity. Meet Crain’s Notable Women in Finance: In a field that is still dominated by men at the highest ranks, their leadership and influence is changing the face of the sector. METHODOLOGY: The women featured in this Notable Women in Finance report were selected by a team of Crain’s Detroit Business editors based on their career accomplishments, track record of success in the field, contributions to their community and mentorship of others, as outlined in a detailed nomination form.

GETTY IMAGES

Notable Women in Finance was managed and written by Leslie D. Green. For questions about this special report, contact Amy Elliott Bragg at abragg@crain. com. To learn more about Crain’s 2020 Notable Women awards and other awards programs, visit crainsdetroit.com/nominate.

SANDRA ADAMS

VIRGIE AMMERMAN

AURORA BATTAGLIA

DOROTHY BENYAS

JODIE BLAKEMORE

Lead Financial Planner and Partner

Executive Director

Senior Vice President

CFO

Center for Financial Planning Inc.

Hope Network

Comerica Bank

Executive Vice President of Administration and Corporate Controller

One of Sandra Adams’ talents is what she calls “netweaving;” that is, she connects people to not only network but to help each other. Adams, who leads a team of 30 that manages $190 million, developed and launched the Center for Financial Planning’s speaker bureau. And when creating a specialty in elder care financial planning, she returned to school to earn a master’s certificate in gerontology to expand her knowledge base. “Sandy was one of the first financial planners to take an interest in the elder care space and is a recognized resource, advocate and thought leader,” said CFP Managing Partner Timothy Wyman.

Virgie Ammerman manages $50 million for Hope Network, where she is responsible for the vision and strategic implementation of the nonprofit’s housing and community development efforts, advocating for better and new supportive housing and growing the nonprofit. Ammerman makes a point of hiring a diverse group of people — women, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities — she mentors and from whom she can learn. In recent years, she and her team closed an $18 million Low-Income Housing tax credit transaction that preserved 165 units of affordable housing in the Kalamazoo area and maintained and improved 700 units of affordable housing throughout the state.

As lead of Comerica Bank’s European Corporates and Financial Institutions team, Aurora Battaglia directs teams in Michigan and Texas, advises multinational companies on strategic financing initiatives in North America and is responsible for a client portfolio of nearly $1 billion in assets. Battaglia joined Comerica in 1994. In 2018, the Italian government awarded her a Knighthood (Order of the Star of Italy) for her advocacy and facilitation of U.S. and Italian business collaborations. “Aurora brings tremendous creativity to bear on everything she touches. This out-of-the-box thinking, along with her energy, drive and passion for improving the lives of others, has made a tremendous impact within our company and with our wider community,” said Mike Ritchie, president of Comerica Bank — Michigan Market.

Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit

In her long tenure, Dorothy Benyas has helped nearly triple assets at the Jewish Federation to $710 million from $241 million. “Beneath her command of investments and balance sheets is a passion for making a difference in our community,” said former federation CEO Scott Kaufman of Benyas. Benyas manages an investment pool of $600 million and is responsible for 1,900 philanthropic funds, support foundations and endowment funds and directs seven financial committees. Under her leadership, the federation also expanded its investment options to include a socially responsible fund and an Israel-focused fund. In recent years, Benyas conceived of and implemented a plan to centralize the Jewish Federation’s real estate function, which included 2 million square feet of space valued at $400 million. The plan relieved local agencies of the burden of non-mission-related activities.

Beztak Companies

“Jodie has great technical as well as practical knowledge of the financial and operational aspects of the business,” said Beztak COO Elizabeth Carlson McCririe. As part of the new business development team, Jodie Blakemore played a key role in acquiring 125 new property management contracts that generated a 55 percent increase in revenue over the last two years. In addition, she helped reduce overhead costs 20 percent by instituting best practices and technology that allows a single property accountant to oversee more properties and implemented electronic payments, including text to pay, for rent charges that increased efficiencies and reduced writeoffs.

WOMEN ADVANCING IN FINANCE Studies show that women make up a large percentage of some financial sectors in the U.S. and have made some progress breaking into executive ranks. Once they get there, their firms perform better, according to one report. But barriers remain, and there’s still work to be done for women to achieve fair representation at the highest positions in the field. MORE WOMEN IN FINANCE? BETTER RETURNS. Firms with women CFOs saw a 6 percent increase in profitability and 8 percent larger stock returns in the 24 months after the CFO’s appointment, according to a 2019 S&P Global Intelligence Survey. The study also found that firms with more gender diversity on their board of directors were more profitable than firms that were less diverse.

ROOM TO GROW

BRIGHT SPOTS, LAGGING SECTORS

Lots of women work in financial services in the U.S. — they make up over 60 percent of accountants and auditors and over half (55 percent) of financial managers, according to a 2018 Catalyst study. But they’re underrepresented in executive ranks and among senior leaders. According to a 2017 study by the GAO, representation of women among senior-level managers in the financial services industry remained unchanged from 2007 through 2015 at about 29 percent. And just 12.8 percent of CFOs of Fortune 500 companies are women, as of 2019.

Women make up 34 percent of executive leadership roles in the payments sector of major financial services firms globally, and 25 percent of executive committees in the public sector, according to a 2020 Oliver Wyman report. Other sectors lag: women are in only 18 percent of executive roles in banking and 18 percent of executive roles in fintech payments, “despite starting with a blank slate” in the emerging field of fintech, the report found.

APRIL 27, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 13

MICHELLE BROWER

JACKIE BUCHANAN

Director

President and CEO

Stout Risius Ross LLC

Genisys Credit Union

Michelle Brower specializes in completing valuation engagements for publicly traded, large privately held and private equity-owned businesses. Her clients include companies engaging in multi-billion-dollar mergers and acquisitions. She also assists clients with impairment and tax-driven valuation analyses. In addition, Brower’s belief in making employee engagement and corporate culture a priority has helped improve employee retention. As chair of Stout’s Women’s Resource Group, she sponsors scholarships for women studying for business-related degrees and works to increase the number of female hires at the firm.

Under Jackie Buchanan’s leadership, Genisys has grown to be the fifth largest credit union in Michigan, boasting $3 billion in assets and 225,000 members. The credit union’s growth rates are consistently above average with annual deposit, loan and membership growth rates averaging 11.4 percent, 16.1 percent and 6 percent, respectively, for the past five years. And two years ago, Genisys launched Genius Checking, a high-yield checking account that pays members a 4.07 percent annual percentage yield. Moreover, Buchanan and her team successfully encourage employees to give back. Each year, they volunteer nearly 5,000 hours to help people at more than 1,200 community events.

“(HER) OUT-OF-THE-BOX THINKING, ALONG WITH HER ENERGY, DRIVE AND PASSION FOR IMPROVING THE LIVES OF OTHERS, HAS MADE A TREMENDOUS IMPACT WITHIN OUR COMPANY AND WITH OUR WIDER COMMUNITY.” — Mike Ritchie, president of Comerica Bank - Michigan Market, on Aurora Battaglia

“BENEATH HER COMMAND OF INVESTMENTS AND BALANCE SHEETS IS A PASSION FOR MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY.” — Scott Kaufman, former Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroits CEO, on Dorothy Benyas

COURTNEY CHANG

KATHLEEN CROCKETT

Senior Vice President and Assistant Treasurer

Managing Director

Flagstar Bank

Having worked at Flagstar for more than 20 years, Courtney Chang is familiar with the ups and downs of the financial markets and adapts in challenging environments. Her responsibilities include directing a team of five quantitative analysts and managing a $300 million Mortgage Servicing Right asset portfolio. In recent years, Chang transacted an $11 billion notional/$130 million asset sale and developed a successful ongoing-flow sale program that allows Flagstar to use the best execution analysis to maximize the price paid on MSR sales. Further, she strives to educate her colleagues on the benefits of having a diverse workforce and mentors and develops members of her team.

UHY Advisors

Kathleen Crockett is responsible for more than $2 million in business and for reviews, sign offs, client engagement and customer satisfaction of UHY’s tax practice. Her big wins include leading the firm’s Great Lakes region of Women Invested in Success & Excellence program, which focuses on leadership, the advancement of women and enhancing career opportunities. Crockett, who directs the WISE welcoming committee, believes leadership includes the ability to listen, build integrity and trust and drive results. So, she inspires others to develop expertise in policies, trends and technology affecting the industry.

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Congratulations, Kathy! Van Andel Institute congratulates Chief Investment Officer

A woman’s work is unstoppable

Kathleen Vogelsang on being named a 2020 Notable Women in Finance in Michigan honoree by Crain’s Detroit Business. Kathy exemplifies the curiosity, integrity and

CEOs, inventors, entrepreneurs, artists, teachers, doctors, bankers, innovators and trailblazers. Women have proven themselves in all of these and countless other roles. As we continue to lift barriers that can hold women back, there’s no stopping what they can do in the workplace and beyond. That's why we are proud to support women in finance. We congratulate our colleague, Hope Landgraff, a Notable Women in Finance honoree.

CS4579

14 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | APRIL 27, 2020

innovation that help define who we are at VAI. She is

Kathleen Vogelsang

an inspiration, and we’re so

Chief Investment Officer Van Andel Institute

proud to call her a friend and colleague.

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A commitment to customer care, promoting diversity ROBIN DAMSCHRODER Executive Vice President and CFO Henry Ford Health System Robin Damschroder was a health care consultant for CatalyticFOCUS, COO of Saint Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor and interim CFP at the University of Michigan and associate hospital director at Michigan Medicine. Two years ago, she joined Henry Ford Health System and now is responsible for managing $6.5 billion in net revenue, $2.3 billion in cash and investments and a team of about 1,500 people. “Always putting our customers at the center of everything she does, Robin and her finance team have well positioned Henry Ford for future growth and expansion, allowing us to better serve our patients, members and our

communities in Michigan and beyond,” said HFHS President and CEO Wright Lassiter, III.

people into finance or provide mentorship? I recently recruited a woman as our new treasurer and elevated two other female colleagues to the vicepresident level/operating division CFO. I’m particularly proud of the Supply Chain aspect of my team, which has won numerous diversity awards over the years. In a traditionally male dominated part of our industry, we have two up-and-comers who are people of color and happen to be women. We are committed to spreading this trend; and to that end, we are working on developing a rotational

` What are some of your big wins or significant highlights of your career? I developed a long-range financial plan to support a $2 billion in capital plan for the health system, successfully issued $229 million in new money bonds that were 10 times oversubscribed, increased the operating margin to 2.4 percent from 1 percent, helped increase the Moody’s HFHS credit rating from A1 to A2, and executed an investment portfolio change that resulted in a $2.5 million “VALUE-BASED CARE IS THE savings. FUTURE OF OUR INDUSTRY.” Value-based care is the future of our industry: I’m analyst and manager track to offer proud that under my leadership, those interested the opportunity HFHS has established direct-toto gain broader subject matter employer contracts, such as GM and organizational experience. Connected Care, and is a partner in We also are currently reviewing Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s our candidate-sourcing process Blueprint for Affordability. to expand it to ensure that we are reaching diverse candidates for our ` Do you recruit other position searches. women or marginalized

KATHLEEN DOBROVIC

MICHELLE DOMAS

Director of Finance, Treasury and IT

Vice President of Treasury

SEG Automotive North America LLC

Lineage Logistics

Over the course of her career, Kathleen Dobrovic has managed budgets from $100 million to $1 billion. At SEG, a spin-off from the BOSCH Starter Motors & Generators division, Dobrovic has helped to implement cost-saving strategies, restructuring initiatives and cost avoidance. For example, she created an engineering restructuring plan that reduced costs while maintaining as many jobs as was practical and moved outsourcing of finance work to low-cost countries. In addition, Dobrovic, who also launched a Women at Work initiative at SEG, volunteers as a financial adviser to Gamma Phi Beta.

Since joining Lineage Logistics in 2018, Michelle Domas has administered the daily and strategic liquidity management of about $2 billion in annual revenue. In 2019, she managed $3.8 billion in shortand long-term global capital markets activities and played a critical role in closing nearly $4 billion in new acquisitions. “Without a doubt, Michelle is one of the most respected leaders at our company,” said Lineage Logistics CFO Matthew Hardt. “I am continually impressed by her ability to seamlessly pivot from having a detail-oriented sensibility to embracing a broader strategic view, which is critical in a company like ours that is constantly moving and evolving.” Domas’ accomplishments include implementing a new payment process in conjunction with procurement, resulting in a $1.5 million reduction in annual interest expenses and lower cash requirement peaks of $30 million.

CONGRATULATIONS AMY PERLMAN, VICE PRESIDENT AND CONTROLLER, ITC HOLDINGS CORP., upon being recognized by Crain’s Detroit Business as one of Michigan’s Notable Women in Finance for 2020. Amy’s work is instrumental in helping ITC continue its efforts to energize Michigan’s future by building the twenty-first century electric grid that will improve electric reliability, increase electric transmission capacity, and keep safe, efficient, reliable energy flowing to communities, homes and businesses across the state.

www.itc-holdings.com

FOR THE GREATER GRID

@ITCHoldingsCorp @ITCGrid ITC Holdings Corp APRIL 27, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 15

KRYSTAL GIACCHINA Controller Superior Electric Great Lakes Co.

In 2011, Krystal Giacchina started at Superior Electric as a field administrator and, after a few promotions and the completion of her degree, became controller in 2018 where she manages $20 million to $30 million in cash and cash investments. She is the first woman on the company’s management team. Her work at SEGLC has included increasing efficiencies through automated reports and processes, strategizing potential sales, acquisitions and investment strategies and helping to improve the recruiting and on-boarding processes. “Krystal is the true definition of a leader and demonstrates that leadership to her coworkers by collaboration and example,” said Superior Electric President and CEO Jeffrey Jamerino.

“(SHE) IS A FIERCE ADVOCATE FOR WOMEN IN OUR INDUSTRY AND BEYOND. SHE IS TIRELESS IN HER MENTORSHIP OF YOUNG WOMEN AND EMPOWERS THEM TO PURSUE THEIR CAREER GOALS.” — Heather Madland, Principal of Business Development, Huron Capital, on Gretchen Perkins

“A CHAMPION FOR HER TEAM, HER PEERS, THE ORGANIZATION AND FOR HER FAMILY … TRULY AN INSPIRATION FOR ALL.” — Linda Apsey, President and CEO, ITC, on Amy Perlman

ANNETTE GORDON

KRISTIE GUADIANO

KIRSTIE HARDY

LIN

Senior Vice President / Senior Relationship Manager in Middle Market Commercial Banking

Divisional Director, Employer Retirement Plans

Economic Development and Financial Incentive Specialist

Vice Adm

Polaris Greystone Financial Group LLC

AKT Peerless Environmental Services

Law

“Kristie Guadiano is a thought leader with a reputation for being on the leading edge of her industry,” said PGFG Co-founder and Senior Partner Todd Moss. Guadiano joined Polaris in 2011 to create the wealth management firm’s ERP division and has since grown it from nothing to roughly $190 million in 2020. It’s the fastest growing division in the firm. She also is active in her community by participating in the TD Ameritrade internship program and serving on the Employee Benefits Taskforce Committee for the Michigan Association of CPAs.

In 2013, Kirstie Hardy started at AKT Peerless, which provides consulting and engineering services, in an entry-level position. Now she manages a team that provides solutions to economic development financing challenges for public- and private- sector client projects. One achievement includes securing $130 million in brownfield tax increment financing for the Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Authority and the city of Detroit. Hardy’s work included collaborating with state and local government to navigate the large project through the qualification process. The funds helped them prepare the 387-acre land for Fiat Chrysler Automobile’s Mack Engine Plant expansion, a more than $1.6 billion project.

Lind ty’s mill fund

Bank of America

Annette Gordon leads a team that delivers all the financial services and products needed to meet the needs of commercial clients with revenues between $50 million and $2 billion, prospects new business and develops relationship with current commercial clients. In recent years, Gordon’s team led the structuring, merger and $2.6 billion financing for a high-profile client to support a multi-strategic acquisition. That deal helped the client to expand globally and go public within six months. Three years later, her team sold the public company to another public company, which generated fees in the mid-eight figures. Moreover, Gordon strives to mentor and sponsor future leaders and help smaller middle market clients achieve their goals.

Congratulations, Betsy Meter Michigan Managing Partner, for being named one of Crain’s 2020 Notable Women in Finance. You inspire us as a leader, championing our culture vision and helping KPMG bring our values to life for our people and our clients. Learn more about our culture and values at kpmg.com. © 2020 KPMG LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and the U.S. member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. 081746

16 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | APRIL 27, 2020

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LINDA HEIGHT

MARYBETH HOWE

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Vice President of Finance and Administration

Executive Vice President

Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer

Founder and Financial Planner

Assurance Partner and Detroit Office Managing Partner

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Lawrence Technological University

AKT ting

Linda Height manages the university’s $75 million budget and $70 million in endowed and invested funds. Her work has helped LTU add five new campus buildings, retire two older bonds and pay off the mortgage on its oldest dorm building. In addition, she supported the addition of 30 sports teams in five years, increasing enrollment; developed multifaceted outdoor athletic facilities and invested in a new Robotics Engineering program. “Her work with LTU’s community and its strategic partner, the city of Southfield, is also noteworthy. Ms. Height is on the executive committee for the Southfield Chamber of Commerce and board chairperson for both the Michigan First Credit Union and the (Southfield) City Centre Advisory Board,” said LTU President and CEO Virinder Moudgil.

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Wells Fargo Bank

Marybeth Howe leads a team of 185 people in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois that provide credit, treasury management, asset management and risk products to companies with revenues of $10 million to $2 billion. She is also part of Wells Fargo’s Central Region leadership team, which covers 20 states and sets the strategic direction of the bank. In these roles, she manages a portfolio of more than $20 billion in loan commitments. Howe’s big wins include combining the bank’s Business Banking and Middle Market teams, located in four states, under a common Commercial Banking group to drive growth and improve efficiency.

H.W. Kaufman Group

Kori Johanson, who manages a compliance budget of nearly $2 million, oversees Kaufman’s corporate and regulatory compliance teams, government affairs and state insurance taxation. Since joining the company in March 2019, she designed and launched Kaufman’s code of business conduct and ethics and spearheaded the development and implementation of a centralized compliance department model. As part of the latter, the company applied new compliance deliverables and created a new two-member team that increased transactions 100 percent.

Pearl Planning

Melissa Joy launched Pearl in August 2018, and within four months grew assets to $53 million. Now she manages $75 million in assets for more than 90 families. She also launched a social media literacy campaign. Prior to founding Pearl, Joy managed the acquisition of a $70 million wealth management company and the integration of clients for Center for Financial Planning. And, until recently, she served on the Raymond James Women’s Advisors Council, where she advocated for access and support of women financial advisers and coordinated the annual conference. “Melissa is an advocate, a mentor and a champion of diversity and inclusion and was a tireless advocate for our women advisers for years,” said Renee Baker, VP of Advisor Networks, Raymond James.

Ernst & Young LLP

Last year, the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants named Angie Kelly one of its Women to Watch for her work at EY and diligent support of the community. Kelly is the first female managing partner of an EY Michigan office. She is responsible for leading client and community engagement and managing the Detroit office practice of more than 700 assurance, advisory, tax and transaction advisory professionals. Kelly also serves as global coordinating service partner and engagement quality review partner on privately held companies and SEC registrants in a variety of industries. “She actively and creatively seeks ways to be involved and strategically support the community,” said Inforum President and CEO Terry Barclay. “She takes the time to serve as a formal mentor and counselor to multiple women and has brought recognition to numerous women leaders through EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year and Entrepreneurial Winning Women programs.”

Make the mark. Leadership. Stability. Confidence. Jacqueline Venier, thank you for being there for our clients. We’re proud you’ve been named to the list of “2020 Crain’s Detroit Business Notable Women in Finance”. We appreciate your contributions to our firm and the profession.

plantemoran.com/wealthmanagement

APRIL 27, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 17

KRISTIN KLESS

MICHELLE KOTAS

Corporate Controller

CFO and Senior Vice President of Corporate Services

Soave Enterprises

For Michelle Kotas, who manages the YMCA’s $32 million budget, being successful on the job means sustaining a nonprofit institution that has served the community for nearly 170 years. Shortly after becoming CFO in 2014, Kotas was integral to the organization successfully refinancing $28 million of tax-exempt bond debt and developing a strategy that would help the Y pay down its remaining debt. She has also worked diligently to manage operations budgets strained by shrinking revenues and challenging circumstances. In 2019, the YMCA hired a new CEO with whom Kotas worked to develop “Revitalize 170,” a plan to get the nonprofit back on the path toward financial sustainability.

202

Kristin Kless started as an accounting manager in 1999 and now is responsible for managing upwards of $2 billion for Soave, which holds interests in a diverse portfolio of companies, including luxury condos, a metals recycling company and Mercedes-Benz retailers. Kless is instrumental in managing Soave’s property and casualty insurance program, which includes $400 million in fixed assets, and has helped facilitate a more transparent approach to the program. She also helped support projects in three states through acquisitions and other growth management initiatives. “For the past 21 years, Kristin has been the go-to person for many things, contributing to our success in myriad ways,” said Rick Brockhaus, senior vice president and treasurer at Soave Enterprises. “We’re grateful to have someone of her caliber serving as a catalyst for our financial vitality.”

YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit

“WE’RE GRATEFUL TO HAVE SOMEONE OF HER CALIBER SERVING AS A CATALYST FOR OUR FINANCIAL VITALITY.” — Rick Brockhaus, Senior Vice President and Treasurer, Soave Enterprises, on Kristin Kless

“IT IS NO ACCIDENT THAT SHE HAS TAKEN THE FIRM TO THE PINNACLE OF ITS FIELD IN PERFORMANCE AND REPUTATION.” — Henry Cisneros, Vice Chair of the Board of Directors and Equity Owner, Siebert Williams Shank, on Suzanne Shank

STACIE KWAISER

HOPE LANDGRAFF

COO

Senior Vice President, Director

Mich

Rehmann Financial

Fifth Third Bank

KPM

Stacie Kwaiser administers corporate services, regional managing principals and department directors for Rehmann, which saw $157 million in net revenue in 2019. She is the firm’s first female COO. Kwaiser’s recent wins include helping conceive and implement a new mission and strategic plan and combining business with an IT-managed services company to expand client offerings. She also led a restructuring effort that included introducing new leaders to drive associate engagement. “Stacie leads many of the most critical functions of our firm and does so with a great level of skill, knowledge and strategic vision. Every decision she makes is based on what’s best for our clients, associates and firm overall,” said Rehmann CEO Randy Rupp.

Hope Landgraff leads Fifth Third’s Bank Eastern Michigan Private Bank team, consisting of wealth management advisers, private bankers, portfolio managers and trust officers. “Under Hope’s leadership of the regional Private Bank team, I’ve seen a shift in culture and performance. Her team is clearly even more engaged, and I attribute that to Hope’s enthusiasm, longtime knowledge of wealth management and proven successes,” said David Girodat, regional president of Fifth Third Bank (Eastern Michigan). She strives not just to win clients’ business but to win confidence by building long-term relationships with them and their families to analyze and understand their needs.

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Huron Capital Partners LLC

ITC Holdings Corp.

Betsy Meter joined KPMG while still in college and worked her way up. In 2018, the firm named her Michigan managing partner. She leads about 400 professionals and directs the firm’s strategic direction and growth. Under her direction, KPMG landed a significant transformation project for a health care organization and won the opportunity to identify operational efficiency and a cost-reduction strategy for a local supplier. Meter also champions the firm’s diversity and inclusion strategy. Toward those efforts, she has conducted “Day of Understanding” events to help staff increase cultural understanding and launched a “Talking Inclusion” series focused on intentional conversations.

Sonya Nicks manages a $3.3 million operating budget and $2 million in investments at HFLI, a nonprofit that works toward developing innovative learning models. In recent years, she helped the nonprofit decrease health care expense while also negotiating a stronger benefits plan for employees. She also was key to HFLI converting its accounting software and implementing automated systems that have improved efficiencies. Nicks is a mentor to her colleagues and other women in her field and serves on the Board of Directors for Black Family Development Inc.

Angela Palacios directs the overall investment strategy, research and management of the $1.2 billion in assets the center manages. She holds many responsibilities, including providing oversight of investments, technology and compliance by managing technology infrastructure, acting as a liaison between the firm and financial regulators and managing internal audits. Her big wins include reducing internal expenses by 30 percent for clients’ investment portfolios and rolling out a client portal and an investment performance reporting system. She also founded the center’s social committee.

Gretchen Perkins leads business development for Huron Capital, which has raised $1.8 billion and invested in more than 190 companies. In the past five years, her team has been instrumental in sourcing opportunities that led to more than 100 investments. “Gretchen is a fierce advocate for women in our industry and beyond. She is tireless in her mentorship of young women and empowers them to pursue their career goals,” said Heather Madland, principal of Business Development at Huron Capital. As a recent member of the Association for Corporate Growth’s Board of Directors, Perkins was on the front lines of representing the interests of the middle market M&A industry through bipartisan advocacy. And in 2018 and 2019, Mergers & Acquisitions magazine named her one of its most influential women in Middle Market M&A.

Amy Perlman led accounting integration and SEC filing efforts when Fortis and GIC acquired ITC in 2016. Now she heads a 51-person team that handles all accounting functions, including due diligence for potential acquisitions and other opportunities for ITC, which has $10 billion in electricity transmission grid assets. As part of the finance leadership team, she is also passionate about her work on employee development, talent management and diversity and inclusion initiatives. “Amy is a champion. A champion for her team, her peers, the organization and for her family. She is … truly an inspiration for all,” said ITC President and CEO Linda Apsey.

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APRIL 27, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 19

ROBERTA REMIAS

SUZANNE SHANK

REBECCA SORENSEN

CATHY STONER

E’LOIS THOMAS

Vice Chancellor for Administrative Services

President and CEO

Senior Vice President of Wealth Management USA

Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer and CFO

Chief Administrative Officer

Rel Ass

UBS Financial Services Inc.

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.

This year, Forbes named Rebecca Sorensen one of about 100 of the Best-In-State Wealth Advisors in Michigan. In the past five years, Sorensen’s team increased assets under management by $200 million. Her group specializes in high net-worth individuals and institutional clients and manages more than $750 million in assets. She also serves on the company’s Women of Wealth Management Task Force, which works toward increasing the number of female financial advisers in the industry. “Becky is one of the finest professionals I have had the privilege of working with in my 38 years in the business. Her commitment to the families and institutions that she serves and the quality of advice that she provides is truly unique,” John Bush, managing director and Michigan Market head of UBS Financial, said.

Since in 2009, when Cathy Stoner joined SICI as an operations manager, the organization’s assets under management have grown to $2.8 billion from $605 million. And she is responsible for managing assets of $8 million and revenues of $17 million. Highlights of Stoner’s career include implementing a formal risk assessment process and developing a liquidity risk management program, as mandated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. “Her industry insights and willingness to share them on industry calls and at meetings and conferences benefits her colleagues and the services they provide to mutual fund investors,” said SICI Associate General Counsel Tamara Salmon.

Oakland Community College

Roberta Remias’ team of more than 200 manages financial forecasts, risks, facilities, investments, groundskeeping, law enforcement and more. Remias is responsible for overseeing a combined operating and capital budget of more than $200 million. She also provides oversight of OCC’s investment portfolio and supports the financial reporting for its Foundation. Under her direction, her team has developed a five-year plan that included leasing excess space on campus, introducing electronic forms and improving processes for employee training. “Bobbie fosters a culture that balances service and control, and she knows that finances are not an end in themselves, but are a means for achieving the institution’s mission,” said Al Lorenzo, president emeritus of Macomb Community College and chief policy adviser in the Macomb County Executive’s office.

Siebert Williams Shank & Co. LLC

Suzanne Shank, a 2019 Crain’s Detroit Business Newsmaker, has been president and CEO since the founding of Siebert Cisneros Shank & Co. LLC in 1996. The investment banking firm has participated in more than $2 trillion in debt and equity transactions. In 2015, Shank bought out the other original founding partners, recapitalized the firm and became majority owner and chair. Major transactions included participating in the Uber, Lyft and Peloton initial public offerings and corporate debt offerings for numerous Fortune 500 companies. In 2019, she led the merger of Siebert Cisneros Shank with The Williams Capital Group L.P. “Suzanne Shank is technically expert, tirelessly hard-working, impressively astute in judgment, considerate in human relations and sharply focused on goals and outcomes. It is no accident that she has taken the firm to the pinnacle of its field in performance and reputation,” said Henry Cisneros, vice chair of the Board of Directors and equity owner of Siebert Williams Shank.

Solutions for Energy Efficient Logistics LLC

In 2015, SEEL lost about $11 million of its $15 million in revenue because of problems with its parent company. E’Lois Thomas worked with the company’s legal team through court dealings, mediation and financial meetings to purchase that company’s ownership and grow the company to more than $70 million in 2019. The acquisition allowed SEEL to become a wholly owned minority owned business. Now Thomas manages SEEL’s $90 million to $100 million portfolio. She also worked with human resources to start a Pathways program that allows the company to better invest in its staff and led a partnership with Goodwill Green Works, which offers a prison reentry program. Moreover, she supports youth empowerment to teach low-income young women about careers in accounting and the importance of understanding their finances.

The world’s food supply chain doesn’t move without Michelle Domas. Lineage Logistics, the world’s largest and most innovative provider of temperature-controlled logistics solutions, is proud to congratulate Michelle Domas, our VP of Treasury, and salute all of our people who play a role in getting food to tables all over the world — a job that’s more important now than ever. See all the ways Michelle and thousands of other Lineage team members across the globe are revolutionizing our industry at lineagelogistics.com

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20 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | APRIL 27, 2020

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JACQUELINE VENIER

KATHLEEN VOGELSANG

KATIE WENDT

Relationship Manager and Senior Associate

Chief Investment Officer

Plante Moran Financial Advisors

Jacqueline Venier “is excellent at reading the room with clients and knows when to be technical and numbers-focused as well as when to be relationship-oriented with a soft touch. Internally, Jackie has led a number of initiatives that have pushed us to improve our client service and has mentored some of our best rising talent,” said PMFA Partner Todd McClain. Venier, who manages assets greater than $665 million, helps clients reduce or eliminate estate tax exposure while balancing liquidity needs, family dynamics and charitable interests. She is leading an initiative to raise awareness of wealth management services among manufacturing and distribution clients and is co-leading Plante Moran’s strategic business unit alignment.

Van Andel Institute

Kathleen Vogelsang’s team manages a $1.7 billion endowment that they invest in equities, fixed income, real estate, hedge funds and private equity in 40 different countries. The endowment provides operating funds for Van Andel Institute, a biomedical research and science education organization that includes its research and education institutes and graduate school. In 2018, Vogelsang pulled 7 percent of the portfolio from equity allocation and reallocated the funds into laddered treasuries. The treasuries outperformed the equity by five percent. She also donates her time as vice chair of the Grand Rapids Community Foundation Board, where she serves as chair of the Investment Committee, and as a board member and treasurer of Michigan Gift of Life.

Executive Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer

MARIA WOODRUFFWRIGHT

KRISTEN YANDORA Founder and President

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TCF Financial Corp.

Yandora Financial Services

Skillman Foundation

Katie Wendt joined Talmer Bancorp in 2011 and was a member of the team that led its initial public offering. She helped the bank grow from $900 million to $47 billion through, in part, seven acquisitions. Wendt also played an integral role in the due diligence, accounting, reporting and financial integration of the 2016 merger of Chemical Financial Corp. and Talmer, valued at $1.6 billion, and later the merger of Chemical and TCF, valued at $3.6 billion. “As the former deputy chief financial officer of Chemical Bank and now TCF’s chief accounting officer, Katie has been a catalyst for growth through numerous acquisition and mergers while demonstrating her deep commitment to the Midwest and the communities we serve,” said TCF Bank Executive Chairman David Provost.

Being solutions-oriented helps Maria Woodruff-Wright manage $470 million in assets for the Skillman Foundation, a private philanthropy organization that primarily advocates and provides for the educational needs of children. Among her big wins, Woodruff-Wright directed a real estate development and property management project that saved the nonprofit $1.2 million, implemented a management and analytic accounting system for metric reporting on impact initiatives and enacted a diversity, equity and inclusion development program that raised the cultural competency of foundation staff. Furthermore, she works with Skillman’s Investment, Audit and Governance committees and serves on the boards of directors of Detroit Employment Solutions Corp. and the Association of Black Foundation Executives.

Kristen Yandora, former CFO of Forgotten Harvest food bank, now provides financial management to nonprofits and social enterprises. In recent years, she has managed the financials for the Detroit Police Athletic League and for PAL’s $20 million construction project on the old Tiger Stadium site. The project included managing the New Market Tax Credit financing structure along with bridge loan financing and compliance reporting. She also provides CFO support to Dutton Farm, which educates and employs people with special needs. Her work there has included implementing a new financial reporting, risk assessment and forecasting tool. “With (Kristen’s) support and oversight of our finances, we were able to realize significant growth in revenue and impact in 2019, we went from roughly $600,000 in 2018 to just over $1 million in 2019,” said Dutton Farm Co-founder and CEO Jenny Brown.

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APRIL 27, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 21

AGREE

From Page 3

The company also pulled in about $370 million in a forward sale agreement with New York City-based Cohen & Steers Capital Management Inc., for nearly 6.17 million common shares at $60 each. In total, Agree said, the company has raised about $800 million in equity year-to-date so far this year and nearly $1 billion since Q4 last year, calling it a “war chest.” Those figures include the $370 million from Cohen & Steers; $146.9 million from an at-the-market offering of 2

million shares; $232.8 million from an ATM offering earlier this year of 3.4 million shares; and another $175.4 million from an overnight offering last month of 2.9 million shares, bringing the total equity raised since October to $925.1 million with 14.4 million shares. This year alone, it’s $778.2 million with 12.4 million shares. “Unlike other buyers/investors, Agree can move through due diligence very quickly and close without lender delays,” said Steven Silverman, senior vice president of investment advisory services for Farmington Hills-based Friedman Real Estate. “If I’m a seller in the current environment, I would only

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The Children’s Foundation announced that Lizabeth Ardisana, CEO and Principal Owner of ASG Renaissance and CEO of Performance Driven Workforce, joined the organization as a member of the Board of Trustees. The Children’s Foundation, an independent community foundation, is the state’s largest funder dedicated to advancing the health and wellness of children. As an active business and civic leader in Michigan and Hispanic Communities, Ardisana brings great strategic value to the Foundation.

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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE 22 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | APRIL 27, 2020

be looking to do deals with buyers that have the highest probability of closing.” Agree views the situation as another chance for his company to grow. “Longer term, this is a significant opportunity that our company is poised to take advantage of,” Agree said in an earnings call last week. “We have begun to see additional high-quality investment prospects, and given the macro environment, our balance sheet and tenant relationships, I anticipate this to further accelerate.”

Retail strategy To look to Agree’s future, you have to see its past. Agree Realty has made a point the last decade or so of diversifying its tenant roster, helping it thrive in the age of e-commerce, which has turned the retail industry on its head and left those who have refused to or been unable to adapt tossed rather unceremoniously in the seemingly ever-growing graveyard of once-mighty chains. Richard Agree, Joey Agree’s father who remains executive chairman of the board, started the company’s predecessor, Agree Development Corp. in 1971 and developed more than 40 shopping centers in the Midwest and Southeast over the course of two-plus decades. Then in 1994, Agree Realty Corp. went public as a REIT with an IPO of 2.5 million shares. But in the years that followed, some of its key tenants suffered mightily. Up until its 2010 acquisition and diversification strategy, Borders, the former Ann Arbor bookseller that filed for bankruptcy protection in 2011 and later liquidated its assets and closed its stores; and Kmart Corp., the troubled Illinois-based subsidiary of Sears Holdings Corp., were two of Agree Realty’s top sources of tenant income. At the beginning of 2010, 29 percent of Agree Realty’s rental revenue came

The Agree Realty Corp. headquarters in Bloomfield Hills. | KIRK PINHO/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

from Borders, and 71 percent total came from Borders Group Inc., Walgreen’s and Kmart. Today, Borders is no more and Kmart, formerly based in Troy, is no longer a portfolio tenant. Walgreen’s today is Agree Realty’s seventh-largest tenant based on annualized base rent at 3.1 percent. Its largest is Walmart Inc. (6.3 percent of annualized base rent); followed by Sherwin-Williams Co. (4.6 percent); T.J. Maxx (3.8 percent); Best Buy Co. Inc. (3.4 percent); Tractor Supply Co. (3.3 percent); and Dollar General Corp. (3.2 percent). Agree tends to avoid retailers backed by private equity; the company says 10 out of the 14 largest retailer bankruptcies since 2012 were chains acquired by private equity firms. Among them: Warren-based Art Van Furniture.

Rent impact Joey Agree is clear: His company will collect the rent it’s owed. Locally, Agree Realty’s is the most precise snapshot made public to date of the impact that the coronavirus pandemic has had on retail landlords, even generally well-positioned ones. It has 16.3 million square feet in more than

860 properties across 46 states. The company said that it has received rent payments in April from over 87 percent of its portfolio and that all of its investment-grade tenants paid. But it still received a slew of rent relief requests — one-third, as measured by annualized base rent, or ABR — and Agree Realty says that it believes “many of these requests are opportunistic in nature and are coming from tenants that have the ability to pay rent.” The following sectors have proven difficult so far: Agree was more direct in the earnings call: “The 33 percent (who have requested rent relief) ranges from frankly the absurd, retailers that have no debt, that are open and operating in areas thriving, frankly, in this environment, to a small operator that really needs assistance. “There are a few retailers we have had harsh discussions with. They are not considered long-term partners for us,” Agree said during the call. “We made them quickly aware of our remedies in those leases, and I will tell you some paid, some didn’t. They will pay.” Contact: kpinho@crain.com; (313) 446-0412; @kirkpinhoCDB

In Loving Memory James Thomas Constand Loving husband to his wife of 52 years, Kiki (deceased 2005); beloved father to son, Tom (Debbie) Constand and daughter, Tina (Joel) Petrimoulx; and Pappou to grandchildren Stephanie and Thomas Constand, passed away peacefully on Friday, April 17. He was 95 years old. Born in Detroit on November 15, 1924 as the son of Greek immigrants, he attended Detroit’s Central High School. Upon graduation, he enlisted in the Navy during World War II, earning a Purple Heart when his ship was torpedoed. After the war, he attended Michigan State University, where he earned his undergraduate degree in Hotel, Restaurant and General Institutional Management in 1952. Jim then continued his graduate work overseas, attending the prestigious L’Ecole Hoteliere in Lausanne, Switzerland as well as Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris. Jim married his beloved wife, Kiki, on November 1, 1953, and became manager of both the River Room Café and the Savoyard Club in Detroit’s Buhl Building during

Hams of Canada, which he operated for fifteen years before retiring in 2002 and moving back to Detroit. Jim reconnected with countless friends and family in retirement, many of whom continued to visit with him after declining health made it necessary to move into long term care, where he remained until his passing.

the sixties. In 1968, Jim opened up Detroit’s first automotive-themed restaurant, Jim’s Garage, which soon became the hottest spot in Detroit. Featuring continental cuisine favorites of the era on its menu, the restaurant was adorned with various vintage automotive ornaments and collectibles, and packed for both lunch and dinner during the 1970s. Jim also took over ownership of the iconic Grecian Gardens restaurant in Detroit’s Greektown district in the mid-70s. Upon the sale of the Grecian Gardens and closure of Jim’s Garage in 1986, Jim moved to Toronto to open up Honey Glazed

Jim was actively involved in choral music, singing for the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox of Troy choir, as well as the All Saints Greek Orthodox Church of Toronto choir and the Toronto Welsh Men’s Choir. He and his wife were also avid world travelers. There will be no immediate public visitation or memorial gathering. Instead, a small private service will take place at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Troy with immediate family. A larger memorial tribute will be planned for a later date. Memorial gifts can be sent to the Michigan Humane Society, Lourdes Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, or Hospice Care. View obituary and share memories atAJDesmond.com.

TRAFFICKING

From Page 3

In May, Vista Maria will open Michigan’s first “secure” treatment site for young, female victims of human trafficking to ensure “boys” like him can’t get to girls like Sally to pull them back into a life of trafficking. The new, 14,000-square-foot center represents a new treatment model for human trafficking victims, combining emergency health and mental health at a trauma-focused center so victims don’t have to jump between hospitals, police stations and residential treatment sites. It doubles the number of dedicated beds Vista Maria has for victims of human trafficking, building on an open center unveiled on its campus five years ago for girls who are stable enough to come and go from the campus for school, jobs or outings. Vista Maria has hired 26 new employees to provide treatment at the new facility. Vista Maria, which is operating on a $25 million annual budget, has raised about two-thirds of the $4.9 million cost of the new Aaron and Helen L. DeRoy Freedom Center. Lead gifts in the campaign include $750,000 from the DeRoy Testamentary Foundation, $500,000 each from the Carls Foundation and McGregor Fund and a 15year, forgivable loan from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis. “This new building enables us to take young people right from a raid situation … and stabilize them physically and mentally,” at the same location, Vista Maria President and CEO Angela Aufdemberge said. “It’s a physical intervention — we’re pulling her out and putting her in new place to calm the effects of that trauma,” Aufdemberge said. Developing that relationship is essential to breaking the cycle of a girl looking to return to her trafficker because of the hold he or she has on her, Aufdemberge said. Physical security features at the new center, including locks, cameras and alarms, will also play a vital role in helping to reduce recidivism, law enforcement officials said. Investigations confirm that over half of the girls who are exploited return to their trafficking “families,” said Mike Glennon, supervisory special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigations, which leads the Southeast Michigan Traffic and Exploitation Crimes multi-jurisdictional task force. But based on social media postings and other investigation, recidivism is projected to be as high as 80 percent, he said. “With a recidivism rate that is astronomically high ... the vast majority just can’t get out of the life cycle they’re in. The only way to break the chains ... is to put them in a secure facility and get them the help they need.” Vista Maria’s new center, the only secure treatment site for young trafficking victims in the state, can provide residential treatment for 16 girls. But with at least half of roughly 250 minor victims recovered last year expected to go back to their traffickers, that’s not near enough, Glennon said.

By the numbers The COVID-19 pandemic and Michigan’s stay-home and shutdown orders have not shut down human trafficking. Law enforcement officials track online advertisements to get an idea of activity levels, said Detective Lieutenant Edward Price, the Detroit-based assistant commander, District Special Investigation Section, Michigan State Police. It’s impossible to determine

how many ads are posted by individual traffickers, as some post several ads. “It’s the easiest way for us to look at it without being out doing undercover stings,” Price Price said. Between March 1 and 12, there were about 600 ads per day posted online on classified and escort service listings for Michigan, Price said. Between March 16 and 24, it rose to about 850 ads per day. For that roughly three-week period of March, there were 14,000 online April ads. 6, 2020 Activity has decreased some over the past month but continued. During the first three weeks of April, there were 9,107 online advertisements, Price said. “You just don’t know how many victims are attached to the advertisements,” he said. Michigan has been identified as both a recruitment and destination state, Glennon said. It’s got a high rate February 17, 2020 of occurrences, with people traveling into Michigan or within it to sexually February 17, 2020 December 2, 2019 exploit people and a higher number of younger girls being enticed into the lifestyle than many other states. On average, Michigan ranks as the 10th highest state in the country for sex trafficking. There are likely thousands of trafficking victims around the state, Glennon said. But since many are adults who can make independent decisions about engaging in prostitution and other illegal activities, it’s tough to identify them as victims. The number of minors, however — most girls, and most found alive — who have been recovered in Michigan over the past four years has been on the rise, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigations, which leads the human trafficking task force in Michigan, coordinating with the Michigan State Police and local law enforcement agencies. Between 2016 and 2019, the number of minors who were recovered rose from 153 to 241, Glennon said. But recidivism is high, he said. Law enforcement encounters 52 percent of recovered girls again during future investigations, Glennon said. He estimates that closer to 80 percent of the girls who are recovered return to the streets and their traffickers. “What we were seeing is if we’d put a young lady into a non-secure facility, she’d walk right out,” Glennon said. Nonprofits providing mental health treatment for victimized girls actually became recruitment grounds, with pimps hanging out at the back door, waiting for girls to come out, Glennon said. “We now have the capability to petition the courts to indicate a child is a danger to themselves ... (and) to have them remanded to a secure facility ... where they can’t leave” and can get the treatment they need, he said. The Michigan Human Trafficking Commission in December recommended a new package of human trafficking bills aimed at expanding training requirements for professionals, strengthening tools to hold traffickers accountable, expanding protections for victims of trafficking, and revising the criminal justice system’s approach to commercial sexual activity, otherwise known as prostitution, said Kelly Rossman-McKinney, communications director for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, in an emailed statement. Among other things, the legislation includes provisions to increase penalties for customers of commercial sexu-

al activities to felonies. But there are currently no commission initiatives aimed at establishing rural, secure treatment facilities in Michigan, , McKinney said

New center, new approach Vista Maria’s new secure treatment site will include both an emergency health wing and residential mental health treatment, a new model for treatment of young trafficking victims. The single-story building includes an emergency wing with medical, forensic interviewing and waiting rooms, 16 bedrooms, living and dining areas, staff offices and courtyards. With the new, secure center, “no one can get in, and the girls in there are not free to leave,” Aufdemberge said. It will open with more than half its bedrooms filled. Some girls can immediately move into an open setting. But generally, referrals from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Michigan State Police or law enforcement referrals will come into the secure site, Aufdemberge said, and then step down or improve enough to move into the open center. “We want her to go where it best fits her mental health needs,” Aufdemberge said. Girls typically will spend four to 16 weeks in treatment, preparing to return to their families or to Vista Maria’s nearby open treatment site. For some, however, like those victimized as young as 11 years of age, who viewed their trafficker as a parent, treatment could take longer, Aufdemberge said. The new center will provide trauma-informed treatment for those

to provide human trafficking “WITH A RECIDIVISM RATE Agency services to child victims. THAT IS ASTRONOMICALLY Looking for hope HIGH ... THE VAST Sally has been at Vista Maria for MAJORITY JUST CAN’T GET nearly a year now. She knows she OUT OF THE LIFE CYCLE made a bad choice using drugs, Reese THEY’RE IN. THE ONLY WAY said, so they don’t spend much time that. TO BREAK THE CHAINS ... IS discussing Instead, they focus on the trauma TO PUT THEM IN A SECURE that happened to her and trace it back to its root causes, particularly the lack FACILITY AND GET THEM of love she felt from her mother. “In trafficking she had a false sense THE HELP THEY NEED.” of hope and love. It came at a cost,” Re— Mike Glennon, supervisory special agent for the Federal BureauCof Investigations RAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

ese said. “She had to give up something: her body, her ability to make decisions on her own because she was coerced or forced through drugs.” She’s now at the point where she is confident, feels she’s worthy, has developed a social network among the girls at Vista Maria and is doing well in school, Reese said. Her mother has also come to the campus for joint family counseling, and Vista Maria will continue to counsel Sally and her mother for six months after Sally returns home to make sure both have the support they need. Anyone can build a center with a fence out front, Reese said. “What’s really important is the staff relationships that show (you) care. These kids get into these trafficking situations because of the lack of ... people caring for them. “Our campus keeps them safe, but also helps them build the confidence to return home.”

who need it, with the goal of stabilizing them and moving them to an open setting as quickly as possible. The DHHS Division of Victim Services has $1.6 million in contracts with 48 Michigan agencies to provide services to victims of human trafficking, said Bob Wheaton, public information officer for the department. The majority provide community-based outpatient treatment for huCRAIN ’S Dvictims, ETROIT BUSINESS man traffi cking he said. In CSoutheast Michigan, those inRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS RAIN’S DETROIT USINESS clude C Alternatives for BGirls, Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services, Common Ground, Wayne County SAFE, Turning Point, Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services, Centro Multicultural LaFamilia, and LGBT Detroit. Just two, Vista Maria and Wedgewood Christian Services in Grand Rapids, offer residential treatment for females, Wheaton said. And Vista Maria is the only agency that has a contract with the DHHS Children’s Services

Contact: swelch@crain.com; (313) 446-1694; @SherriWelch

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APRIL 27, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 23

COPING WITH COVID-19

UNIVERSITIES

From Page 1

At the same time, administrators are spending millions of dollars to shore up remote learning infrastructure in preparation for a potential online-only fall. No schools in Michigan have made that decision yet, but most have canceled all in-person summer activities and pivoted to a virtual orientation for incoming students. Like other facets of life, it is clear the pandemic has permanently changed the college experience. But nobody, from university presidents to government officials, can say to what extent. “My daughter keeps expecting to find out where she’s going to live at the University of Michigan in the fall, and I’m trying to temper her expectations because I’m not quite sure what it’s going to look like,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said recently during an online town hall with Detroit Regional Chamber CEO Sandy Baruah. A separate conversation between Baruah and UM President Mark Schlissel, MSU President Samuel Stanley and Wayne State University President M. Roy Wilson highlighted the difference in strategies among the state’s largest research institutions. Schlissel said he’s committed to bringing students back on campus in the fall, but it might be at half-capacity and they might have to wear masks. Wilson said he’s operating the university under the assumption face-to-face classes won’t resume in the fall but said he’s prepared to pivot if he’s wrong. Stanley played middle ground and gave credence to both scenarios. “What I’m calling it is a public health-informed fall semester ... it won’t be normal,” Schlissel said. “We think it’s very important that we figure out how to get life in our state and our country back on some kind of positive trajectory.” Online or in-person, universities are anxiously waiting to see what happens with enrollment. May 1 is the traditional deadline for students to commit to a college. Now, those students face all sorts of unexpected barriers, from financial insecurity to health concerns. International enrollment — another vital source of revenue for universities — also hangs in the balance as travel restrictions abound. A survey released last week by nonprofit Junior Achievement USA and Citizens Bank highlighted the worry of U.S. teenagers. More than two-thirds of the 1,000 surveyed teens said they were

RETURN

From Page 1

But when the order lifts and manufacturing gets back to business in only a few weeks, companies will have to navigate the growing list of new rules and response measures from a vast set of federal and local sources and apply them to a now much larger workforce. Do employers use staggered shifts to minimize the number of employees at any given time? Do they reconfigure assembly lines to better distance employees? Do they put up barriers between employees? While every business is preparing for when they go back to work, how they go back is the bigger challenge. “There are at least consistent themes as it relates to what we call phasing people back into work, but no real specific mandates,” said Julie Bell, vice president of human resources for Roush. 24 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | APRIL 27, 2020

concerned about the financial impact of COVID-19, while nearly half of high school juniors and seniors said it has impacted their plans for college, including how they will pay for it and if they will delay their start date. While students and colleges across the U.S. are facing the same problems, chronic underfunding of higher education and an expected multi-billion-dollar blow to the state budget makes the situation in Michigan particularly dire. “This is only compounded by the fact that Michigan is one of the top states in the nation in terms of the decline in high school graduates,” Hurley said.

Funding woes Public and private institutions in Michigan received approximately $350 million in federal aid through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund part of the federal CARES Act. Around $190 million was directed toward the state’s 15 public universities. Generally, the larger the school, the more money received. At least half of the funds allocated to each school must go directly to help students, but “there’s a very strong expectation” that even the institutional portion goes to students, Hurley said. The first wave of aid for higher ed totaled $14 billion nationally, but more could be on the way. For schools in Michigan, which ranks 44th in the nation in terms of state funding to universities, the federal aid is critical. Michigan’s allocations to universities remains well below where it was before the Great Recession of 2007-09. In times of economic downturn, universities are often among the first to see budget cuts. With the state’s revenues plummeting rapidly, university officials say they believe reductions are inevitable. “Higher education has been a target for state lawmakers because they have an alternative revenue source,” Hurley said. “That has been particularly dramatic here in Michigan.”

just a whole new way — for faculty who once thought, ‘There’s no way I could ever put my course online.’ Yes, you can,” she said. At Northern Michigan University, costs associated with going remote totaled only about $35,000, President Fritz Erickson said. That’s largely because the university has for years provided every student with a laptop. NMU’s $9 million investment over the past 10 years in the Educational Access Network — a high-speed internet service it has built out that is available to K-12 students in the Upper Peninsula — has also helped students stay connected, though it has likely had the most profound impact on students in those rural communities.

MSU has plowed nearly $6 million into remote learning since making the sudden stopgap transition to online classes last month. Millions more will be invested in everything from IT infrastructure, Zoom licenses and Virtual Privacy Networks to online course development, said Jeff Grabill, associate provost for teaching, learning and

technology at Michigan State. “Like every university in North America, we’re preparing for the possibility of fall being partially or fully online,” Grabill said. “We just don’t know how this is going to play out.” In many cases, the closure of campuses was a trial by fire for universities that have spent the past several years beefing up remote learning systems to meet growing demand for online classes. Daren Hubbard, chief information officer at Wayne State University, said the coronavirus outbreak necessitated about $200,000 in unplanned spending. Upgrading to a cloud-based university portal and learning management system three years ago made for a smoother transition. He expects more investment and an increased reliance on the technology. “It’s not only permanently changed how we educate students, it has changed business,” he said. Summer activities and orientation at WSU will also be virtual-only, an unfathomable idea just a month ago, said Sara Kacin, director of the university’s office for teaching and learning. “I think for everybody involved, it’s

To mitigate financial losses, universities are halting nonessential expenditures and implementing freezes on hiring and salary increases. UM rolled out last week salary cuts and voluntary unpaid furlough programs for nonessential staff. Schlissel, whose annual base pay is $900,000, said he is cutting his monthly salary by

10 percent through the end of the year, while chancellors at UM-Flint and UM-Dearborn are doing the same. “The pandemic also has threatened the financial stability and future strength of our university,” Schlissel said in a letter to faculty and staff.

“Everything we’re doing, we’re running through our legal team and making sure it’s in alignment at the federal, state and county levels. But all the legislation and rules are not clear cut. We are currently in the process of creating addendums to our policies, COVID-19 specific policies, but it’s not easy.” On Friday, Whitmer extended Michigan’s stay-at-home order for two more weeks to May 15 and said she would lay out a thorough return-to-work plan this week. “Just because this order goes until May 15 doesn’t mean that nothing else is going to be happen between now and then,” Whitmer said. “There will perhaps, hopefully be some additional things that we can start to engage in, in a safe way, with the proper protocols.” Brett Miller, partner and labor and employment attorney at Butzel Long PC in Detroit, said returning to work is going to test the mettle of most companies, regardless of size.

“You’re going to have to navigate a whole host of laws and complexities that you never had to as an employer,” Miller said. “The business story of the coronavirus is how you manage a workforce in a crisis. There are just a lot of moving parts that takes far more planning than saying, ‘Hey, we’re open, come back to work on Monday.’” Oakland County Executive David Coulter expects economic re-entry to be “bumpy” as companies adjust. The county established a COVID-19 helpline to help businesses navigate the county’s rules but also federal and state recommendations. For example, as of April 20, all essential employees in Oakland County are required to wear at least cloth masks at work. “When we push out a rule, we get a spike in calls because everyone wants clarity,” Coulter said. The county announced a COVID-19 task force designed to provide practical advice to businesses and help them

navigate re-entry, Coulter said. Communication appears to be a critical component of re-entry. That starts with explaining to employees how their jobs will be impacted by the new rules. This means extensive training before a single time card is punched on the factory floor. “What if someone shows up to work with 102 temperature?” Miller posits. “Your average frontline supervisor, even at a big company, might not know what to do with that.” Southfield-based automotive seating supplier Lear Corp. published its “playbook” on April 6 for how plants reopen that includes training guidelines. The training for workers includes everything from how to remove personal protective equipment like gloves to prevent the spread of the virus to social distancing and isolation protocols. Roush is currently performing temperature checks outside the building, including a health questionnaire, be-

fore allowing employees inside. But Bell said that’s not a long-term approach and worries it may violate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. “We’re very concerned with health privacy,” Bell said. “How secure does it need to be? A temperature check is a piece of health information and when you’re checking employees’ temperatures in a line before entering a facility, it’s hard to hide that from others in the line if you deny someone entry.” Bell said Roush is working with other industry leaders to share best practices, in hopes of keeping the entire supply chain operational and parts flowing once it ramps up production. “There is a very strong effort to share information of this nature across the industry,” said Julie Fream, CEO of Troy-based Original Equipment Suppliers Association. “The focus is how organizations can prioritize sorting through this information. There is a

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COPING WITH COVID-19 cial fallout that could amount to more than $60 million and lead to layoffs and elimination of programs and services, Wilson told faculty and staff in a letter last week. The school has stopped raises for high-salary employees. “… This pandemic will financially impact all universities, including ours, and we need to be prepared for all possibilities,” Wilson said. There was no mention of coaches’ salaries in any of the letters. The cancellation of the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament, in which MSU and UM were anticipated contenders, equated to $1 billion in lost revenue for the league, which shares earnings with member schools. The Big Ten netted $35.3 million in last year’s tournament. As far as college sports, uncertainty now swirls around football — a massive revenue-generating engine for universities. UM’s athletic department recently changed its policy for season ticket holders amid the pandemic, allowing a full refund for seats at the 107,601-capacity Big House. UM’s football team is among the most valuable in college sports, earning nearly $200 million in yearly rev enue.

Tuition freezes

Above: A classroom in Olds Hall. MSU has plowed nearly $6 million into remote learning since making the sudden stopgap transition to online classes last month. Right: Sparty with a MSU mask last week. | PHOTOGRAPHS BY DERRICK L. TURNER/ MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

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MSU’s Stanley, who was hired last year with a base salary of $800,000, said he would take a 10 percent pay cut and all executives would take a 2 percent-7 percent reduction through May or June but possibly a full year. Wayne State is preparing for finan-

Tuition freezes are being implemented by some schools in hopes of stable enrollment in the fall. MSU announced last week it would keep tuition rates unchanged in response to the pandemic. Grappling with an enrollment decline before the virus outbreak, Central Michigan University made the same decision. The Mount Pleasant-based university has also introduced deferred payment options for students, increased financial aid and scholarships and guaranteed on-campus employment to any firstyear student who needs the income. President Robert Davies said financial losses are in the tens of millions of dollars and fall enrollment will be down even more than expected. The university had planned on a 5 percent-10 percent budget reduction prior to the outbreak. It is now confronting a decline of 20 percent or more. “If we open up face-to-face, it leads to one budget scenario. If we open up online it leads to a different budget scenario,” Davies said. “We know, at the outcome of this, we will be a smaller university.” Contact: knagl@crain.com; (313) 446-0337; @kurt_nagl

Returning to work in the age of COVID-19? Here’s what must be considered Employers face unprecedented new challenges and considerations in returning to work while COVID-19 remains a health threat. Below is bare minimum guidance from multiple sources on what must be considered first. `Review appropriate recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, state and county governments. ` Develop a written pandemic plan, including methods to distance workers, test and track employee exposure, cleaning procedures and response to an outbreak in a facility. ` Evaluate whether a business can stagger its workforce, leaving some to work remotely or only in the office part of the week. ` Communicate all changes and pandemic plan to employees and also encourage health monitoring and rigorous hygiene. ` Review and consider personal protective equipment needs — masks, gloves, shields, etc. — and determine sourcing methods. ` Assess sick leave and medical leave policies and adjust to new legislation, including the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. ` Implement health screenings of employees that do not violate state and federal laws.

TESTS

From Page 1

But on Monday, she took two more quick antibody tests at home with a different test kit than the one she took at the doctor’s office. They were both negative — negative for both the short-term IgM antibody and the longer term IgG antibody. This means she never had COVID-19? Then, on Thursday, she took another one of the at-home antibody tests, a pinprick blood test that gives results in less than 10 minutes. This time the result was mixed. Maybe positive, maybe negative. The readings weren’t very clear. What does this mean for Olya? Two possible things. First, the absence of the IgG antibody could indicate she never had COVID-19 to begin with, which could mean the first two coronavirus tests were faulty (false positive), even though she had moderate symptoms (fever of more than 100, chills, shortness of breath) for two weeks. Second, it could mean she was indeed positive but the COVID-19 antibody was so weak to begin with and it has simply worn off, a concern that leading doctors are believing more and more.

‘Am I recovered? I can’t say’ Research scientists and medical experts say they don’t yet know how strong the coronavirus antibody is or how long it will remain in the body. This is very scary because people go through terrible pain and suffering, hoping they survive, and if they do survive they believe they will be immune for months or more than a year, which is what happens with many viruses. Antibodies for the SARS and MERS viruses last two or three years; antibodies for the measles virus lasts a lifetime. All this means to Olya is that she has no trust in the antibody tests because the accuracies are all over the map. I tend to agree with her. Maybe this is just our frustration right now because the tests are telling us contradictory things. But she told me Wednesday she doesn’t want to go back to work because now she believes she had no immunity and can be reinfected or infected, depending on what you want to believe, at her hospital by patients or coworkers. For me, I have now tested negacertain amount of diligence all suppliers are going to need to what applies to them. Companies are going to have to get creative.” Ford Motor Co., aside from making its own face shields and masks for employees, is testing social distancing wristbands that buzz when employees violate social distancing protocol of 6 feet apart, Automotive News reported. Roush is hoping to make use of a mobile application to monitor employee health, thus alleviating it of the burden of violating HIPAA and onsite temperature checks, Bell said. “We’re learning more and more companies are using an app to self-disclose around symptoms and exposure as well as a daily temperature check. That relies on honesty of our employees,” Bell said. “Having something that can be driven by technology would really help us around many issues.” The app, which Bell declined to share who is currently using or who de-

tive twice for COVID and negative twice for antibodies. I don’t believe I am negative, and neither do my doctors. One reason is I have felt worse than Olya for more than 15 days. Except for her positive test, she seems completely recovered. I always had very mild symptoms but they have hung on for a long time. Am I recovered? I can’t say that, because I never had a positive COVID-19 test.

So what’s new? On Thursday, Olya did a telehealth appointment with her primary care doctor, Jennifer Haener at Stonebrooke Family Physicians in Rochester Hills. She told Haener about her three positive COVID-19 tests, her one positive antibody test, her two negative tests and the one maybe. “The at-home tests are not that accurate,” Haener said. “We need to do blood draws for better accuracy.” One of my doctors, infectious disease physician Jeffrey Band, had told me the same thing days earlier. He said full blood draws must be conducted to get enough blood for the antibody tests to increase accuracy. The problem is those tests are still in clinical trials and not available to the public. He didn’t know when they might be available. Normal research takes years. “I have no question she has COVID. What I don’t know is if she is immune and I would not accept a (at-home quick antibody) blood test to tell me,” Band said. Dr. Band also said he firmly believes the many antibody tests offered by doctors’ offices and other providers — or even those mailed to people at home — should not be used for diagnostic purposes and may be better suited for public health surveillance and vaccine development. “The other thing we’ve learned is a full blood draw with a vial is much better than the finger stick,” Band said. “It’s because they can truly get much more blood to concentrate. … This has had a better result than a capillary prick.”

Cleared with precautions Olya asked Haener what she needs to do to go back to work. Because she has been out for about a month, Haener agreed to fill out a family medical leave act form to explain Olya’s diagnosis and why she was out of work. “You have been symptom-free now veloped it, would require workers to show their status to a screener before entry, but instead of providing specific health information, a simple red or green color would note whether an employee could enter. Bell said the app would likely solve another conundrum — the COVID-19 stigma. “Employees are having a fear factor of getting the label of being COVID positive,” Bell said. “The app would preclude most people from coming in and prevent the embarrassment of getting turned away.” But there are more practical difficulties than screenings — like social distancing in tight spaces and, well, everyone poops. Office restrooms are shared between employees and may be difficult to clean after each user. Livonia-based metal stamper AlphaUSA is reworking its workstations to keep people separated, which is proving tough for a company with

for more than two weeks. It will be OK for you to return to work if you wear a surgical mask” and full personal protective equipment, said Haener. “It will protect you and others,” she said. Haener was just as perplexed and worried as the other doctors are about Olya’s positive COVID-19 tests and her recent negative antibody tests. But she does believe Olya’s illness was caused by coronavirus and that she now has antibodies. Olya called her supervisor at the hospital to get an FMLA form. He referred her to an occupational health nurse to go over everything she might need to go back to work. The occupational health nurse said an FMLA form was not required yet, possibly later for workers’ compensation if Olya is eligible for back pay. After answering about 10 questions that included when Olya was exposed, how she was, when she took her tests, the results and when she had last symptoms, the nurse said Olya would be cleared to return to work. While Olya is without symptoms, I am not so sure she is completely COVID-19 free. Band believes she still has COVID-19. So does Haener. And so does, I believe, the hospital occupational health nurse, who said despite the three positive tests, the last one a week ago, she has now been diagnosed as COVID-19 free, despite not being the recipient of a negative COVID-19 test, because of lack of symptoms for more than two weeks. “It has been seven days since you last tested positive” for COVID-19, the occupational nurse said. “Based on the clinical assessment, you are cleared for work. I will contact your supervisor.” Olya was cleared for work but with a requirement to wear PPE at all times she is in the hospital. But for all the talk about how antibody tests will clear people to return to work, Olya’s employer never asked her to take one. Apparently the hospital doesn’t believe in the antibody tests as a tool to make those decisions, at least for now. So, do antibody tests work? One day, they may, with more research and validation. But clearly they now leave a lot to be desired. And in Band’s, Haener’s and in my opinion, based on all these experiences, they should not be used for return-to-work decisions. Contact: jgreene@crain.com; (313) 446-0325; @jaybgreene limited space, said David Lawrence, chief administrative officer. “Our employees are telling us they are ready to come back to work, but we are struggling with how to do that,” Lawrence said. “When we’ve had employees come in during the lockdown, we’ve been able to limit the amount to ensure the greatest separation. I think we’re going to have to use fewer workers when we return, but it’s not easy to work in manufacturing from home.” Roush is also developing its own plans for what a full return of employees would look like. “The level of detail is getting down to where they are sitting and where they are standing,” Bell said. “We’re talking to our employees even before they come back to work to prepare them for the ‘new normal.’” Contact: dwalsh@crain.com; (313) 446-6042; @dustinpwalsh APRIL 27, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 25

FUTURE

in the country,” he said. This experience will be useful in Benton Harbor, he said. He points out that, curriculum-wise, Massachusetts often leads the nation. In Southbridge, he came to a school that struggled enough to be put in receivership and was in a position to apply those high standards. In doing something similar in Benton Harbor, he could be supported by a project manager to manage the day-today implementation of the turnaround plan, recommended by the draft report to be paid for by outside funds.

From Page 3

Now, the 35-year-old is devoting himself to another city that’s trying to break out of a dysfunctional cycle of systemic disinvestment. He signed a four-year contract as superintendent. “I had multiple people tell me not to touch that job, said that it would ruin me,” Townsel said. But he’s carrying a sense of purpose into his new role. “I really believe and feel in my heart of hearts that I was designed for Benton Harbor,” Townsel said. “I was designed to lead a district like Benton Harbor.” This is more than a one-person job, however. This month, a committee of state and local representatives debuted an ambitious turnaround plan. The proposed framework would forgive $10.8 million in emergency loans to BHAS, consolidate operations from 11 buildings to three and invest in an infrastructure to better support teachers. Once the district stabilizes, it also suggests a millage to bond school debt. The 12-member Community Engagement Advisory Committee, chaired by Deputy Treasurer Joyce Parker, has met monthly since the fall, after the governor’s school closure proposal fell through. It has hosted 15 community events, organized into subcommittees, and developed a school survey that received 400 responses. “Despite the efforts of students, parents, teachers and principals, BHAS performance is among the lowest in the state,” the draft report noted. It said that “the data point to systems factors well beyond effort and intent. … the magnitude of the systemic failures seen in BHAS requires a systemic response.” Or, as Townsel put it, “We’re seeing the district say ‘we need help.’”

Academic achievement The revival of public education in Benton Harbor comes in context of a three-year-old statewide initiative to support low-performing schools. After experiments with emergency managers and state-run districts, the Department of Education began to tout solutions that are “locally developed” and “context-specific.” While “labeling and sanctioning” does work for some schools that need a push to acknowledge a problem, said Venessa Keesler, deputy superintendent at Michigan Department of Education, on a recent public policy webinar, it doesn’t for districts with “really deep-seated challenges, as well as districts and schools that have often been hit by economic decline or other factors, you know, just further labeling … this was not helping.” Since Keesler joined the department in 2010, it has rolled out eight different accountability programs, she said. Limited results prompted a turn toward partnership models and individualized turnaround plans. “Districts do know what they’re facing,” Keesler said, “and they often know, or have an idea of what they need to do to address it. Or they have some ideas and they want some thought partners and research and help in getting there.” Academic achievement is a top concern in Benton Harbor. In “every academic measure,” according to the draft report, fewer than 10 percent of students reach proficiency. The high school does not offer Advanced Placement courses, or even calculus or algebra 2. There is one certified math teacher for the student body of nearly 600. 26 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | APRIL 27, 2020

“Kids need hope”

City Commissioner Jerry Edwards at the Phoenix Coffeeshop in Benton Harbor. | DAYTONA NILES FOR CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS)

To change this, the five-year plan suggests hiring a curriculum specialist, conducting an audit of instructional plans and expanding early childhood programs. It also wants to create a parent academy, improve communication networks and develop a plan for the social and emotional learning of students. Benton Harbor city commissioner Jerry Edwards imagines a mentorship model could also be of use — maybe a room at the school where parents and other adults who want to support students are regularly situated so that students can go in any time and find someone to help them with their homework and discuss post-graduate options. “They can pick their own mentors,” Edwards said. Even before his first day on the job, Townsel spoke about the need to invest in Benton Harbor teachers. In the midst of a statewide shortage, the district offers some of the lowest salaries in the state and the most challenging working conditions. This has led to high turnover, few teachers with master’s degrees and heavy reliance on long-term substitutes and teachers in classrooms that are outside their expertise. “They can make like $4,000 more and have less trouble if they go across the bridge,” said Edwards, referring to the Bicentennial Bridge that connects Benton Harbor with St. Joseph. Benton Harbor has the lowest teacher salaries in Berrien County, state data shows. Without better compensating teachers and staff, “I don’t care what you do, it’s not going to work.” Higher salaries should be in the mix, Townsel affirmed, as well as incentive programs and professional development opportunities that make the position more appealing to quality educators.

Rooting for Benton Harbor There are also strong community concerns about safety in the schools, according to the report, both because of violence and building conditions. Between September 2019 and January 2020, 26 percent of the district’s student body was suspended. Some students have been suspended often enough to miss 18-25 school days — nearly a month of instruction — before the coronavirus ended the regular schoolday schedule. Students and staff are working out of aging buildings constructed between 1924 and 1960. The draft report recom-

mends a review of physical infrastructure for safety and emergency preparedness, and using the sinking fund to address urgent needs. Also, by closing 11 of the district’s three buildings, it will consolidate from 600,000 to, at most, 350,000 square feet, minimizing overhead costs. The remaining sites would be sold or demolished. Parker, the deputy state treasurer, outlined the plan at a public online meeting on April 7. The launch was scheduled for March, including a couple of community town halls, but this was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. The draft plan, which had three days for public comments, is not final until it’s approved by the school board and both the education and treasury departments. They have until May 15 to do so. As part of its review, the board has already asked for some adjustments, including flexibility over how many buildings are reduced and inte-

“HONESTLY, WITH SUPPORT FROM STUDENTS AND BUY-IN FROM THE COMMUNITY, BUY-IN FROM THE STATE, AND ACCESS TO RESOURCES,” THERE IS REASON TO BE EXCITED ABOUT THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION IN BENTON HARBOR. — Andraé Townsel, Benton Harbor schools superintendent

grating the parent academy proposal with an existing program. “Honestly, with support from students and buy-in from the community, buy-in from the state, and access to resources,” there is reason to be excited about the future of education in Benton Harbor, Townsel said. For all the challenges, he’s heartened that there are many who are “rooting for Benton Harbor to be successful.” At the same time, “turnaround is hard,” said Keesler of the DOE. A wealth of research and nationwide initiatives have made it clear that “chronically low-performing districts and schools, helping them to have the capacity, the assets, the resources they need is not easy work … There is no simple solution. If there were, we would obviously have employed that years ago.”

Some observers recommend that school district borders be reconsidered — a controversial topic in Michigan’s debate over public education reform. “Nobody has proposed changing the underlying problem that forced Benton Harbor students to plead for a better high school in their community: the segregation of children into school districts with dramatically different levels of poverty and wealth,” wrote Kevin Carey, director of New America’s education policy program, in a recent article for TIME magazine. Meanwhile, although the regular school year has been canceled as part of the statewide shutdown, BHAS has work to do. It was quick to set up food distribution for students, offering breakfast and lunch five days a week at eight locations. It’s also working to build out e-learning options for students. The district got some good news when, days after the remainder of the sports season was canceled, a student on the basketball team, senior forward Carlos “Scooby” Johnson, was chosen as the Associated Press’ Division 2 player of the year. Johnson is also this year’s Mr. Basketball. His team, which won a state championship two years ago, had a 20-2 record before its run ended after the district semifinal. Johnson expects to enroll at Butler University. Another positive development: An anonymous organization gave BHAS $300,000 last week to support its investment in a school resource officer. And Townsel, two months into the job as the top school official, is still full of drive. Normal operations have been suspended for half his time here. But his priority is still “paying attention to the details, to every area of the organization.” That includes getting to know everyone he possibly can, from students to teachers to top officials at local institutions, and “being real with people. People can recognize real and recognize fake.” He often drives the city, getting a feel for the streets and parks. “I really believe, as the education rises, the city rises,” Townsel said. Talking about schools means talking about future generations. “I take that extremely serious.” It’s not just a theory for him. He comes to Benton Harbor after serving as assistant superintendent of the Wayne-Westland school district, and before that, as principal in Southbridge, Massachusetts, and as a top official in D.C. public schools at a time when “D.C. was the fastest-improving district

But the biggest challenge in getting more Benton Harbor students to reach their potential: “the systems are not in place,” Townsel said. This is echoed in the draft report, which noted that an independent audit found a “lack of internal controls.” Policies and procedures are “inconsistently executed” and record-keeping is lax. Among other problems, this can lead to “financial errors and loss of federal funds for services.” There also needs to be a system that helps students to understand their experiences, Townsel said. The school could, for example, make it routine to have objectives, achievements, rules and high-level vocabulary words visible on the board every day, and having clearly defined tiers to respond to behavior issues. The draft report also recommends implementing evidence-based programming for conflict resolution and restorative justice. “They’re looking for structure,” Townsel said. “They want structure.” In moving forward, Jerry Edwards, the commissioner, is watching with caution. He has concerns about the sincerity of the turnaround effort, wondering if it isn’t just a way of delaying a school closure “so Governor Whitmer doesn’t have to take the blame. She tried; it didn’t work.” Edwards speculated about whether the proposed closure hadn’t really been a tactic for the state or other entities to take the property the school sits on and use it for their own purposes. But if the turnaround does work, if Townsel’s leadership is effective, we’ll know it by seeing the results in the education and moral leadership of students, the new superintendent said. In them, you can see what’s possible. There’s a story that Edwards tells. The commissioner who once coached a Benton Harbor girls basketball team told the story from a windowside table at the bustling Phoenix Coffeeshop in the city’s arts district, shortly before the statewide stay-home order. One game, “the best game I’ve ever seen, the best I’ve ever been to,” was some years ago when his Benton Harbor team played against Berrien Springs. The Tigers only had 4 players, according to Edwards; the Shamrocks had 15, and were playing in their home gymnasium. “They tried to get us to forfeit,” Edwards said. He had to have a talk with his players. “Nobody in this building is expecting you to play, let alone win,” he remembered telling them. He urged them to play anyway. In an effort to show his confidence, he said that if they didn’t win the game, he’d quit. Edwards said that a child needs to see that an adult believes in them and is willing to sacrifice something real for their sake. They need to see that they’re trusted. “Benton Harbor has hope,” Edwards said. “Kids need hope. I’d rather lose trying than lose by giving up.” Benton Harbor won the basketball game, as Edwards remembered, 39 to 34.

THE CONVERSATION

Connaé Pisani: From Texas oil to metro Detroit real estate NATIONAL REAL ESTATE MANAGEMENT GROUP: After several years working in the oil industry in Texas, metro Detroit native Connaé Pisani wanted to drill into a completely different field: commercial real estate in her hometown. The 32-year-old University of Michigan graduate fled Houston and founded National Real Estate Management Group in 2018, a commercial real estate firm with a small $12 million portfolio consisting of more than 100 multifamily, commercial and single-family properties. The company does property management, brokerage, construction and investment management. | BY KIRK PINHO `Fill us in on your background and how you moved from the oil industry into commercial real estate. I started off in engineering. My background is civil engineering and I graduated from the University of Michigan in 2009 at the height of the economic crisis, which then led to my first job having me relocate across the country, working in the oil industry in Texas. From there, I was jumping from job to job within the same company, working on different projects in the oil industry, and then transitioning to the construction industry, which was more closely related to my major, which is construction management. I worked for Bechtel Corp. for many years before returning back to Michigan in 2018. `We have a once-in-a-century pandemic happening right now. Given the scope of your portfolio and the range of asset classes and the types of work that you do, how has that trickled down to your day to day? One of the greatest blessings has been establishing a strong presence remotely prior to the pandemic, so we didn’t have to do too much pivoting to remain in place. Our staff is trained on how we operate from day No. 1. So, thankfully, we didn’t have a huge learning curve there. In terms of any physical interactions with our clients, that’s come to a near standstill since we’re not doing anything that will put our employees or our tenants in harm’s way. For example, construction and maintenance is basically on a complete hold. We just have a skeleton crew right now that is doing any emergency maintenance repairs to make sure that our tenants are well taken care of. Our property management arm is still operational at full capacity, thankfully. And we’re still able to answer any phone calls, follow up via email, and really still have the same presence that we did prior to the pandemic. Any brokerage sales and transactions are kind of at a standstill at this time since we can’t go out and show properties.

But I can honestly say that having such a diverse portfolio and several different versions of the company has really been a huge blessing, and I’m really thankful that is established in that perspective because if we focused more heavily on one arm as opposed to the other, we might be out of business right now `What has this done to your revenue stream? We’re split up into four different ones, so construction management and renovation projects, property management, the brokerage and then any investment strategy development. For those four components, let’s just say there’s 25 percent that each business is comprised, I’d say 75 percent is on hold right now. And we just have to 25 percent for property management, that’s still ongoing. `Tell us a little bit about the experience of being a woman and person of color in commercial real estate, an industry that’s long been dominated by white men. That’s one I’m really passionate about. I’d start from the beginning, which is having a background in engineering as a woman is very rare. It’s becoming more popular, but especially when I was in college, the number of women to men was significantly lower. And then if you also put into perspective, the number of minority women to men in general is even a smaller population. In the workforce as well. You go from a company that has tens of thousands of employees, and then you scale that down to, you know, the specific project you’re working on, there was oftentimes a situation where I would see myself being the only minority woman, black woman, in a meeting with several older white males. But honestly, I learned to navigate that scenario, and I’ve had a lot of support and a lot of respect given to me being that they see that I’m not just about the fact that I’m a woman and I want women’s rights, but I’m actually am skilled and I understand what I’m doing. And regardless of what I might look like,

or what my socioeconomic background might be, I’m a valuable asset to the company. So then, when starting up my own company, especially a construction company, the initial perspective was, “Who is she and what does she think she’s doing?” But in turn in working with me, my staff has nothing but positive things to say about me and I’ve really earned the respect. I think that’s one of the key words. Sometimes I’m in a position where I have to earn that respect. Even among my clients, an investment market is typically an older demographic of people that have financial security and they want to make sure I understand what I’m doing, especially when it comes down to managing their investments, whether that’s large-scale construction projects or multi-million dollar buildings. They want to make sure that they’re in the right hands. So there’s a lot of reputation building that I have to do in certain situations, but honestly, I can say that after I’ve crossed that hurdle, I’ve had positive feedback from my clients and they say that it’s been a good experience.

where real estate is built on who knows who, and what relationships have been built prior to network, have a good reputation and knock down those barriers. In my case, I have an engineering degree, I went to UM, so I feel like I have established the credibility. I think having a strong supportive network of other women who are trying to cross similar paths is also helpful.

REPORTERS

Annalise Frank, city of Detroit. (313) 446-0416 or afrank@crain.com Jay Greene, senior reporter, health care and energy. (313) 446-0325 or jgreene@crain.com Nick Manes, finance and technology. (313) 446-1626 or nmanes@crain.com Kurt Nagl, higher education, business of sports. (313) 446-0337 or knagl@crain.com Kirk Pinho, real estate. (313) 446-0412 or kpinho@crain.com Dustin Walsh, senior reporter, economy and workforce, manufacturing, cannabis. (313) 446-6042 or dwalsh@crain.com Sherri Welch, senior reporter, nonprofits and philanthropy. (313) 446-1694 or swelch@crain.com MEMBERSHIPS

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RUMBLINGS

MOT to present digital opera performed by Children’s Chorus MICHIGAN OPERA THEATRE WILL PRESENT its first-ever digital opera in May, performed by the MOT Children’s Chorus. The Michigan Opera Theatre Children’s Chorus will present “The Very Last Green Thing,” a one-act opera. The performance will be made up of more than 400 video submissions by 44 participating students and parents and be broadcast on MOT’s Facebook and Twitter feeds and on its website at 11 a.m. May 22. “The kids are going to be performing their parts from home and sending the video clips to us,” said MOT Communications Manager Erica

Hobbs in an email. “We’re still rehearsing with them, and once we get all the videos, our videographer is compiling them to make to make a video of the Mallare Acton opera.” The event is part of MOT’s new child-focused “MOT Learns at Home” educational program within the “MOT at Home” digital campaign. MOT launched the initiative last month to provide daily digital

opera and dance content during social distancing. The opera had been originally scheduled for a live performance at the Fisher Theatre April 25. The Center for Financial Planning is the Student Virtual Opera Performance Sponsor. “While we are disappointed we are not able to perform live at the Fisher Theatre, we are thrilled to work together on something never done before at Michigan Opera Theatre and few places elsewhere,” MOT Children’s Chorus Director Suzanne Mallare Acton said in a news release. “During social distancing, we are

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Editor-in-Chief Keith E. Crain Publisher KC Crain Group Publisher Mary Kramer, (313) 446-0399 or mkramer@crain.com Associate Publisher Lisa Rudy, (313) 446-6032 or lrudy@crain.com Executive Editor Kelley Root, (313) 446-0319 or kelley.root@crain.com Managing Editor Michael Lee, (313) 446-1630 or malee@crain.com Group Director: Business Process Kim Waatti, (313) 446-6764 or kwaatti@crain.com Digital Portfolio Manager Tim Simpson, (313) 446-6788 or tsimpson@crain.com Creative Director David Kordalski, (216) 771-5169 or dkordalski@crain.com Assistant Managing Editor Dawn Riffenburg, (313) 446-5800 or driffenburg@crain.com News Editor Beth Reeber Valone, (313) 446-5875 or bvalone@crain.com Senior Editor Chad Livengood, (313) 446-1654 or clivengood@crain.com Special Projects Editor Amy Elliott Bragg, (313) 446-1646 or abragg@crain.com Design and Copy Editor Beth Jachman, (313) 446-0356 or bjachman@crain.com Research and Data Editor Sonya Hill, (313) 446-0402 or shill@crain.com Newsroom (313) 446-0329, FAX (313) 446-1687 TIP LINE (313) 446-6766

glad to continue to provide musical education to our students and give them hope during these trying times.” Founded in 2007, MOTCC is a leading children’s chorus serving students ages 8-16 in Southeast Michigan. The 30-minute opera is a futuristic story set in the year 2492 where students are taught and raised by androids, with rare opportunities to go outside. After encountering a time capsule from the late 20th century, the children find a withered plant and the secrets unlocked from the planet’s past.

Crain’s Detroit Business is published by Crain Communications Inc. Chairman Keith E. Crain Vice Chairman Mary Kay Crain President KC Crain Senior Executive Vice President Chris Crain Secretary Lexie Crain Armstrong Chief Financial Officer Robert Recchia G.D. Crain Jr. Founder (1885-1973) Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr. Chairman (1911-1996) Editorial & Business Offices 1155 Gratiot Ave., Detroit MI 48207-2732; (313) 446-6000 Cable address: TWX 248-221-5122 AUTNEW DET CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS ISSN # 0882-1992 is published weekly, except the third week in December, by Crain Communications Inc. at 1155 Gratiot Ave., Detroit MI 48207-2732. Periodicals postage paid at Detroit, MI and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS, Circulation Department, P.O. Box 07925, Detroit, MI 48207-9732. GST # 136760444. Printed in U.S.A. Contents copyright 2020 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial content in any manner without permission is prohibited.

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