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Thank You, Gilda
OUR COMMUNITY
Thank You, Gilda!
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BRIAN GOLDSMITH JN INTERN
The Michigan League for Public Policy in Lansing announced that its president and CEO, Gilda Z. Jacobs, will retire at the end of the year after 11 years with the organization and four decades of public service. The League, founded in 1912, is a nonpartisan policy institute dedicated to economic opportunity for all.
Jacobs’ lifelong love for public service is deeply rooted in her Jewish values. “Tikkun olam has really driven so much of what I’ve done my whole life, even when I was active in United Synagogue Youth,” she said. “I just believe that the world needed to be righted oftentimes.
“I’ve always looked for meaningful ways to contribute to my community,” Jacobs said, “and as I reflect on my career as a special education teacher, an advocate for people with developmental disabilities, a county commissioner, legislator and as a leader at the League, I’m so proud that I can say I’ve always done work that aligns with my values and beliefs.
“And now, I’m excited for a new chapter, where I can spend more of my time making that same contribution as a volunteer, an advocate and a grandparent,” said Jacobs, a longtime Huntington Woods resident and member of Temple Emanu-El in Oak Park.
Prior to starting at the League in 2011, Jacobs was a state senator for eight years after serving two terms in the Michigan House of Representatives, where she made history as the first woman floor leader in either chamber of the legislature. Jacobs also held several positions in local government before heading to the Capitol.
She was the first woman elected to the Huntington Woods City Commission, serving 1981-1994, including one year as mayor pro tem. She also served as an Oakland County commissioner 19951998. Throughout her career, Jacobs has mentored and encouraged other women to run for and hold office.
“For me to be able to have an opportunity to impact public policy and have a greater change on behalf of people that often didn’t have a voice in the system or in politics is really one of the things that really drove me to do this kind of work,” said Jacobs.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer spoke about her former colleague and friend’s retirement from the League. “I had the honor of serving with and learning from Gilda in the legislature, and the pleasure of working with her and the League on positive policy
improvements over the last three years.
“In her 40-plus years of direct public service and public policy advocacy, Gilda has left an indelible impact on the League’s century-plus history and our state’s policy landscape as a whole,” Whitmer said.
Gilda Jacobs
— GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER.
HEATH CARE ADVOCATE
In her time at the League, Jacobs has been instrumental in growing the organization and enhancing its stature and impact. In her 11 years at the helm, the League helped achieve everlasting policy improvements for the people of Michigan. Her vast agenda included establishing and protecting the Healthy Michigan Plan, the state’s Medicaid expansion effort under the Affordable Care Act, and developing a number of positive election reforms to improve voting access.
At the organizational level, Jacobs’ leadership has been key in helping the League take on a stronger advocacy role — fighting more directly for policy changes that help families and workers with low incomes and improve racial equity. She also prioritized the organization’s engagement with people, neighborhoods and communities around the state, creating a community engagement position that is now a three-person department to help make sure community voices are heard and amplified in the League’s work.
Under Jacobs’ leadership, the League also expanded its health policy work beyond traditional health services and programs by creating a position focused on the social determinants of health and added additional staff to the League’s Kids Count project to expand efforts to analyze and improve child well-being.
Jacobs has won numerous awards for her work and was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame in 2019. She was named as one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Michigan by Crain’s Detroit Business in 2016 and received the Michigan Food Bank Council’s Hunger-Free Award
in 2015. In 2012, she participated in the Harvard Business School’s Strategic Perspectives in the Nonprofit Leadership Program.
She received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan and started her professional life as a special education teacher in Madison District Public Schools.
Jacobs said she planned her retirement for 2021 and that the pandemic had no bearing on her decision to retire. “I’m at the point now where I really feel that the League is where I want it to be.
“I just feel really proud of our accomplishments and what we’re doing,” she said, “and I really believe that change is good — it’s good for individuals, it’s good for organizations. To have somebody come and take the helm and take the League to yet another plateau is a very exciting prospect for me.”
