Nicole Sherard-Freeman is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. She joined the organization in 2023 as Chief Operating Officer and co-led the development of the organization’s 10-year strategic plan.
Previously, Sherard-Freeman was group executive of Jobs, Economy, and Detroit at Work and executive director of the Mayor’s Workforce Development Board for Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. She joined the City in 2019 as the Executive Director of Workforce Development and Detroit at Work. Prior to that, Sherard-Freeman was President and Chief Executive Officer of Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation. Her leadership experience includes senior roles across the corporate, government, nonprofit, and micro-enterprise sectors.
Sherard-Freeman serves on boards governing the Downtown Detroit Partnership, Detroit Sports Organizing Corp, and WorkRise. She is a senior advisor to the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy’s Poverty Solutions initiative.
Sherard-Freeman earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and has completed graduate studies in Organizational Management and Development.