Mackinac Policy Conference

For the fourth year, the Conference brought together some of Michigan’s most prominent thought leaders from a variety of backgrounds to engage in spirited banter on the state’s most critical issues. This year, an engaging lineup of speakers addressed vaccine mandates, talent, DE&I, voting rights, the 2022 election, and more. Read highlights from the conversations. 

Experts discussed the American Rescue Plan funds that will be distributed to states, counties, municipalities, and school systems, and strategies to ensure it is equitably distributed to communities most in need.

Richard Florida, author and professor at the University of Toronto, discussed the new urban crisis and how life in urban areas have, and will continue to, shift during and after the pandemic.

The pressures of the pandemic inspired new ways to accelerate sustainable prosperity, connect underserved communities, and protect the health and safety of Michigan’s most vulnerable residents.

Even with significant challenges to surmount and public divide, the state of Michigan is currently poised for a once-in-a-generation recovery. Gov. Whitmer stressed that overcoming such challenges takes understanding, compassion, and curiosity without judgment.

Chamber President and Chief Executive Officer Sandy K. Baruah moderated an animated discussion about the Republican Party’s present and future with Robert C. O’Brien, former U.S. National Security Advisor during the Trump Administration; and Michael Steele, former Republican National Committee Chairman, former Lieutenant Governor of the State of Maryland, and current MSNBC political analyst. 

Professor Raj Chetty opened the second day of mainstage programming at the 2021 Mackinac Policy Conference with research and insights on how to improve economic opportunity and upward mobility on a national and local level.

Detroiter and Cass Tech graduate Rosalind Brewer, chief executive officer of Walgreen Boots Alliance, shared stories of facing challenges in career as a leader for the chain, Starbucks, and Amazon in an interview with Detroit Public Television anchor Christy McDonald.

Getting comfortable with having uncomfortable conversations and expanding diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts to include the LGBTQ+ communities and individuals with disabilities were among sentiments shared during a Racial Equity in the Workplace panel Wednesday morning.

Detroit Public Television and The Detroit News’ Nolan Finley led a conversation with regional higher education, philanthropic, and government leaders to address actionable accountability in postsecondary education to ensure student success.  

America’s relationship with the United Arab Emirates was “stagnant” when President Trump named Rakolta ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. Rakolta improved it by taking unorthodox steps to get things done.

In early 2020, 60% of Black-owned businesses were in distress and at risk of closing. By March 2020, 40% were in the process of closing. According to Candice Matthews Brackeen, executive director of Lighthouse Capitol, this was not a surprise. The distress rate for Black-owned businesses during the pandemic was 60%, compared to white counterparts whose distress rate was approximately 30%.

As the chief executive officer of Henry Ford Health System, Wright L. Lassiter III has seen the worst of times up close during the COVID-19 pandemic, including nurses retiring in droves and more than 100 hospital beds unoccupied due to staffing shortages.

Nicholas A. Christakis, social scientist, and physician; director of the Human Nature Lab at Yale University; and co-director of the Yale Institute for Network Science, reflected on what the history of pandemics and plagues can tell us about the physical and economic impacts of disease and how it informs our future with COVID-19 – the second deadliest pandemic in the last 100 years. Read more.

When Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan took office eight years ago, his main focus was removing blight. Detroit was, in essence, a blight story: people flew in from around the world to take pictures of abandoned buildings, Mayor Duggan recalled. Today, the city has a different story to tell. “We don’t have to talk about removing blight; now, we are talking about building beauty,” he said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed a lot around the United States over the past year and a half. But, according to Douglas Brinkley, historian and best-selling author, that’s not all that’s changed. Political shifts in motion before the pandemic seems to have only become worse. Read more.

There’s no question that the last 18 months have been a learning process for even the most successful companies nationwide. During a live session on Tuesday, Sept. 21 at the Mackinac Policy Conference, Suzanne Shank, president and CEO of Siebert Williams Shank & Co., LLC spoke with Jay Farner of Rocket Companies, Harold Ford Jr. of PNC and John Tuttle of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on how they’ve adapted during this period of economic ups-and-downs.