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Jeremiah Steen, a 25-year-old philanthropist and youth advocate, joined the Detroit school board as its newest member Wednesday.
Steen will serve on the Detroit Public Schools Community District board through the end of December. He was appointed during a Wednesday board meeting to fill a seat left vacant after the death of member Iris Taylor.
Steen told Chalkbeat after his appointment that he hopes his time on the board encourages other young people in Detroit to get involved with the city’s school district.
“I hope this appointment really serves as the next generation being able to step up and govern a district that they’re inheriting,” he said.
During his four months on the board, Steen said he intends to focus on workforce development. This year, the district is rolling out a high school redesign that will put an emphasis on college and career readiness.
“I really want to ensure that our students who are getting credentials are actually leading to some level of economic mobility, so that they’re actually receiving a job from the work that we’re doing,” he said.
Steen and Sherisse Butler, former senior vice president and executive director of City Year Detroit, were both interviewed for the position during the meeting. Steen received the highest combined score for his resume and interview, according to a tally by a third-party law firm.
The board chose to interview Steen because he was the next highest-scoring applicant in the selection process for two board appointments in 2025. Butler was interviewed because she was the runner-up in the 2024 election.
Steen’s seat is one of five up for grabs in the Nov. 3 election. The board was required by state law to make an appointment within 30 days of Taylor’s death.
Neither Steen nor Butler is running in this year’s election.
Steen, who grew up on the city’s east side, is a graduate of University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy and University of Detroit Mercy.
He is also currently a community growth fellow at the nonprofit Community Economic Development Association of Michigan and a former trustee of the Skillman Foundation. (The Skillman Foundation is a Chalkbeat funder.)
Steen unsuccessfully ran for the board in 2024. He placed 16th out of 22 candidates.
Hannah Dellinger covers Detroit schools for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at hdellinger@chalkbeat.org.
