FACULTY Q&A
In the nearly 20 years that University of Michigan social work professor Trina Shanks has lived in Detroit and researched issues related to the impact of poverty, she’s gotten much closer to solutions.
Shanks, director of the Center for Equitable Family and Community Well-Being, faculty associate at the Institute for Social Research and director of community engagement at the School of Social Work, has conducted research on the impact of poverty and wealth on child well-being; asset-building policy and practice across the life cycle; and community and economic development.
She spent 10 years working on the Skillman Foundation’s Good Neighborhoods Initiative, which was a $100 million effort to improve outcomes for children in Detroit.
Detroit Tonya Allen, who has served as the Skillman Foundation’s president and CEO since 2014 and offered a critical voice in pushing for better education opportunities for children, announced Monday she is stepping down to lead the McKnight Foundation in Minneapolis.
The Detroit native said she never saw herself leaving the city, but when you are called, you must act, she told The Detroit News. She plans to step down in February.
The Skillman Foundation, a Detroit-based philanthropic organization whose primary mission is improving the lives of children, has played a critical role in Detroit and beyond, with a focus on quality education opportunities for youths, strong afterschool systems with enriching experiences and establishing career pathways.
Skillman Foundation CEO Tonya Allen leaving for new job
After serving six years at the helm of one of southeastern Michigan’s most prominent philanthropy organizations, Tonya Allen is stepping down as president and CEO of the Skillman Foundation for another job.
“It’s disappointing to leave, but I also feel very called to leave,” Allen told the Free Press on Sunday. “I have to do this journey before me. It’s heartbreaking because I love the Skillman Foundation, I love Detroit, I love Detroit’s children.”
Allen will step down in February to lead the McKnight Foundation in Minnesota.