Dear Friends,

When I reached out earlier this summer regarding our leadership transition, I was motivated and excited to see who would be joining us in leading our already amazing team!

Friends Detroit is lucky to be part of a national network, who helped us with the search process and identified several impressive candidates. During this time, we were fortunate to have Brittany Merritt, Friends of the Children’s National Chief Development Officer, serve as our interim Executive Director. Brittany contributed greatly during her time with us, and she will continue to be a mentor to us. We are so grateful for her ongoing support and that she is a Metro Detroit local!

Now onto the BIG NEWS! I am proud to announce our new Executive Director, Derschaun Brown. Derschaun impressed the search committee not only with her passion for the mission, but also her genuine willingness to do this work with everyone and anyone who wants to help. Derschaun’s passion runs deep for the youth in Detroit. As a Detroit native, Derschaun describes herself as “proof-positive” of what sound mentorship and exposure can do for a young person who has had many challenges. Derschaun’s professional accomplishments are top-tier (here’s the proof!), and we are honored to have her as a champion for our families. We know she is the right person to steward us into our next phase: serving more youth in Detroit and deepening our impact.

Welcome, Derschaun. Our Board and staff look forward to partnering with you. Let’s get to work!

With gratitude,

Dr. Harry Cohen

Chairman of the Board, Friends Detroit