Ismael Ahmed
| Ismael Ahmed | |
|---|---|
| Director of Michigan Department of Human Services | |
|
In office September 10, 2007 – January 3, 2011 | |
| Governor | Jennifer Granholm , Rick Snyder |
| Succeeded by | Duane Berger |
| Personal details | |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Website | State of Michigan DHS |
Ismael Ahmed was the director of the Michigan Department of Human Services from September, 2007 to January 3, 2011. He was appointed by Governor Jennifer M. Granholm in September 2007. As director of the state’s second largest agency, Ahmed oversaw 10,000 employees and managed a $4 billion-plus budget serving 1.5 million medical assistance cases and 1.2 million cash and food assistance cases.[1]
Biography
Ismael Ahmed was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1947. He came to Detroit, Michigan with his family when he was 6 years old. After high school, he journeyed to Vietnam and Korea and came back to the United States and became active in the United Auto Workers union to put himself through the University of Michigan-Dearborn. After graduation, he began helping out his neighborhood and his community[2] and in 1973, Ahmed co-founded the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS).[3] He was appointed executive director in 1983 and was responsible for overall operations of the organization as well as the executive administration of the Arab American National Museum. The largest Arab-American human services organization in the United States, ACCESS has affiliates in 11 states and offers more than 90 programs with more than 900,000 client contacts annually.[4]
For a number of years Ahmed had his own radio show on WDET Public Radio. He was a contributing author to Arabs in America: Myths and Reality, released in 1975 by Medina University Press International, and wrote for the Woodrow Wilson Foundation's publication Arab American Political Participation in the United States.[5]
Ahmed's son, Saladin Ahmed, is an award-winning fantasy author.[6]
Michigan Department of Human Services
The Michigan Department of Human Services (DHS) is the state’s second-largest agency. The DHS oversees almost 10,000 employees and has an annual budget of more than $4 billion to administer federal programs.
The DHS staff handles more than 1.5 million medical assistance cases and 1.2 million cash and food-assistance cases all across Michigan. It oversees Michigan's child and adult protective services, foster care, adoptions, juvenile justice, domestic violence, and child-support programs. The DHS also licenses adult foster care, child day care and child welfare facilities.[7]
Ahmed graduated from the University of Michigan - Dearborn with a BA in Secondary Education and a minor in Sociology in 1977.[1]
Awards
Ahmed has been honored with the Neal Shine Award for Exemplary Regional Leadership, which is given by the Detroit Free Press and Metropolitan Affairs Coalition.[8] He has also received the Distinguished Leadership Award from the University of Michigan-Dearborn and the Diversity Business Leader award from the Arab American Chamber of Commerce.[9]
Notes
- 1 2 http://www.michigan.gov/dhs/0,1607,7-124-5459_7097-174062--,00.html
- ↑ http://metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=4362
- ↑ "Shining Light awards: From assembly line to Lansing, Ismael Ahmed is a fighter for the voiceless" by Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press, August 25, 2013.
- ↑ http://www.michigan.gov/som/0,1607,7-192--174026--,00.html
- ↑ "Distinguished Leadership Award," Office of the Chancellor, University of Michigan-Dearborn, accessed December 5, 2015.
- ↑ "Metro Detroit fantasy author Saladin Ahmed up for prestigious Hugo Award" by Kurt Anthony Krug, Detroit Free Press, August 25, 2013.
- ↑ http://www.crainsdetroit.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200770813003
- ↑ "Shining Light awards: From assembly line to Lansing, Ismael Ahmed is a fighter for the voiceless" by Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press, August 25, 2013.
- ↑ "Distinguished Leadership Award," Office of the Chancellor, University of Michigan-Dearborn, accessed December 5, 2015.