14 | APRIL 22 • 2021 

OUR COMMUNITY
ON THE COVER

Raines said. “That gave me the 
courage to apply. The fact that 
it’s a support role as COO, not 
CEO, is a good place for me to 
be as a white ally.”
New Detroit, which was 
formed in response to civil 
unrest in 1967 that uncovered 
a host of entrenched social 
and community ills, works 
to fight racism by improving 
interpersonal relations, collab-
oration and policy. 
New Detroit is shifting how 
it works toward racial equity, 
focusing on addressing struc-
tural racism in more tangible, 
measurable ways with a coali-
tion of leaders from civil rights 
and advocacy organizations, 
human services, community 
health organizations, business, 
education, media and more. 
“I think my experience 
working with nonprofit orga-
nizations and also understand-
ing how systems work is what 
I bring to bear,” Raines said. 
“We have to rebuild the inter-
nal infrastructure of the orga-
nization, the technology, the 
processes. The whole world is 
changing around us, and we 
need to keep up with it.” 
Working alongside CEO 
Michael Rafferty, Raines 
will help to redefine New 
Detroit’s future strategies and 
approaches to eliminating 
racism. Raines also plans to 
partner with other nonprofit 
organizations, aided by all 
the relationships made in her 
years of working in philan-
thropy.
In her first year with New 
Detroit, Raines said her main 
goal is to listen and learn. She 
said she hopes to serve as an 
inspiration to people looking 
for a way to plug in and help. 
“I thought it was the perfect 
place for someone like me 
who cares and wants to do 

something,” Raines said. “
A lot 
of people really care about this 
issue but can’t find their place. 
To me, this was the perfect 
place.”
Raines’ values have played 
an integral part in her own 
personal evolution, just as 
New Detroit is undergoing an 
evolution itself.
“I do hope people can be 
inspired by what I’ve done 
and the choices I’ve made in 
my life,” Raines continued. “I 
want people to think about the 
importance of always growing 
and changing. No matter how 
successful you are, you can-
not just continue to do what 
you’ve been doing. But as you 

grow and change, you also 
can’t forget your history. It’s 
really important to be respect-
ful and cognizant of your his-
tory and build on that.”

WALKING THE WALK
Andrea Cole, CEO of the 
Flinn Foundation, started with 
Raines at Skillman and has 
been a close friend since 1988. 
Cole said Raines is the perfect 
person for the role due to her 
personal makeup, which ren-
ders her a natural ally. 
“Having known Jodee for 
30-plus years and as a Black 
person, Jodee and I are true 
friends,” Cole said. “I feel like 

our relationship transcends 
race. She’s sincere and she’s 
intentional about 
learning and real-
ly making a differ-
ence.” 
Cole believes 
people can be 
positioned to 
make a difference 
but not necessarily “get it” or 
understand the challenge at 
the level they need to, but she 
feels Raines does.
“She listens to learn, not to 
respond,” Cole said. “She has 
the skillset and the tempera-
ment to be open and receptive 
to do the job the way it needs 
to be done.” 

Bob Naftaly, president of the 
Jewish Fund when Raines was 
there, believes Raines will help 
New Detroit move forward 
and is the right 
person at the right 
time. 
“Her experience 
in running a grant 
operation, focus-
ing a group on 
its goals and getting different 
organizations to work together 
in order to further those goals 
are her strengths,” Naftaly said.
Naftaly also understands 
how monumental it is that a 
Jewish person is the first COO 
of New Detroit, with all the 

Jewish history New Detroit 
has, including Max Fisher 
being its first chairman.
Naftaly also said that Raines’ 
living in Detroit shows how 
she’s willing to walk the walk. 
“I think she chose to live 
in the city of Detroit as a 
statement of solidarity with 
the community,” Naftaly said. 
“A lot of people talk about 
helping Detroit and trying to 
be a part of Detroit. Well, she 
made a statement and moved 
her family into the city. It’s 
always been a part of her 
belief system to help others 
and to make the world a bet-
ter place.” 
Naftaly believes Raines’ new 
role is a “great culmination of 
her career.” 
Naftaly adds, “We need 
more people in the world who 
want to help tikkun olam, and 
that’s been Jodee’s vision and 
mission as she helped us at the 
Jewish Fund and continued 
that at the Erb Foundation. I 
think she’s going to help rein-
vigorate New Detroit.”

IDEAS AND STRATEGY
Anika Goss, the CEO of 
Detroit Future City (DFC), 
worked closely with Raines 
when she was at the Erb 
Foundation. 
Raines was Goss’ main 
point of contact on the work 
around DFC’s Land + Water 
WORKS Coalition, formed 
in 2017 to provide Detroit 
residents with the resourc-
es needed to become better 
stewards of the environment, 
as well as operate as a liaison 
that engages residents around 
green stormwater infrastruc-
ture opportunities.
“It was really her idea. She 
was the one who convened 
everyone, provided the fund-
ing but also encouraged us 

continued from page 13

Bob Naftaly

Andrea 
Cole

 “I WANT PEOPLE TO THINK ABOUT 
THE IMPORTANCE OF ALWAYS 
GROWING AND CHANGING. NO 
MATTER HOW SUCCESSFUL YOU 
ARE, YOU CANNOT JUST CONTINUE 

TO DO WHAT YOU’VE BEEN DOING.”

— JODEE RAINES

continued on page 16

