18 | JULY 1 • 2021 

T

he Michigan League for Public 
Policy in Lansing announced that 
its president and CEO, Gilda Z. 
Jacobs, will retire at the end of the year 
after 11 years with the organization and 
four decades of public service. The League, 
founded in 1912, is a nonpartisan policy 
institute dedicated to economic opportu-
nity for all.
Jacobs’ lifelong love for public service is 
deeply rooted in her Jewish values. “Tikkun 
olam has really driven so much of what 
I’ve done my whole life, even when I was 
active in United Synagogue Youth,
” she said. 
“I just believe that the world needed to be 
righted oftentimes.
“I’ve always looked for meaningful ways 
to contribute to my community,
” Jacobs 
said, “and as I reflect on my career as a 
special education teacher, an advocate for 
people with developmental disabilities, a 
county commissioner, legislator and as a 
leader at the League, I’m so proud that I can 
say I’ve always done work that aligns with 
my values and beliefs.
“
And now, I’m excited for a new chapter, 
where I can spend more of my time making 
that same contribution as a volunteer, an 
advocate and a grandparent,
” said Jacobs, a 
longtime Huntington Woods resident and 
member of Temple Emanu-El in Oak Park. 
Prior to starting at the League in 2011, 
Jacobs was a state senator for eight years 
after serving two terms in the Michigan 
House of Representatives, where she made 
history as the first woman floor leader in 
either chamber of the legislature. Jacobs 
also held several positions in local govern-
ment before heading to the Capitol.
She was the first woman elected to the 
Huntington Woods City Commission, 
serving 1981-1994, including one year 
as mayor pro tem. She also served as an 
Oakland County commissioner 1995-
1998. Throughout her career, Jacobs has 
mentored and encouraged other women 

to run for and hold office.
“For me to be able to have an oppor-
tunity to impact public policy and have 
a greater change on behalf of people that 
often didn’t have a voice in the system or 
in politics is really one of the things that 
really drove me to do this kind of work,” 
said Jacobs.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer spoke about 
her former colleague and friend’s retire-
ment from the League. “I had the honor 
of serving with and learning from Gilda in 
the legislature, and the pleasure of working 
with her and the League on positive policy 

improvements over the last three years.
“In her 40-plus years of direct public 
service and public policy advocacy, Gilda 
has left an indelible impact on the League’s 
century-plus history and our state’s policy 
landscape as a whole,
” Whitmer said.

HEATH CARE ADVOCATE
In her time at the League, Jacobs has been 
instrumental in growing the organization 
and enhancing its stature and impact. In 
her 11 years at the helm, the League helped 
achieve everlasting policy improvements 
for the people of Michigan. Her vast agenda 
included establishing and protecting the 
Healthy Michigan Plan, the state’s Medicaid 
expansion effort under the Affordable Care 
Act, and developing a number of positive 
election reforms to improve voting access. 
At the organizational level, Jacobs’ lead-
ership has been key in helping the League 

take on a stronger advocacy role — fighting 
more directly for policy changes that help 
families and workers with low incomes and 
improve racial equity. She also prioritized 
the organization’s engagement with people, 
neighborhoods and communities around 
the state, creating a community engagement 
position that is now a three-person depart-
ment to help make sure community voices 
are heard and amplified in the League’s 
work.
Under Jacobs’ leadership, the League also 
expanded its health policy work beyond 
traditional health services and programs 
by creating a position focused on the social 
determinants of health and added addition-
al staff to the League’s Kids Count project to 
expand efforts to analyze and improve child 
well-being.
Jacobs has won numerous awards for her 
work and was inducted into the Michigan 
Women’s Hall of Fame in 2019. She was 
named as one of the 100 Most Influential 
Women in Michigan by Crain’s Detroit 
Business in 2016 and received the Michigan 
Food Bank Council’s Hunger-Free Award 

in 2015. In 2012, she participated in 
the Harvard Business School’s Strategic 
Perspectives in the Nonprofit Leadership 
Program.
She received both her bachelor’s and 
master’s degrees from the University of 
Michigan and started her professional life 
as a special education teacher in Madison 
District Public Schools. 
Jacobs said she planned her retirement 
for 2021 and that the pandemic had no 
bearing on her decision to retire. “I’m at 
the point now where I really feel that the 
League is where I want it to be.
“I just feel really proud of our accomplish-
ments and what we’re doing,
” she said, “and 
I really believe that change is good — it’s 
good for individuals, it’s good for organi-
zations. To have somebody come and take 
the helm and take the League to yet another 
plateau is a very exciting prospect for me.
” 

Thank You, Gilda!

“GILDA HAS LEFT AN INDELIBLE 
IMPACT ON … OUR STATE’S 

POLICY LANDSCAPE.”

— GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER.

Jacobs reflects on four decades of public service.

BRIAN GOLDSMITH JN INTERN

OUR COMMUNITY

Gilda Jacobs

