36 | MARCH 2 • 2023 

A

ndrew Stein, 41, grew up in 
Franklin, Michigan, and attended 
Detroit Country Day School in 
suburban Detroit, so he wasn’t particularly 
familiar with city life as a young person. 
But, after graduating from Michigan State 
University and working for City Year in 
Washington, D.C., for almost two years, his 
focus changed. 
City Year is a national program that brings 
young AmeriCorps members into schools to 
help urban students improve academically 
and graduate from high school. (AmeriCorps 
is a federal program that engages young 
people in public service through nonprofit 
organizations.)
After working with disadvantaged urban 
youth through City Year, Stein’s interests 
evolved. He remained in Washington, D.C., 
graduating from Georgetown Law School 
and spent several years at a corporate law 
firm, doing volunteer work in his spare time. 
Then, in 2015, an opportunity arose to lead 

City Year in Detroit, and Stein returned to 
Michigan for this position as executive direc-
tor. He, his wife and two children moved to 
Detroit’s Sherwood Forest neighborhood.

SUCCESS AT CITY YEAR
During his seven-year tenure heading 
City Year, Stein initiated a strategic shift to 
enhance its impact on students’ academic 
performance and social-emotional well-be-
ing. 
 The organization developed its first 
contract with the Detroit Public Schools 
Community District that provided fund-
ing and access to student-level data. Stein 
says that this led to an increase in City Year 
corps members from 50 to 115 and a corre-
sponding increase in the number of students 
served — from 3,000 to 7,000. 
“Our team also put the organization on 
solid financial ground by exceeding oper-
ating expenses each year and significantly 
increasing net assets,
” he adds. Stein also was 

responsible for a major increase in philan-
thropic support and served as senior vice 
president for national advancement for City 
Year.
During the pandemic, when schools were 
closed and relied on distance learning, City 
Year corps members conducted regular indi-
vidual and family outreach to encourage stu-
dent participation and ensure that students 
had the tools needed to log on every day. 
This led to significantly higher attendance at 
schools that partnered with City Year. 
“I had achieved what I set out to do at City 
Year,
” Stein said of his seven years there, “and 
I felt that the organization would benefit 
from new leadership.
”

A NEW CHALLENGE
Last year, The Children’s Foundation was 
seeking a successor to Lawrence J. Burns, 
its president and CEO, as part of a planned 
transition. Stein was tapped for the role. 
 The Children’s Foundation, established 
in 2003, is the successor to the former 
Children’s Hospital of Michigan (CHM) 
Foundation, operating as a philanthropic 
partner for the hospital, which is part of the 
Detroit Medical Center, which was acquired 
by for-profit Vanguard Corporation in 2011. 
 The Children’s Foundation funds pediatric 
medical research, community health pro-
grams for children, and supportive services 
for patients and their families. 
The Foundation has an endowment of 
approximately $120 million and awards 
grants of $7 million annually to a large group 
of nonprofit partners. In 2022, 170 grants 
were awarded to nonprofit organizations that 
advance children’s health. Recent grants have 
included funds for art and music therapists 
at Children’s Hospital of Michigan, cancer 
research projects, a school-based health clin-
ic for immigrant children, and Kids Kicking 
Cancer, a pain and stress relief program 

NEXT DOR

Andrew Stein takes on new role to help Michigan’s young people.

Meet the President of 
The Children’s Foundation

SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

VOICE OF A NEW GENERATION

“WHAT IS THE IMPACT 
WE WANT TO HAVE 
ON CHILDREN IN THIS 
COMMUNITY? HOW 
CAN WE PARTNER 
WITH ORGANIZATIONS 
FOR PHYSICAL AND 
MENTAL HEALTH?”

— THE CHILDREN’S FOUNDATION 
PRESIDENT ANDREW STEIN

Andrew 
Stein

