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