Detroit People Mover Champions
Each month, the Detroit People Mover celebrates a local hero who keeps our city moving – through education, health, joy, arts, business, or activism.
September 2025 Champion:
District Manager-District 5 Mayor’s Office, Department of Neighborhoods, City of Detroit. Chief Executive Officer of The Detroit Boys Mentoring Club
Keith Butler
Keith Butler is a lifelong Detroiter, District 5 Manager in the City of Detroit Mayor’s Office–Department of Neighborhoods, and the founder & CEO of The Detroit Boys Mentoring Club.
As the bridge between City Hall and 58 neighborhoods, Detroit’s largest district, he leads engagement efforts, solves resident concerns, and connects communities to resources and citywide initiatives. After losing his younger brother in 2012, Keith launched DBMC to inspire, equip, and guide boys ages 7–17 through the pillars of Self‑Excellence, Career Readiness, and Community Leadership, delivering programs in financial and digital literacy, entrepreneurship, and life skills with partners including Code 313, Detroit People Mover, Comcast, and NAMIC. Driven by the belief that opportunity should be within reach for every child, he is focused on strengthening neighborhoods, empowering families, and shaping Detroit’s next generation of leaders.
August 2025 Champion:
Mayor of Detroit, Michigan
Mike Duggan
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is a lifelong Michigander known for reviving major civic institutions and infrastructure. After earning his J.D. from the University of Michigan, he served 14 years as Deputy Wayne County Executive, spearheading landmark projects including Comerica Park, Ford Field, the McNamara Terminal, and the modernization of Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
From 2004 to 2013 Duggan led the Detroit Medical Center out of near‑bankruptcy, growing the eight‑hospital system to 14,000 employees and instituting the nationally lauded “29‑minute ER guarantee.”
Elected mayor in 2013 as Detroit faced municipal bankruptcy, he has since won record‑setting re‑elections (2017, 2021) and is now the city’s second‑longest‑serving mayor. His turnaround successes have earned induction into the National Management Hall of Fame, placement at #20 on Fortune’s “50 Greatest World Leaders,” and columnist George Will’s accolade as “the most accomplishing politician in America.”
Mayor Duggan now brings his results‑driven leadership to the Detroit People Mover Champions program.
July 2025 Champion:
Founder and President of City Institute
Jeanette Pierce
Jeanette Pierce is a lifelong Detroiter, social entrepreneur, and the Founder and President of City Institute, an organization that strengthens cities by helping residents and newcomers understand—and care deeply about—the places where they live and work. A self‑described data nerd and engaging storyteller, Jeanette has introduced more than 150,000 people to Detroit’s small businesses, historic neighborhoods, planning policies, and innovative solutions through experiential learning tours that blend statistics, history, and first‑person narratives. Her insights have been featured on stages such as Atlantic Magazine’s CityLab and the Governor’s Economic Summit, and her impact has earned her honors including the Detroit Free Press Shining Light Future Leader Award, Crain’s Detroit Business “40 Under 40,” DBusiness “30 in Their 30s,” and the 2022 “Top 50 Women Leaders of Michigan.” Jeanette serves on the boards of the Michigan Municipal League Foundation and the Detroit Historical Society, holds a B.A. in communication from Aquinas College, and lives on Detroit’s Eastside with her husband and four‑year‑old triplets.
June 2025 Champion:
President & Artistic Director | Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts:
Vince C. Paul
Vince Paul, President and Artistic Director of Detroit’s most iconic cultural nonprofit—the Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts—is a visionary leader whose commitment to the city's cultural and transportation ecosystems makes him a natural recipient of the Detroit People Mover Champion Award. A fierce advocate for accessible, people-powered cities, Vince has long championed the idea that mass transit is essential to a thriving arts and entertainment district. Under his leadership, Music Hall has not only elevated Detroit’s performing arts scene to national prominence but has also partnered with the Detroit People Mover to bring culture into motion—literally. Vince pioneered the concept of transforming transit spaces into immersive cultural experiences, leading to the full artistic wrap of the Broadway station. This station now features a vibrant musical tribute, complete with a gallery of legendary Detroit performers who have graced the Music Hall stage, turning a routine commute into a celebration of the city's artistic legacy.