Steve Tobocman, Executive Director

Steve Tobocman has launched innovative nonprofit enterprises in community development, immigrant economic development and other arenas. Since 2010, he has served as executive director of Global Detroit, a regional economic and community development organization advancing immigrant-inclusive strategies to drive the growth, revitalization and broadly shared prosperity of Detroit and Southeast Michigan.

Steve also led the creation and growth of the Welcoming Economies Global Network, a 10-state regional network of immigrant economic development peer initiatives across the Rust Belt, and co-led the economic integration session at the Obama White House’s first immigrant integration convening. Steve has authored numerous studies and research reports and is often a featured speaker on the topic of immigrant economic development and has opinion pieces on the topic appear in the Washington Post, Time, Politico, and numerous local and national publications.

From 2003-2008, Steve served as the elected representative from Michigan’s 12th State House District in Detroit, home to one of the state’s largest immigrant communities, and ended his term as the Majority Floor Leader. During his time in the legislature, Steve focused his work on economic development, but also wrote the Michigan Immigration Clerical Assistance Act to protect immigrants from predatory immigrant service providers, fought for in-state tuition equity for undocumented students and opposed attacks on immigrants’ abilities to obtain Michigan drivers’ licenses. In addition to his work with Global Detroit, Steve has served as the co- director of the Michigan Political Leadership Program at Michigan State University, Community Development Advocates of Detroit and the Michigan Foreclosure Task Force, in addition to serving as the founding director of Michigan Community Resources. Steve has served as a consultant to a variety of clients including the Pew Charitable Trust, Build from Within Alliance, Center for Community Progress, Michigan Credit Union League and others as a partner at New Solutions Group, LLC, a Detroit-based consulting firm providing creative solutions for the common good.

Steve earned his Juris Doctor cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School and a Masters in Public Policy from UM’s Ford School of Public Policy, in addition to graduating as an Echols Scholar from the University of Virginia. He was a Skadden Fellow, in addition to an Equal Justice Works Fellow. He also is a proud Americorps alumnus. Steve has taught several semesters at the Ford School, as well as Wayne State University Law School. After nearly 25 years living in Southwest Detroit, Steve now resides in Albany, California with his wife Sharon Dolente and two children.

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