Jeff Jenks

Jeff Jenks, APA connection – Original Peace Corps Volunteer (1962 – 1964) elementary school English, Math and Science teacher in a rural school in Dolo, Bansalan, Davao del Sur – Mindanao, Philippines and am still connected to that school with books, scholarships, and food for their hunger program etc.; completed training in understanding Philippine and American cultural values at the Ateneo de Manila in 1963; worked in the Philippine community in SE Michigan since 1964; married to a Filipina since 1970; helped raise funds to overturn Philippine nurses Narciso and Perez’s wrongful conviction 1975-1977; helped form the first Filipino American Kiwanis Club in the U.S. in 1976, the past president twice, and am still a member; worked on Vincent Chin case from the beginning, the killing of a Chinese American 1983+ and was the first non-Asian President of Asian Americans Citizens for Justice (ACJ); my wife and I helped create the first Governor’s Asian Pacific American Advisory Council under Gov. Jim Blanchard around 1985; helped get first Asian Americans appointed to the Michigan Board of Medicine, and Nursing Board; worked successfully in the 1980s and 1990s in overturning unfair labor contracts for Philippine nurses. In 2005 I helped secure Madison Heights approval for the Chinese Community Center. The city of Madison Heights was refusing to grant occupancy believing it would again become a Chinese restaurant. I am also a lifelong active member of the Jewish community and at the same time as I was involved in the Filipino community I had and have current leadership roles in the Jewish community, and work in the Black community, the Detroit community, and in the Muslim community.

Civil Rights connection – I have worked in the civil rights movement since the 1950s. As a result of the Detroit “riots” in 1967, I was invited to join New Detroit’s People Acting For Change Together (PACT) group and received professional training in effectively changing civil rights for minorities. This was my volunteer night time and weekend job. I have helped minority community groups get grants since 1967, when I was Assistant Director in the grants office at Wayne State University. I worked at the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (1970 – 1994) as Research Director for 17 years. I produced a report in the mid 1980s, after the start of the Vincent Chin case, for the Council of Michigan Foundations that identified APA history and problems in Michigan, that was shared with major foundations in Michigan. For six years I was the MDCR District Executive in Muskegon and then Flint – personally intervening to effectively resolve civil rights problems. At the same time, as a volunteer, I was on the Board of the Interfaith Centers for Racial Justice, as the Jewish representative, and President in the late 70s and early 80s. From 1995 to 1999 I was Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Metro Compliance Supervisor for SE Michigan. I supervised staff auditing and enforcing EEO employment including EEO trainees, on all Federal Road contracts in SE Michigan (1994-1999) I have been an active member for the past 10 years of the Michigan Black Caucus of Locally Elected Officials (MBC-LEO) and am a current board member.

Current leadership roles. I have been an elected City Commissioner in Huntington Woods since 1999, and am currently Mayor Pro Tem; was a Taubman Fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and completed the Senior Executives in State and Local Government Executive Education program (2007); am an active member of the Michigan Municipal League, which represents all cities and villages in Michigan and a past president (2009-2010) and honorary Life Member (2014); am an active Executive Committee member of the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments since 1999 and past Chair (2015-2016). I can help with government problems. I am current President – SE Michigan Returned Peace Corps Volunteers.