DETROIT — Kate Baker has joined the Detroit Historical Society in the role of Managing Director. Reporting to Executive Director and CEO Bob Bury, Baker oversees the operations, development, and marketing/public relations/sales functions for the Society.
Baker’s background includes 10 years of fund development, external relations, and community development work in metro Detroit. Prior to joining the Society, Kate was a senior project administrator for economic development at Wayne State University, the director of development for the Wayne State University Press and a member of the development and capital campaign teams at The Henry Ford in Dearborn.
In addition to her professional work, Baker served on the Ferndale City Council, as Ferndale’s Mayor Pro Tem and interim Mayor from 2008 to 2012. She is active on many local nonprofit and political boards including serving as a founding board member of FernCare Free Clinic, the vice chair of the Ferndale Planning Commission and Ferndale Education Foundation, and as a member of the Wayne State University Press and Oakland Housing boards.
Baker holds a B.A. in government and urban studies from Smith College and is pursuing a Master of urban planning from Wayne State. Crain’s Detroit Business Recognized Baker as one of their “20 in Their 20’s” in 2007, and she is a member of the 2012-13 inaugural class of the Urban Land Institute’s Larson Center for Leadership.
