Detroit Names New Director of Youth Services

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DETROIT — Shawn Blanchard has been appointed to be the director of youth services for the city of Detroit.

Blanchard has the primary responsibility of maximizing the benefits of city services to young people in the city and to assist city leaders, including Mayor Mike Duggan, in assuring a quality of life that supports the healthy growth, development, and self-empowerment of our young citizens.

The ultimate goal is to improve the likelihood of the youth growing up to be healthy and productive residents who contribute to the well-being of their community. Blanchard’s first two objectives will be to create 5,000 jobs for Detroit high school students in the summer of 2015, and to increase recreation in elementary schools.

Blanchard received national recognition for being a positive influence on high school students in New York, where he was a math instructor. He was awarded the Holcombe L. Rucker Founding Member and Legacy Award, nominated for People magazine’s Hero campaign and GQ magazine’s Better Man Better World Search. He also co-founded Men of Majesty, a program focused on exposing misguided young men to the tangible life of being a professional.

He graduated from the University of Michigan with bachelor’s in economical mathematics.