Michael Brennan
President & CEO
United Way, Southeastern Michigan
Michael Brennan is dedicated to improving lives and communities. The Southeast Michigan native began his United Way career in Detroit in 1985. His journey took him to Heart of West Michigan United Way in Grand Rapids and United Way of America until October 2003, when he was appointed to his current post.
The Michigan State University graduate completed executive programs at the Harvard Business School and the Center for Creative Leadership and a three-month design program at Stanford University’s Institute of Design. Brennan also served as an advisor for that institute’s Leadership Workshop and for the Illinois Institute of Technology’s design school in Chicago.
Social Impact Design:
A Personal Discovery of Human-centered Design’s Role in Social Change
Michael Brennan will share his journey as a CEO to embrace human-centered design as a way to tackle the messy social issues facing society and in his hometown of Detroit. Brennan believes most of the caring systems that address social issues are conducted through an industrial model and often have institutional interest at the center.
Brennan has learned design is foundational to creating enduring solutions and the biggest design project at hand is how we design our lives as leaders.
