Buzz Thomas

Principal

Buzz Thomas knows how to build winning relationships and break down barriers. Having spent 14 years in the Michigan Legislature, Buzz has been recognized by his peers as a leader. In fact, he served as the Democratic floor leader in the Michigan Senate and the Democratic leader in the Michigan House of Representatives. Buzz also served as co-chairman of Barack Obama’s 2008 Michigan presidential campaign and chairman of the Michigan John Kerry for President committee, and he founded “Turnaround Detroit,” the super PAC credited with electing Mike Duggan as Detroit’s mayor.

While in Lansing, where he represented the city of Detroit, Buzz honed his expertise in the areas of health care, education reform, business development incentives, and arts and culture. His legislative focus led to the creation of rigorous academic standards for Michigan schools, as well as the creation of tax incentive laws that helped spur development in Detroit.

Buzz serves on the boards of the Detroit Institute of Arts, The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, and the ACLU of Michigan. He is chairman of the boards of Equality Michigan and MAPSA, Michigan’s Charter School Association.

He was honored with the Peacemaker Award from Wayne State University and was named The Most Dedicated Detroiter by Real Detroit Weekly. Buzz established a Diversity and Inclusion practice within Activate Detroit to empower the city’s business, government, and community organizations to become the best versions of themselves.