Mayor Duggan announces appointment of Terri Weems as new Group Executive of Workforce and Detroit at Work

• Terri Weems, formerly president of Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation (DESC), is appointed as Group Executive of Workforce and Detroit at Work
• Weems will partially replace Nicole Sherard-Freeman, who served as Group Executive of Jobs, Economy and Detroit at Work

Mayor Mike Duggan today announced that he has appointed Terri Weems as Group Executive of Workforce and Detroit at Work. Weems will partially fill the position previously held by Nicole Sherard-Freeman as Group Executive of Jobs, Economy & Detroit at Work, and Executive Director of the Mayor’s Workforce Development Board since 2019.

“Nicole has been a tremendous asset to the City of Detroit and its residents, and her accomplishments here will be felt for generations to come,” said Mayor Mike Duggan. “We have now divided the role so Terri can focus on workforce development independently. I am confident Terri will bring her extensive experiences and knowledge to this position with an impassioned commitment to addressing the needs of Detroiters.”

Weems’ new role will focus on creating an economic mobility strategy to reduce poverty, increase employment and prepare Detroiters for a changing economy.  

Before her recent appointment as Group Executive of Workforce and Detroit at Work, Terri Weems served as the President of Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation (DESC), the nonprofit organization which serves as the City of Detroit’s workforce agency and Michigan Works Agency. She joined DESC in 2017 as the Chief Financial Officer focused on developing metrics and leveraging data to inform the organization’s decision-making. She has led the execution of the workforce strategy for the city for the last several years and helped grow the organization.

Since 2019, the city’s workforce development team has worked to secure more than 40,000 Detroiters with employment, including nearly 10,000 as a result of priority hiring agreements with large companies like Stellantis. Detroit recovered swiftly from the pandemic with unemployment reaching a 30 year low in April of 2023 with over 228,000 Detroiters employed.

“What I’m most excited about is preparing Detroiters for what the future of the workforce economy will be five and ten years from now,” said Weems. “We have a community of strong and versatile talent, and my job is to support that innovation. Our strategy is to provide all Detroiters with an opportunity to become highly skilled and compete in an ecosystem that provides financial stability and generational wealth for residents and their families.”

Weems is a multi-disciplined Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Prior to leading workforce efforts for the city of Detroit, Terri spent 15+ years in public accounting with PricewaterhouseCoopers, supporting its largest clients both in the US and abroad. She was also responsible for designing, delivering, and administering several major transformational initiatives across the firm. 

In addition to serving on several boards, she is a member of the American Institute of CPAs, Michigan CPAs, and the National Association of Black Accountants. She is also very active in her community through numerous volunteer and fundraising efforts.

Weems earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Master of Science in Accounting degrees from Ohio University.