Buzz Thomas - Board Vice Chair

A public affairs professional with more than 25 years of experience, Buzz Thomas spent 14 years in the Michigan legislature, including serving as Democratic Floor Leader in the Senate and as Democratic Leader in the House. His great-great-grand Uncle William Web Ferguson was Michigan’s first African American elected to the Michigan Legislature in 1892. Thomas was Co Chairman of the 2008 Michigan Presidential campaign of Barack Obama, and in 2013 he founded and Co-Chaired Turnaround Detroit, the Super PAC credited with electing Mike Duggan Detroit’s Mayor. His career began as a senior counselor to two Members of Congress representing Michigan.

His varied background led to more than two-dozen leadership awards, ranging from being named the legislator of the year by the Michigan Association of Regions to earning the Peacemaker Award from Wayne State University. The Michigan Front Page dubbed him a true “political buzz-saw,” while the Detroit Free Press named him one of Michigan’s “5 Key Technology Leaders” and Real Detroit Weekly twice awarded him the honor of “Most Dedicated Detroiter and Best Local Politician.”

Beyond his professional life, Thomas serves on the boards of the Detroit Institute of Art, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Democrats For Education Reform, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, and is the Board Chairman of 2 separate organizations – Equality Michigan (EQMI) and the Michigan Associationof Public School Academies (MAPSA). He previously served on the boards of the Karmanos Cancer Center, Habitat for Humanity Detroit, The Belle Isle Conservancy, Southwest Solutions and New Urban Learning Schools. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, he is a lifetime member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, where he’s both a Minton and Brawley Fellow.

He married his husband Daniel Vanderley on New Year’s Day 2016 shortly after the historic Supreme Court ruling granting marriage equality. The couple live in the Detroit Golf Club Neighborhood of Detroit. Thomas uses his down time cooking, traveling and entertaining his family and friends.