BY CATHERINE HANSFORD
Raised surrounded by politics, All-American football player, the first African American to lead any party in the Michigan legislature, and now Detroit’s 60th and youngest mayor.
Some say Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, member of the MSU-DCL Class of 1999,
was born to lead. Others describe him as tireless, with a seemingly inexhaustible amount of energy.
At Detroit’s helm for mere months, Kilpatrick is moving forward on his many innovative
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Cylenthia LaToye Miller
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programs as he focuses on organizing the city in preparation for its future as a global competitor. Like history’s best leaders, he’s assembled a team of capable professionals who believe the city can and will achieve its full potential under his tutelage.
Among those with prominent roles in Detroit’s new administration is a corps of MSU-DCL alumni, many of whom attended law school with the mayor.
Cylenthia LaToye Miller, ’96, newly appointed director of Employment and Training, had a head start. Born into a family of public servants, she’s the granddaughter of a former slave who bought his freedom and went on to become an Arkansas state representative in the early 1900s. Miller’s father, also an attorney, was a community activist and served on the city council, her uncle is currently mayor of the town where he resides, and Miller’s mother, the first female African-American attorney licensed in Arkansas, spent her career representing death row inmates.
Miller was formerly assistant general council for the mayor’s office. Her new responsibilities include overseeing 95 department employees and some 1,330 contractors. Miller works with the Detroit Work Force Development Board, which helps provide Employment and Training program participants the job opportunities they need to become economically self-sufficient and assists employers in finding competent employees.
The department Miller manages helps people in every stage of career development. With funding cuts being made in human service areas, she focuses on retaining existing program dollars and is challenged to find alternative and new funding sources. Working to maximize available money, she communicates with prospective contractors, develops contracts with service providers, and ensures compliance with statutes, regulations, rules and policies.
Miller sees real exuberance within Detroit’s current administration. She says, “People are asking, ‘what do I do to make [things] happen?’” Her impression of the city’s future is: “It’s bright, very bright…we need sunglasses…the energy and the vision are driving us toward making Detroit a true come-back city.”
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Medina Noor
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Alumna Medina Noor, ’98, a former 36th District Court staff attorney, is Detroit’s new Policies and Appointments director. Her role is to deal with boards and policy issues. Noor is working to streamline the administrative code enforcement, including special use ordinances. Her previous work as a city attorney for Royal Oak Township, where she handled civil infractions, misdemeanors and all violations of city ordinances, prepared her well to contribute to Detroit’s revitalization.
Noor has a personal investment in the city. Born and raised in Detroit, she can compare the city’s past to the future Kilpatrick envisions. Noor sees a coming together of communities that’s exciting, which she attributes to the mayor. “His ideas and the way he articulates them are truly inspiring,” she says.
Noor first met Kilpatrick at MSU-DCL, a school whose size makes it easy for students to know each other and where the process is so rigorous, she says, you’re forced to rely on everybody else. “The necessity of being close knit results in developing new relationships,” she explains. “I interacted with fellow law students more than I did with my husband and family.”
That interaction included what Noor feels is an extremely important part of the law school experience—involvement in activities such as Moot Court, where she won Best Respondent Brief in the 48th Annual National Moot Court Competition. She feels that participation in the program honed her writing and verbal skills—skills she now applies in her service to her community. A firm believer in social programs, Noor asserts, “When you assist people in need, you assist yourself.”
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Lawrence R. Mathews
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Lawrence R. Mathews, ’96, is a litigator in the city’s Law Department. He defends the city in lawsuits involving such issues as sidewalk or highway defects, bus and auto negligence, and police brutality. Mathews formerly worked in the Legal Aid Defenders office, which has locations across Wayne County.
Mathews wanted to be an attorney from the time he was seven years old. He thought attorneys were noble and distinguished, stood for what was right, and were there to protect and help people. Entering MSU-DCL with that mindset, he found that the biggest impact of law school was an understanding of the importance of constitutional knowledge and an appreciation of democracy and what it actually means. To him, “if we didn’t understand how rights are protected, we wouldn’t have a democracy.”
Coming from humble beginnings, Mathews was the first in his family to receive an undergraduate degree, let alone graduate from law school. Diverging from the path of his early peers, many of whom he says are now dead, Mathews refused to quit and was determined to overcome obstacles.
As chance would have it, Mathews was president of the MSU-DCL Wolverine Student Bar Association when Kilpatrick started law school. Mathews grew to know Kilpatrick and his family well, and began working on the mayoral campaign before Kilpatrick
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Tina McCree Orr
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declared his intention to run. The relationship has proved to be instrumental for Mathews who affirms, “I’m not going to be a career lawyer, but I’ll be a career public servant.”
Tina McCree Orr, ’98, a Law Department colleague, is legislative liaison to the Detroit City Council. Her duties involve legal work or law-related issues that have to go before the City Council, including suits settled in the city’s Law Department. Orr began a 13-year career as a Detroit police officer at age 19 and spent nine years on the street before becoming detective, then sergeant. She spent three years working for MSU-DCL graduate Benny Napoleon, ’86, who was executive deputy chief of police. Orr credits being an alumna of the law college herself as the reason for Napoleon’s recruitment of her.
“…we used to talk about what we would do if we ran the city…if we were the movers and shakers.”
Orr learned the importance of mentoring fellow underclassmen from Cylenthia LaToye Miller, an upperclassman at the time. One year ahead of Kilpatrick in law school, Orr regularly participated with him in hallway discussions that may have helped shape his agenda as mayor. Orr explains, “He was a teacher at the time and I was a police officer…we used to talk about what we would do if we ran the city…if we were the movers and shakers.”
Law school provided Orr with the framework, ability and resources to find information, and she will be eternally grateful that MSU-DCL had a night program. In her opinion, the law college helps people learn how to balance their lives and develops well rounded attorneys. Orr says the people she believes were and are great attorneys, almost to the person, attended MSU-DCL.
Orr attributes her achievements to the women who came before her—a great-grandmother who offered her unconditional acceptance, a grandmother who finished graduate school just before Orr received her undergraduate degree, and a mother who instilled confidence and the will to persevere before dying when Orr was young. Orr’s career goals are to find personal fulfillment in her work and to leave a legacy of which her daughters can be proud.
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John Dingle
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John Dingle, ’96, is employed in the Environmental Section of the city’s Law Department. He works closely with the Department of Environmental Affairs to determine soil conditions of sites within the city and help developers find the money for cleanup if necessary. Dingle also handles Superfund litigation where the city is suing or being sued for cleanup costs.
Dingle has an unusual professional background. Although he holds an undergraduate degree in urban planning with a minor in public affairs, he also received another degree in culinary arts, which he put to good use as an executive chef, a position he held when he started law school. The rigors of the law college convinced him to leave his work to focus on his studies after only two weeks.
Public service was something Dingle never really considered until he heard a speech by former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer, ’70, another MSU-DCL grad. Dingle first became involved with the city by working on a couple of committees under Archer. The former mayor ultimately sat down with Dingle and talked to him and his family. At the time Dingle made the decision to accept a position with Archer’s administration, he thought, “I’ve been blessed with a lot of things, and I probably do need to give something back.”
Public service was something Dingle never really considered until he heard a speech by former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer, ’70.
Dingle sees Kilpatrick re-evaluating how things are done. He believes the administration has an honest desire to do everything it can to make the city better and, as is the rule in sports, “Leave everything on the field.” Born, raised and educated in Detroit, Dingle says that from an urban planning standpoint, the city has missed middle class resources. He sees movement now to build up middle class housing and concludes, “If that happens, the city will be a good place to live and raise a family.”
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Krystal A. Crittendon
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Since July 1994, Krystal A. Crittendon, ’94, has practiced in Detroit’s Law Department, defending the city, its employees and its departments in civil litigation. Prior to that, both before and during law school, she worked in the Department of Social Services Wayne County office, the second largest Social Services office in the state. As a caseworker, Crittendon handled up to 300 cases at a time, administering programs like Food Stamps, Medicaid, and Aid to Families with Dependent Children.
Speaking of her law school experience, Crittendon says her involvement with Moot Court—as a member of a national team and as coach of two other teams—was a meaningful experience and helps her now as a civil litigator. Crittendon credits her Moot Court experience with giving her a level of comfort and the ability to think on her feet. She also feels that, because the college is a small school, it provided large opportunity for public discourse in which all students participated. That helped her understand the law from others’ perspectives.
Crittendon finds herself making arguments in court based on theories she learned during law school. She adds, “I may not have understood it at the time, but I realize now that it was successfully imparted to me.”
Born and raised in Detroit, Crittendon attended Cass Tech High School. Commenting on her childhood in Detroit, she says, “We had some dark years, but the future is bright. There’s a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of development, and a lot of talk of development.” Crittendon believes Kilpatrick is dedicated to the City of Detroit and intent on making a difference.
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Susan M. Bisio
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Susan M. Bisio, ’97, is a Law Department assistant Corporation Council staff attorney handling tort defense. Before accepting her current position, she spent two years practicing labor and employment law in a private Detroit-area law firm and another two years in commercial litigation.
Prior to that, Bisio spent seven years with pharmaceutical giant Parke Davis, now King Pharmaceuticals, as a human relations supervisor and manager. The company recognized the value of her contributions, and rather than hire outside counsel, decided to pay for her law school and train her.
Bisio believes the result of the school’s hands-on focus is students who are better trained and graduates who have a better sense of what the law is all about.
Although Bisio worked full time and attended law classes four nights a week, she received a Charles H. King Fellowship and graduated first in her class. She also spent two years in law school writing for the Law Review. She says, “Because the school has professors who actually practice, they give you a more pragmatic approach, instead of all theory.” Bisio believes the result of the school’s hands-on focus is students who are better trained and graduates who have a better sense of what the law is all about. She recommends that law students gain experience by clerking at a law firm or arranging an internship.
Bisio feels her opportunity with the City of Detroit has been her best professional experience yet. Compared to private practice, where there were never enough opportunities to litigate and where responsibilities were limited, she’s now in court nearly every week and handling whole cases, not just one or two steps of the process. What Bisio would like to do now is perfect her craft and become a very good lawyer.
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Eric Sabree
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Alumnus Eric Sabree, ’96, works as an executive manager in construction for the Planning and Development Department. Prior to law school, he spent eight years as a building department inspector—doing zoning reviews, code enforcement and building inspections—and was supervisor of three offices.
Sabree has a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University in building construction management and is a licensed plumber. His professional experience involves a stint rehabilitating homes for Neighborhood Housing Services in Philadelphia, doing specifications and estimates for home rehabilitation projects in Chicago and Lansing, and working for the Detroit Neighborhood Housing office.
When Sabree was one-and-a-half years old, his family moved to Detroit. His professional experience and Detroit background give him a unique perspective. According to Sabree, “The city is underdeveloped so that it has great opportunity for retail, housing, and international business activity.” He also foresees outside interest from diverse industries and high-tech businesses, and believes the city will continue to develop, even in a slower economy.
Sabree was already working in his department when Kilpatrick took office and began reorganizing the city. He says, “Kilpatrick felt I was able to get some things done that weren’t getting done in the past…he decided to retain me.” In terms of changes since then, Sabree says he’s seen an aggressive approach to solving problems. He views Kilpatrick as an action-oriented person and considers that to be a good thing. He describes Kilpatrick in a few words: “Dynamic…very smart…on a fast track.”
Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s parents taught him at an early age that “if you dream it, you can achieve it.” It’s apparent he’s carried that message to his city administration and that his team has embraced it. That bodes well for him, for his public servants whose foundations were built at MSU-DCL, and for the future of Detroit.
Transforming the city into a global competitor and achieving world-class status will take a collective focus, long-term commitment and hard work. The consensus is that Kilpatrick is intent on making a difference. Take a look—and watch Detroit’s future unfold.
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