The DEC hosted Jeff Donofrio, President & CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan, and Rachel Stewart, President of Gardner-White, on Tuesday, January 31, at MotorCity Casino Hotel. In a fireside chat with Dustin Walsh, Jeff and Rachel discussed Michigan’s economic growth and reversing unwanted trends, and answered questions from the audience.
Jeff Donofrio leads Business Leaders for Michigan after having served as Director of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO), leading the state’s workforce, economic development, housing, and labor activities. Prior to LEO, Donofrio served as the Executive Director of Workforce Development for the City of Detroit and as an executive at Ford Motor Company.
Charged with creating LEO, Jeff brought together 17 state agencies with the collective mission of advancing economic opportunity and prosperity for all Michiganders. At LEO, he created numerous programs focused on expanding workforce training and credential attainment with the goal to increase the number of Michiganders with a post high school credential from 44% to 60% by 2030. He also created the state’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification and the Poverty Task Force. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jeff and his team provided more than $27 billion in emergency support for over 2 million people and more than 18,000 businesses.
At Ford, Jeff worked closely with company leadership in Dearborn and elected officials and staff in Washington, D.C. to advance policy on trade, autonomous and connected vehicles, safety, and fuel economy. He previously served as District Director for Congressman Sandy Levin and Congressman John D. Dingell and Transportation Policy Advisor to Governor Jennifer Granholm.
Jeff grew up working in his family’s small businesses, going on to earn his BA from Michigan State University and MBA from Georgetown University. He co-chairs Launch Michigan (Michigan’s K-12 education coalition) and serves on the boards of the Michigan Workforce Development Board, United Way for Southeastern Michigan, the Michigan Educational Excellence Foundation and the [Detroit] Mayor’s Workforce Development Board, as well as the Protect Michigan Commission. Previously Jeff chaired the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, was a member of Michigan Economic Development Corporation Board, Michigan Strategic Fund, and U.S. Conference of Mayors Workforce Development Council. In 2018, he was appointed to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s transition team as Special Advisor for Jobs and the Economy and was named to Crain’s Detroit Business 40 under 40 class.
Rachel Stewart, fourth-generation president of Gardner White Furniture, is a dynamic, down-to-earth businesswoman and respected leader, innovator, trailblazer, and catalyst for the greater good at her company, in her community, and for the world at large.
Stewart graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration in 2002 and earned a Master of Science degree in economics from The London School of Economics and Political Science in 2004. She worked in the environmental and clean energy fields for eight years at the Social Science Research Council, the Clinton Global Initiative and at the U.S. Department of Energy before returning to Michigan to join her family’s business in 2012.
Stewart possesses an approachable style, strategically focused vision, and strong drive to innovate and succeed, embracing and expanding Gardner White’s guiding principle of improving lives through furniture. Invested in the personal and professional development of Gardner White’s team members, she’s cemented an empowering, inclusive, respectful, and collaborative career-building environment. In 2022, Stewart received the Furniture Industry Leadership Award from Furniture Today, and Gardner White was voted among the Best Places to Work nationally in 2022 and 2021 by the publication.
Being an active and involved community partner is a top priority for Stewart. Gardner White became the presenting sponsor of America’s Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit in 2020, a commitment that has been extended through 2031. Stewart is passionate about partnering with a myriad of local and national nonprofits to help improve the lives of Michigan families, including the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, and Toys for Tots, as well as homeless and women’s shelters, police, firefighters, veterans, refugees, and teachers.
Stewart is currently the first woman to serve as chairman of the board of New Detroit Inc., a nonprofit leadership coalition working to achieve racial understanding and equity in Metro Detroit. She also serves on the board of Business Leaders for Michigan with other influential Michigan CEOs.
Stewart is married and the mother of two daughters, ages two and four.
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