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From Brain Drain to Brain Gain: How Michigan and Metro Detroit is Making Progress (ft. Hilary Doe)

Author
Hilary Doe, Jer Staes
Published
Thu 12 Jun 2025
Episode Link
http://sites.libsyn.com/96606/from-brain-drain-to-brain-gain-how-michigan-and-metro-detroit-is-making-progress-ft-hilary-doe

Today on your Daily Detroit, a conversation about what happens when a state starts pushing back on one of its greatest challenges?

After decades of decline, Michigan is seeing some positive population growth — particularly among young adults.

My guest is Hillary Doe, Chief Growth Officer for the state of Michigan. Now, "Chief Growth Officer" might sound like pure bureaucratic jargon, but in this case, it represents a real shift. 

It's a story of targeted investments, a focus on community building, and an understanding that attracting people is about creating a place where people want to be.

It’s also a check in from a year ago, when we last talked to Hilary about the progress and the work to do.

How do you reverse a brain drain? What does it take to make a state a place people choose? And can a state really change its narrative? There's still a lot of work to do, but it looks like Michigan and Detroit is starting to make some progress.

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