ADAM’S STORY
A JOURNEY IN PUBLIC SERVICE
Deep Roots
Adam was born and raised in Detroit. where generations of his family have lived since the 1940's. His family’s story is what inspires Adam to always step up and run towards any challenge – no matter how big or small.
Adam’s father Carl was a union firefighter - when others ran away, it was his job to run into the fire. Adam’s mother Jacqueline was a social worker – when others gave up, she never walked away from someone in need. Adam’s grandmother was born and raised on the Muscogee Creek reservation and moved her young family to Detroit for opportunities she couldn’t find in Oklahoma. Her grandmother was forcibly moved from Georgia to Oklahoma in the Trail of Tears.
Adam is a lifelong Detroiter and a proud union member of the American Federation of Teachers Local 6075. A graduate of Detroit Public Schools, he and his wife Krystle are now raising their two children Lily and A.J. right here in the community he grew up in.
A Call to Service
Throughout his life, Adam has always answered the call to service whenever it came. His volunteer work took him all across the country, including serving as a disaster relief coordinator after Hurricane Katrina in Biloxi, MS, and the Gulf Coast. In college, he even continued the family tradition and served as a volunteer firefighter.
That same call to service led Adam to enlist in the U.S. Army. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant at Officer Candidate School in Fort Benning, Georgia, and currently serves as team chief and paratrooper in the 412th Civil Affairs Battalion, Army Reserve. While he could have gone after the desk job, Adam instead signed up to jump out of airplanes – so he would always get to where the danger was first.
Delivering for the Community
No matter where he went, Adam always knew that Detroit was his home and where he would dedicate his time and energy to making a positive change. He returned to pursue a graduate degree in Urban Planning from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor. He worked in the Michigan Legislature and for Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, helping to bring positive change and much-needed resources to families across the Detroit area.
In 2018, he stepped up once again, and ran for the Michigan State Senate. There, he helped to deliver over $40 Million to the district, including much-needed investments for job training, career mentorship, and business development. He also tackled critical issues like lead pipe replacement, fair election maps, criminal justice reform, and LGBTQ+ rights.
And, when on his first week in office one of the largest employers in his district wanted to shutter an auto plant, Adam rolled up his sleeves, stood with UAW leaders, and helped to turn that plant once slated for closure into Factory Zero. This state-of-the-art electric vehicle manufacturing plant is creating the cars of tomorrow while providing new jobs for today.
In 2023, Governor Whitmer asked Adam to join her cabinet, appointing him Director of the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency. Together, they’ve more than doubled the state’s veteran database and expanded jobs programs - ensuring more veterans have access to services and the meaningful employment they are seeking. They also worked together to tackle the high rates of suicide and homelessness among veterans, creating new initiatives and investments to directly help service men and women get the assistance they need.
Throughout his life, Adam has always answered the call to serve and delivered real results for the communities he represents.
