Michigan Chief Growth Officer Hilary Doe is 1st official in charge of boosting population

MACKINAC ISLAND − The new state official charged with reversing Michigan's population stagnation has a tattoo of the state on her wrist.

Hilary Doe, Michigan's new Chief Growth Officer, jokes that she "always wanted to have a little Michigan spirit up my sleeve." But she said she really got it because Michigan is her home.

"Michigan's always been an inspiration for me partly because of our history," Doe said. "We've taken on big challenges: When the world was in crisis, we were the arsenal of democracy. We've changed culture from Motown to techno. Changed the way people live and move."

Now Doe hopes Michigan can tackle a new challenge: growing the state's population by bringing new residents to the state and keeping the ones it already has.

"It's obviously a big job," she said.

The 2020 decennial census — the once-a-decade count of all people in the U.S. — showed that Michigan experienced the second-slowest population growth in the nation over the previous decade. Three states lost population during that period. Since the 2020 census, Michigan has lost population, according to census estimates for 2021 and 2022.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Doe's appointment to the role — calling it historic — during a keynote address Thursday at the Detroit Regional Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference.

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"She's not just the first chief growth officer in Michigan, she's the first in the country," Whitmer said. She'll work closely with the new "Growing Michigan Together Council" charged with putting forward recommendations before the end of the year to attract and retain residents, develop long-term funding for infrastructure and improve educational outcomes.

Doe most recently led the software company NationBuilder. She previously served as the national director at the Roosevelt Network, engaging young people in public policy and civic engagement efforts across the country. A two-time University of Michigan graduate, she received a master's degree in public policy from the Ford School. She grew up in Monroe County and currently lives in Detroit with her family.

But she left Michigan, spending almost a decade in New York.

"I met my husband on the East Coast. We had our first child in New York City, and I spent most days talking about Michigan and thinking about how I could get home," she said. So she moved back, saying, "we have this quality of life I just couldn't get in Brooklyn." That includes jumping on a bike with her children and pedaling to downtown Detroit, going to Belle Isle and relishing having a yard.

She said Michigan is not alone when it comes to confronting challenging population trends. Many communities around the country are trying to attract residents. But she said the approach the Whitmer administration is taking in Michigan goes beyond some of the strategies deployed elsewhere, such as providing some kind of benefit to those who relocate to a place or marketing campaign, approaches Doe called "short-term."

"This is a comprehensive approach," she said of the new council. "So I think we've got a shot at it."

Contact Clara Hendrickson: chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on Twitter @clarajanehen.