Misha Stallworth holds a bachelor’s degree in research psychology from the University of Chicago and a master’s in social work and community organizing from the University of Michigan. She is passionate about social justice and community building which has led her to work that addresses racism, classism, as well as ageism. She has served in City Year Los Angeles, managed Meals on Wheels for the city of Detroit, and at 27 was elected the youngest ever member of the Detroit School Board where she chairs the district’s Policy Committee and services on the finance committee.

Her initiatives on the school board have worked to amplify student voice and leadership, disrupt the school to prison pipeline, and facilitate community education. Misha led board work reforming the district’s Code of Conduct to include restorative practice and positive behavior interventional supports (PBIS). She drafted the district’s first Safe Zone resolution in 2017 to protect undocumented students and families which was adopted as a Sanctuary District Policy in 2019. And as can be read in her Detroit Free Press Op-Ed, has actively taken positions against the district’s connection to prison and jail systems.

Misha is currently Deputy CEO of CitizenDetroit, a policy research, civic education and engagement organization. Her work there includes developing the administrative structure of the organization and leading programming which includes 10 or more community education events per year ranging from local candidate forums and policy dinners to bar nights and rallies.

Misha is a member of City Year Detroit’s Associate Board, the Greenwich Park Neighborhood Association, and a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Misha has been acknowledged by the Detroit Chamber as a Young American Leader and the Michigan Chronicle as a 40 Under 40 Award Recipient. Corp! Magazine has awarded her the 2018 Most Valuable Professional Millennial and she is a 2020 African American Leadership Award recipient. Misha has been invited to speak at the Detroit Policy Conference, Detroit Homecoming, as well as the American Black Journal’s 50th Anniversary Celebration. When Misha isn’t working, she’s spending time with her husband and dog in their Northwest Detroit home (the same home she spent weekends in with her grandparents).