Mary Jo Callan

In partnership with youth and communities, Mary Jo Callan has spent her career working to advance equity in social, political, and economic power. She has served in K-12 schools, local governments and nonprofits before coming to U-M. Her time at Ozone House, a youth development and housing organization, was particularly formative as she learned alongside young people to stand up, organize and persist for change. As the founding director of Washtenaw County’s Office of Community and Economic Development, she led cross-sector efforts to address the growing racial and economic inequities playing out across our region.

She is currently the director of U-M’s Edward Ginsberg Center, where she works to support students, faculty and staff to create social change through community-engaged teaching, research and service. Her practice and teaching focus on community organizing, policy development and enactment, leadership, evaluation and administration. Her research focuses on partnerships between universities and social impact sector organizations, with a particular emphasis on equity and reciprocity in these partnerships.