Ismael N. Ahmed is an American government official and labor leader who is the designate to be a member of the

National Endowment of the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

in the

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021. Biden, a Democrat from Delaware who previously served as vice president under Barack Obama, took office following his victory ...

. Ahmed previously served as the director of the

Michigan Department of Human Services The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is a principal department of state of Michigan, headquartered in Lansing, that provides public assistance, child and family welfare services, and oversees health policy and management. ...

from September 2007 to January 3, 2011. He was appointed by Governor

Jennifer Granholm Jennifer Mulhern Granholm (born February 5, 1959) is a Canadian-American lawyer, educator, author, political commentator, and politician serving as the 16th United States secretary of energy since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she pre ...

in September 2007. As director of the state’s second-largest agency, Ahmed oversaw 10,000 employees and managed a $4 billion-plus budget serving 1.5 million medical assistance cases and 1.2 million cash and food assistance cases.http://www.michigan.gov/dhs/0,1607,7-124-5459_7097-174062--,00.html

Early life and education

Ismael Ahmed was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

in 1947. He is of Lebanese and Egyptian descent. He moved to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

with his family when he was six years old. After high school, he traveled to Vietnam and Korea. He later became active in the United Auto Workers union to put himself through the

University of Michigan–Dearborn The University of Michigan–Dearborn (U of M Dearborn, UM–Dearborn, or UMD) is a public university in Dearborn, Michigan. It is one of the two regional universities operating under the policies of the University of Michigan Board of Regents, ...

, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in secondary education and sociology in 1977.

Career

After graduation, he began helping out his neighborhood and his community and in 1973, Ahmed co-founded the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS).Shining Light awards: From assembly line to Lansing, Ismael Ahmed is a fighter for the voiceless
by Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press, August 25, 2013. He was appointed executive director in 1983 and was responsible for overall operations of the organization as well as the executive administration of the Arab American National Museum. The largest Arab-American human services organization in the United States, ACCESS has affiliates in 11 states and offers more than 90 programs with more than 900,000 client contacts annually. For several years Ahmed has been hosting his own radio show, ''This Island Earth'' on

WDET WDET-FM (101.9 MHz) is a public radio station in Detroit, Michigan. Broadcasting from Wayne State University in the city's Cass Corridor neighborhood, about a mile south of the New Center neighborhood, WDET broadcasts original programming and ...

. He contributed a chapter on the Arab Worker’s Caucus in Detroit in Arabs in America: Myths and Realities, Abu-Laban and Zeadey eds. (AAUG Monograph Series #5: Medina University Press, 1975) and a chapter on Michigan Arab Americans in American Arabs and Political Participation, Strum, P. ed., (Woodrow Wilson International Center, 2006).

Biden administration

On June 23, 2021, Ahmed was nominated to serve as a member of the National Council on the Arts by President Joe Biden. He was confirmed by the entire

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

on December 18, 2021, by

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...

Personal life

Ahmed's son,

Saladin Ahmed Saladin Ahmed (born October 4, 1975) is an Eisner Award winning American comic book writer and a science fiction/fantasy poetry and prose writer. His 2012 book '' Throne of the Crescent Moon'' was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel and ...

, is a fantasy author.

Awards

Ahmed has been honored with the Neal Shine Award for Exemplary Regional Leadership, which is given by the

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

and Metropolitan Affairs Coalition. He has also received the Distinguished Leadership Award from the

and the Diversity Business Leader award from the Arab American Chamber of Commerce.Distinguished Leadership Award
" Office of the Chancellor, University of Michigan-Dearborn, accessed December 5, 2015.

Notes

External links

Michigan Department of Human Services

Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed, Ismael 1947 births Living people Biden administration personnel National Endowment for the Arts People from Brooklyn University of Michigan–Dearborn alumni