LANSING — House Democratic Leader state Rep. Sam Singh (D-East Lansing) named three additional people to the House Democratic Caucus’ leadership team today. State Rep. Fred Durhal III (D-Detroit) has been named the Democratic vice chair of the House Appropriations Committee, state Rep. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit) will serve as the House Democratic Caucus’ Constituent Services chairwoman, and state Rep. Donna Lasinski (D-Scio township) will act as the caucus’ Strategic Communications chairwoman.
“Fighting for working families is the primary goal of the House Democratic Caucus, and I am confident that these representatives will strengthen our leadership team as we work to improve our schools, repair our infrastructure and bring better jobs to our state,” Rep. Singh said. “Michigan’s comeback has left far too many working families behind, and making sure they share in our growing economy is the top priority of our leadership team.”
Rep. Durhal is in his second term representing Michigan’s 5th House District. He has served as an AmeriCorps volunteer in Northwest Detroit as the director of a literacy program for young children. He has also collaborated with Village Builders of Northwest Detroit and Motor City Blight Busters to help stabilize neighborhoods within the city. In 2011, Durhal joined other leaders to fight Michigan’s controversial emergency financial manager law in Benton Harbor and across the state. During his first term, Rep. Durhal served on the House Appropriations Committee, serving as minority vice chairman of the General Government Subcommittee and sits on the Corrections Subcommittee.
Rep. Chang is in her second term representing Michigan’s 6th House District. She has worked tirelessly to address public health and environmental issues faced by constituents in her district, including the piles of pet coke stored along the Detroit River. Before serving in the Legislature, Chang served as the state director for NextGen Climate Michigan, the alumni engagement and evaluation coordinator for the Center for Progressive Leadership in Michigan, the community engagement coordinator for the James and Grace Lee Boggs School, the deputy director for the Campaign for Justice, an organizer for Michigan United/One United Michigan and as an assistant to Grace Lee Boggs.
Rep. Lasinksi is in her first term representing Michigan’s 52nd House District. She is a small-business owner and president of ThinkStretch LLC, a K-12 education company that emphasizes summer learning and retention. She has also served as the treasurer for the Ann Arbor School Board, director of the Washtenaw County Association of School Boards, leader of the Education Millage Team, parent liaison for the Great Start Collaborative for Early childhood in Washtenaw County, and as an interim director for Success by Six in Washtenaw County.