H. Luke Shaefer

H. Luke Shaefer, PhD is the City of Detroit’s first chief executive of Health, Human Services, and Poverty Solutions, overseeing the City’s Health Department and the new Department of Human, Homeless and Family Services. He is on academic leave from the University of Michigan, Ford School of Public Policy, where he is the Hermann & Amalie Kohn professor of social policy. From 2016 – 2026, Shaefer served as the founding director of U-M Poverty Solutions, a presidential initiative that partners with policymakers and communities to find new ways to prevent and alleviate poverty.

Shaefer has presented at the White House and has testified before Congress on multiple occasions. His research has been published in top academic journals, has been featured in media outlets such as the Washington Post, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal, and he has appeared on programs such as PBS NewsHour. Shaefer’s co-authored book, $2.00 a Day, was named one of 100 Notable Books of 2015 by the New York Times. His co-authored book, The Injustice of Place, received the Lester Award in labor economics given by Princeton University’s Industrial Relations Section. The New York Times and Time have credited Shaefer’s co-authored research as one of the driving forces behind the expanded Child Tax Credit of 2021 that led to a historic decline in child poverty.

Shaefer is the co-founder of Rx Kids, the nation’s first community-wide prenatal and infant cash prescription program launched in Flint, Michigan in 2024 and now active in more than 60 rural and urban communities across Michigan including Detroit. He received his PhD from the University of Chicago, School of Social Service Administration and is a recipient of an Andrew Carnegie Fellowship.