The Ruth Ellis Center announced Friday the appointment of Margaret Warner as interim executive director. Warner, who recently retired as the Michigan Department of Human Services’ Child Welfare Director for Wayne County, will serve while the Center conducts a national search for a permanent executive director. She is replacing outgoing executive director Laura Hughes.
The Ruth Ellis Center is solely dedicated to serving homeless, at-risk and runaway youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bi-attractional, transgender or questioning (LGBTQ).
“We were very fortunate that the timing of Margaret’s retirement from the State of Michigan aligned with our need for an interim executive director,” said Karen Brown, Ruth Ellis Center board president. “Margaret has already brought great value to the Ruth Ellis Center through her position at the state, and her expertise and experience in human services and the LGBTQ community make her the perfect candidate for this interim position.”
In Warner’s 44 years with the Michigan Department of Human Services, she worked throughout the state in a variety of management and administrative positions, but primarily in Southeast Michigan in the field of child and public welfare. In her last role as child welfare director for Wayne County, she was responsible for the administration and management of four child and family services district offices, providing all child welfare to the Wayne County community. She is noted for creating and co-chairing its LGBT Workgroup, which helps train and counsel child welfare workers on considerations specific to LGBT youth. Additionally, she was integral in the Ruth Ellis Center becoming a contracted agency with the State of Michigan.
“The Ruth Ellis Center is an essential resource for our region and state and it has been remarkable to see the agency strengthen and grow from the state policy and human services perspective,” said Warner. “I am honored to take this position and thankful to the board for the opportunity to help bridge this critical transition in the Ruth Ellis Center’s future.”