Mayor Duggan Appoints New Director of Civil Rights, Inclusion & Opportunity

Mayor Mike Duggan today announced the appointment of Anthony Zander as Director of the Department of Civil Rights, Inclusion & Opportunity (CRIO).  Zander was appointed to fill the vacancy recently created by Kimberly Rustem, who accepted a new opportunity. The City’s Human Rights Commission unanimously voted to accept Zander at their monthly meeting on Thursday.

In his new role as CRIO director, Zander will lead the city’s efforts to promote equity, inclusion, and business opportunities in Detroit, including monitoring community benefits ordinances and mediating civil rights complaints. Zander will also oversee CRIO’s Office of Disability Affairs, led by director Christopher Samp, as well as the Office of Marijuana Ventures & Entrepreneurship, led by director Megan Moslimani.

Previously, Zander was a member of Mayor Duggan’s Lean Continuous Improvement team. His work consisted of supporting city departments in improving internal processes, developing processes for new programs and leading cross-departmental projects. Most recently, Zander led efforts to streamline the business licensing process, removing barriers for small businesses to become compliant, and he remains an integral part of executing an equitable marijuana program. These projects are helping to ensure the most vulnerable populations in business are positioned for economic success.

“Processes don’t mean much if they aren’t efficient and working for the people they are meant to help,” said Mayor Duggan.  “That’s why having Anthony lead CRIO is so important right now. With his proven experience in improving the delivery of important services, I have complete confidence that he will make sure our department of civil rights, inclusion and opportunity is operating effectively on behalf of all Detroiters.”

As Director of Civil Rights, Inclusion & Opportunity, Anthony Zander will immediately focus on 1) ensuring all persons and entities subject to Executive Order on Detroiter hiring (EO 2021-1) are compliant; 2) the department is properly structured to investigate and bring resolution to complaints of discrimination; 3) make certain the Disability Affairs strategic plan is properly resourced; 4) proactively protect the human and civil rights of Detroiters and visitors alike.

Prior to joining the City of Detroit, Zander worked in DC, Lansing and Detroit focusing on humanitarian policy, and eventually led a non-profit’s statewide Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs department that was responsible for mitigating non-conformances, proper reporting to regulatory agencies and leading continuous improvement efforts throughout departments. Anthony also served as the External Affairs Officer, where he engaged with external stakeholders, community organizations and worked with elected officials to promote policy that benefited the organization.

A native Detroiter, Zander studied Political Science at Michigan State University and is a Political Science graduate student with disciplines in Public Administration and Urban Politics.