Kennis Wooten is a current resident of the City of Detroit. He attended Old Dominion University for his undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering and received a MBA from the University of Notre Dame, concentrating in Entrepreneurship and Management. Through Notre Dame he gained international experience in Kampala, Uganda and Quibdo, Colombia working to give rural farmers better access to U.S. and domestic markets, in an effort to help the farmers escape poverty. Kennis is employed by DTE Energy and is working in the Mayor’s office.

Kennis is currently serving as the Assistant to the Chief of Staff, Mr. Kirk Lewis, and has had the opportunity to get involved in a wide range of projects. Most recently he is serving as a member of the City negotiation team working to renegotiate the current labor contracts in an effort to stave off an Emergency Manager for the City. Kennis is also working on negotiating an agreement between the City and Wayne County to transfer City Jail operations and is assisting with the redesign of the City’s Grants Management process.

Kennis is active in the community serving as a board member for Cornerstone School’s Washington-Parks Academy. He is also a member of the B.I.N.G. Institute’s Emerging Leaders Roundtable, which is an advisory group to the Mayor of Detroit, whose goal is to promote initiatives that improve the quality of life in the City.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE