Stephanie Chang

Stephanie Gray Chang is a Democratic politician from Michigan currently representing the 1st district of the Michigan Senate. She previously served in the Michigan House of Representatives in the 6th District, in the Michigan House of Representatives after being elected in November 2014.[1][2] She is the first Asian American woman to serve in the Michigan Legislature.[3] She was the first woman to give birth while serving as a Michigan State Senator.

Stephanie Chang
Member of the Michigan Senate
from the 1st district
Assumed office
January 1, 2019
Preceded byColeman Young II
Member of the Michigan House of Representatives
from the 6th district
In office
January 1, 2015 – January 1, 2019
Preceded byRashida Tlaib
Succeeded byTyrone Carter
Personal details
BornDetroit, Michigan
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Sean Gray
EducationUniversity of Michigan (BA, MSW, MPP)
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life and education

Chang was born at Sinai-Grace Hospital in Detroit. She was raised with her older sister, Josephina, in Canton, Michigan and is the daughter of parents who emigrated from Taiwan to pursue work in the auto industry.[4]

In 2005, Chang graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor’s in psychology and a minor in Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies. In May 2014, she received a master’s in public policy and a master’s in social work at the University of Michigan.[3][5] While at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, Chang was a David Bohnett Leadership Fellow, interning at the Detroit mayor's office, as a paid intern via the David Bohnett Foundation.[6][7][8][9][10]

Career

Community activism

Before her election, Chang worked for about a decade as a community organizer in Detroit.[1] During that time, she worked for NextGen Climate Michigan as the state director, Center for Progressive Leadership in Michigan as the alumni engagement and evaluation coordinator, the James and Grace Lee Boggs School as the community engagement coordinator, the Campaign for Justice as deputy director, Michigan United as an organizer, and as an assistant to Grace Lee Boggs.[3] She is also a co-founder and past president of Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote-Michigan and previously a mentor with the Detroit Asian Youth Project.[1][5][11] She also co-founded and is a board member for Rising Voices of Asian American Families. She is a board member of the Southwest Detroit Community Justice Center.

Politics

Chang became the State Representative for Michigan's House District 6 in January 2015. In her first term, she served on the Committees on Criminal Justice, Education, and Judiciary. In her second term, she served on the Committees on Education Reform, Law and Justice (where she serves as Minority Vice Chair), and Natural Resources.

Much of her legislative work is focused on air quality, affordable and safe drinking water, education and criminal justice reforms.

She was the chair of the Progressive Women's Caucus, a founding member of the Asian Pacific American Legislative Caucus, and a member of the Detroit Caucus, Michigan Democratic Latino Legislative Caucus and Michigan Legislative Black Caucus. She also served on the federal Environmental Protection Agency's Local Government Advisory Committee, which provides advice and recommendations to the EPA administrator to help develop strong partnerships with local governments to deliver environmental services and programs. Chang also focuses much of her work with residents in the district with the Mary Turner Center for Advocacy, the Neighborhood Service Center, ranging from saving homes from tax foreclosure to hosting a community baby shower for low-income pregnant women.[12] In 2016 she launched the Girls Making Change fellowship, a leadership program for high school girls of color in District 6.

Chang faced Bettie Cook Scott in a Democratic Party primary for Michigan Senate District 1 on August 7, 2018, winning 49% to Cook Scott's 11%.[13] During the election, Cook Scott made racially charged comments about Chang, referring to her as "ching-chang" and "the ching-chong", but later issued an apology through a representative.[14][15][16]

Chang currently serves as State Senator for District 1 and as the Minority Floor Leader in the State Senate. She is the Minority Vice Chair for the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety and for the Committee on Finance.

She has passed legislation related to female genital mutilation, criminal justice reform, nitrous oxide "Whippits," business improvement zones, domestic violence, and reentry services for exonerees.

She secured 12 million dollars in the FY20 budget for the grade separation in Woodhaven to address trains blocking traffic. In the FY21 budget, she secured $250,000 for school air filtration systems for Detroit Public Schools Community District and $2 million for Detroit Public Television' virtual learning efforts.

She is a member of the Delray Community Advisory Group and has worked with community leaders to secure over 50 million dollars in community benefits to protect and improve the health and quality of life for residents near the Gordie Howe International Bridge.

Personal life

Chang and her husband, Sean Gray, live in Detroit with their young daughters.[4]

References
  1. "Rep. Stephanie Chang's Biography". Michigan House Democrats. Archived from the original on 2015-01-08. Retrieved 2015-01-07.
  2. "2014 Live Michigan election results: State House Districts 1-110". MLive. November 4, 2014. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
  3. Frances Kai-Hwa Wang (August 14, 2014). "Stephanie Chang Is Poised to Make Political History in Michigan". NBC News. Retrieved 2015-01-08.
  4. "About Stephanie". Friends of Stephanie Chang. Retrieved 2015-01-08.
  5. "Stephanie Chang". Asian & Pacific Islander American Vote - Michigan. Retrieved 2015-01-08.
  6. Wogan, J. B. "Big-City Mayors Tap Grad Students for Their Teams". Governing. January 22, 2015.
  7. Stephanie Chang, MPP, MSW, 2013 Archived 2015-01-23 at the Wayback Machine. David Bohnett Fellows – UM Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. David Bohnett Foundation. BohnettFoundation.org.
  8. David Bohnett Fellows – UM Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy Archived 2015-01-23 at the Wayback Machine. BohnettFoundation.org.
  9. "Stephanie Chang, Diana Flora named 2011 David Bohnett Foundation Leadership and Public Service Fellows". Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan. May 31, 2011.
  10. David Bohnett Foundation Leadership and Public Service Fellowships. Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan.
  11. "Going Where No Taiwanese American Has Gone Before: Stephanie Chang Representing Detroit". TaiwaneseAmerican.org (Interview). Retrieved 2015-01-08.
  12. "Biography For Rep. Chang". housedems.com. 2015-01-26. Retrieved 2017-07-02.
  13. DeAeth, Duncan (August 19, 2018). "Taiwanese-American faces racist insults in campaign for Michigan Senate seat". Taiwan News. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  14. LeBlanc, Beth (August 16, 2018). "Detroit legislator apologizes for racial slurs". The Detroit News. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  15. Bever, Lindsey (August 17, 2018). "Michigan legislator apologizes for racial slurs against Asian American opponent". Washington Post. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  16. Ikonomova, Violet. "Detroit Rep. Bettie Cook Scott on Asian opponent: 'Don't vote for the ching-chong!'". Detroit Metro Times. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
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