City of Detroit
Office of the Inspector General
Make Your Date
OIG Case No. 19-0013-INV
October 21, 2019

Ellen Ha, Esq.
Inspector General

 Executive Summary
On April 5, 2019, in accordance with the 2012 Charter of the City of Detroit (Charter),
the Office of Inspector General (OIG) initiated its own investigation pertaining to questions
surrounding Wayne State University’s Make Your Date (MYD) program and the support it
received from the City. Due to public interest in this matter, the OIG issued a press release
announcing the investigation.
It is important to note that we are an independent agency that is charged with ensuring
honesty and integrity in the City. Our jurisdiction is limited by the Charter to investigate matters
concerning abuse, waste, fraud and corruption. We do not have jurisdiction over legal matters,
and as such, we do not provide legal analyses or make legal determinations. We gather
evidence during the course of our investigation and make factual findings. Our investigation led
us to two (2) key findings which are reflected in detail in the OIG’s Report.
1. MYD was unilaterally selected by the Mayor based on his experience and the advice of
members of his transition team. However, the OIG finds that any time an agency, nonprofit, or other organization receives City of Detroit resources, it should be selected
through a fair, open, and transparent process. This is necessary to ensure the public that
City time and resources, including taxpayer dollars, are being expended wisely,
efficiently, and effectively.
2. The Mayor’s Chief of Staff, Alexis Wiley, ordered certain Office of Development and
Grants (ODG) employees to delete their respective emails pertaining to MYD through
Chief Development Officer Ryan Friedrichs and Deputy Chief Development Officer
Sirene Abou-Chakra. The deletion of emails only serves to undermine the public’s trust
in an open and transparent government. Therefore, the OIG finds such conduct as abuse
of authority.
Of the above-referenced OIG’s key findings, we find the latter to be more egregious
conduct for the reasons stated in this summary. The very fact that they were ordered to be
deleted alone casts a shadow over transparency. As such, we respectfully encourage the Mayor to
consider our recommendations on this matter.
On October 14, 2019, the OIG received a joint-written response from the Mayor, Alexis
Wiley, Ryan Friedrichs, and Sirene Abou-Chakra in response to the draft report. A copy of the
joint-written response is attached to this Final Report. We believe both the OIG’s report and the
joint-written response speak for themselves.
However, it is important to note that the OIG is not making a determination on whether
the support provided by the City in MYD’s effort to reduce infant mortality in the City was
wrong. In fact, we recognize and applaud Mayor Duggan and the City of Detroit, including the
Detroit Health Department and SisterFriends Detroit’s, efforts to reduce infant mortality as well
as the significant contributions made by MYD. It is entirely appropriate that City time and
resources be allocated to this goal. However, there must be a process by which any agency, nonprofit, or other organization is selected to receive these resources. Therefore, we again
respectfully encourage the Mayor to consider our recommendation on this matter.

 I.

Introduction

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) initiated an investigation to determine whether the
Mayor and/or any City officials potentially abused his/her/their authority by providing
preferential treatment to Make Your Date Detroit (MYD). The investigation was opened after
questions arose regarding the City’s connection with MYD. Under the 2012 Charter of the City
of Detroit (Charter), our Office is charged with the duty to conduct such an investigation.
The City of Detroit OIG was established through the 2012 Charter of the City of Detroit,
after the citizens of Detroit witnessed its former Mayor and other high ranking City officials
indicted, charged, and sent to jail. As such, the Charter makes clear the OIG must function as an
independent City agency that serves the purpose of ensuring honesty and integrity in City
government by rooting out waste, abuse, fraud and corruption. The Charter gives the Inspector
General (IG) jurisdiction over the conduct of every public servant, including elected officials.
The Charter also grants the IG certain powers and duties, including the ability to initiate an
investigation. However, the Charter does not authorize the OIG to make any legal determinations
or conclusions on behalf of the City.
To ensure honesty, the Charter requires confidentiality of its investigative files during the
investigation, as without such assurances, witnesses may not come forward and tell the truth
because of a fear of reprisal, whether by public opinion, news agencies, coworkers, supervisors,
friends, etc. Likewise, to ensure integrity, the Charter prohibits retaliation against any witnesses
who participate in the OIG investigation.
Therefore, the OIG has not commented on its ongoing investigation and has advised
those who participated in the investigation to do the same, as this is required by the Charter.
Witnesses must provide testimonies based on their personal recollection of events, not based on
what has been discussed with others, read, heard, or seen on the news. This is essential to
conducting a fair and impartial investigation.
The OIG reviewed more than 400,000 pages of documents, interviewed numerous
individuals, and conducted extensive research on best practices pertaining to mayoral initiatives
and the relationship between public bodies and non-profit organizations. Below is the report of
the culmination of the OIG’s investigation of this matter.
I.

Scope of Investigation

The focus of the OIG investigation was to determine whether Mayor Mike Duggan and/
or any City officials abused their authority by providing preferential treatment to MYD. During
the investigation, the OIG received an allegation that staff from the Office of Development and
Grants (ODG) were directed by a high-ranking City official to delete emails related to the
department’s fundraising efforts on behalf of MYD. As a result, the OIG expanded its
investigation to include the deletion of emails.
The OIG did not investigate the non-profit status of MYD or how it is affiliated with
Wayne State University (WSU) because those determinations are irrelevant to this particular
Page 1 of 36

 OIG investigation. 1 Additionally, there was no allegation or evidence which suggested that
MYD misused funds. Therefore, the OIG did not investigate the flow of any City of Detroit fund
allocations once they were distributed to MYD.
The OIG also did not seek to determine whether the deletion of emails by ODG staff
violated any laws pertaining to the Michigan Record Retention Schedule, as the OIG does not
make legal determinations and as another agency is concurrently investigating the deletion of
MYD emails. Consequently, our report will be limited to whether the emails were ordered to be
deleted and whether the person who issued the order abused his/her authority in doing so.
II.

Findings

The role of the OIG is to make findings based on sufficient, competent, and relevant
evidence and to connect the finding to reach its conclusion. 2 The standard of our fact finding is
based on preponderance of evidence. 3 Based on information gathered in our investigation, the
OIG finds that it is more probable than not that the following occurred:
1. Mayor Duggan provided preferential treatment to MYD. However, such treatment did
not rise to the level of abuse of power.
2. While the Mayor did not violate any City policies, procedures, or laws in providing
preferential treatment to MYD, such treatment was not best practice or good governance.
3. The selection of MYD to partner with the City of Detroit as well as be the recipient of
City resources was done in a manner that lacked fairness, openness, and transparency.
4. ODG staff successfully assisted MYD in raising grant funds, in direct contradiction to the
initial public statements made by the Mayor’s Chief of Staff, Alexis Wiley.
5. City of Detroit general funds have been allocated to MYD participants specifically to pay
for Lyft rides. Though these funds are paid directly to Lyft through DHD, it is clear that
the funds were allocated to benefit MYD participants.
6. Ms. Wiley abused her authority by ordering ODG staff to delete emails related to MYD.
7. ODG Chief Development Officer, Ryan Friedrichs, abused his authority by being
complicit in relaying the order from Alexis Wiley to the ODG staff to delete their
respective emails related to MYD.
8. ODG Deputy Chief Development Officer, Sirene Abou-Chakra, abused her authority by
reiterating the same order to the ODG staff to delete emails related to MYD.
1

On October 8, 2019, MYD’s non-profit status was settled by the Michigan Attorney General who determined that
MYD fell under that statutory exemption for non-profits that do not solicit or receive funds in excess of $25,000 and
has no reporting requirements.
2
Principles and Standards for Offices of Inspector General from the Association of Inspectors General, pg. 30.
3
https://www.merriam-webster.com/legal/preponderance%20of%20the%20evidence

Page 2 of 36

 III.

Overview of Programs
a. Make Your Date

It is important to note that our report is not making any determinations on whether MYD
was qualified to address infant mortality problems in the City. Likewise, the OIG is not opining
on whether MYD is the best fit for the City’s effort in reducing infant mortality rate. The OIG is
not a qualified agency to make such determinations. The issue before the OIG is how MYD was
selected. In short, it appears that there was no selection process and no other organization or
program was considered by the Mayor when MYD received his support.
During his interview, the Mayor stated that while working as the CEO of the Detroit
Medical Center (DMC), he learned that the infant mortality rate in Detroit was one of the highest
in the country. Therefore, once he took office in January of 2014, he made reducing infant
mortality one of his top initiatives. To help achieve this goal, he asked WSU and WSU Medical
School’s Associate Dean of Maternal, Perinatal and Child Health, Dr. Sonia Hassan, 4 to use their
expertise to help reduce infant mortality in Detroit. As a result, in May 2014, MYD was
launched by WSU to help fight infant mortality in the City of Detroit. 5
The City of Detroit has an infant mortality rate of 14 deaths per 1,000 which is double the
rate of the State of Michigan. 6 Preterm birth is the leading cause of infant mortality worldwide 7
and in Detroit 18% of babies are born premature. 8 MYD utilizes evidence-based practices to
ensure that mothers and their babies receive world-class medical care along with education and
social support. MYD focuses on reducing the number of preterm births in Detroit by providing
women with prenatal care, cervical length screening and treatment (if necessary), pregnancy
education classes, and group prenatal care. 9
Our investigation found that the City of Detroit made significant contributions to MYD
through the support of City of Detroit employees and leaders, monetary contributions, and the
creation of SisterFriends Detroit (SFD). Again, we are not making a determination on whether
the support provided by the City in MYD’s effort to reduce infant mortality in the City was
wrong. In fact, we are mindful of the various medical and social research which support the fact
that infant mortality is an important issue and we laud any program, including MYD that

4

Dr. Sonia Hassan was named co-chair for Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan’s Healthcare Transition Team and was
named director of the mayor’s preterm birth reduction plan, Make Your Date.
5
Make Your Date The Carls Foundation submission, July 31, 2018.
6
Michigan Infant Mortality. 1990- 2010 Michigan Resident Birth and Death Files, Division for Vital Records &
Health Statistics, Michigan Department of Community Health from https://makeyourdate.org/facts/ and
https://makeyourdate.org/references/#ref1
7
Committee on Understanding Premature Birth and Assuring Healthy Outcomes, Board on Health Sciences Policy.
Preterm Birth Causes, Consequences, and Prevention: Institute of Medicine of the Academies. The National
Academies Press: Washington D.C., 2007 from https://makeyourdate.org/facts/ and
https://makeyourdate.org/references/#ref2
8
March of Dimes. National Center for Health Statistics, final natality data. Retrieved November 11, 2013 from
https://makeyourdate.org/facts/ and https://makeyourdate.org/references/#ref5
9
https://makeyourdate.org/about/

Page 3 of 36

 provides assistance to the City in addressing the various challenges confronted by expectant
mothers.
b. SisterFriends Detroit
SFD is a DHD initiative. It is based on a thirty (30) year old community support and
mentoring model called Birthing Project USA. It pairs community based mentors (SisterFriends)
with expectant mothers (LittleSisters) and provides important resources such as transportation to
prenatal and parenting classes as well as medical appointments. 10 It also connects LittleSisters to
other public resources such as Black Mothers Breastfeeding Association, Crossroads of
Michigan, Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency, and MYD clinics. 11
The goal of the program is to reduce the infant mortality rate in the City by connecting
pregnant women to a person who can provide social support throughout the pregnancy. SFD
participants are also assigned a Community Health Worker who can assist expectant mothers to
problem solve any challenges during their pregnancies by connecting them with resources, and
providing guidance to the SFD participants. 12
c. SFD and MYD Collaboration
On August 16, 2017, Mayor Duggan announced a citywide effort to reduce preterm birth
and infant mortality in the City of Detroit with the partnership of SFD and MYD. According to a
City of Detroit press release, this “partnership celebrates the successful impact of Make Your
Date™ Detroit and blends world-class medical resources with community-based support in an
effort to achieve healthier outcomes for both moms and babies. 13” Since its launch in 2014, MYD
has served more than 5,800 pregnant women in the City of Detroit and has demonstrated a reduced
rate of premature births, the leading cause of infant mortality, among its participants. 14 SFD
supports better birth outcomes by providing mentors to women and their families during pregnancy
and for one year after the birth of their children.
SFD and MYD, while separate, complement each other by working together to eliminate
barriers to care and ensuring that expectant mothers have access to emotional support and cutting
edge medical practices. The partnership connects expectant mothers to resources such as health
insurance, home visits and prenatal care. The partnership also offers a SisterFriend to every
expectant mother with a personalized action plan, and offers educational classes on a variety of
topics concerning pregnancy, birth, and parenting skills.15

10

2018 Model Practices Program Application- SisterFriends Detroit.
https://detroitmi.gov/departments/detroit-health-department/programs-and-services/sisterfriends-detroit
12
https://detroitmi.gov/document/sister-friends
13
https://detroitmi.gov/news/sisterfriends-detroit-and-make-your-datetm-detroit-partnership-announced
14
Id.
15
Id.
11

Page 4 of 36

 IV.

Preferential Treatment
a. What is Preferential Treatment 16

The OIG investigation focused on whether Mayor Duggan and/ or any City officials
abused his/her/their authority by providing preferential treatment to MYD. Preferential
treatment is defined as giving an advantage to a preferred person or group over everyone else. 17
Preferential treatment by a public body is problematic, because it goes against the basic
principles of openness, fairness, and transparency which are some of the hallmarks of good
governance. It is the duty of all public servants to ensure that the citizens of Detroit receive the
best services possible, especially when public resources are being allocated to it. In fact the
Charter requires our government to institute “programs, services and activities addressing the
needs of our community…whereby sound public objectives and decisions reflect citizen
participation and collective desires. 18”
b. Funding for MYD
i. LMCH Funding
MYD received a total of $358,368 in grant funds from DHD. The funds were part of the
allocation DHD received from the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) Bureau
of Family, Maternal and Child Health Local Maternal and Child Health (LMCH) grant program.
The funds were administered through one of DHD’s grant administrators, Southeastern Michigan
Health Association (SEMHA), which provides DHD with fiduciary services for several public
health programs including LMCH. 19
DHD receives LMCH funds from the State of Michigan each year. These funds support
several DHD programs focused on “creating, implementing, and innovating with respect to
policies, programs, and partnerships that create circumstances in which every mother, infant, and
family has a chance at the healthiest possible life. 20” Because MYD’s mission aligned with this
purpose, they were eligible to receive LMCH funds. MYD received the following allocation of
funds:
Date
September 1, 2015 to September 30, 2015
October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016
October 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017

Amount
$58,368
$200,000
$100,000

16
It is important to note that the OIG is not making a legal conclusion whether “preferential treatment” was
provided to MYD. Rather, the OIG is making a finding based on facts gathered during its investigation.
17
https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/preferential
18
See, Preamble of the Charter.
19
Contract No. 6000468 between DHD and Southeastern Michigan Health Association.
20
Id.

Page 5 of 36

 Initially, SEMHA, as the grant administrator for DHD, was going to enter into an
agreement with WSU- MYD from October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015 for $200,000.
However, an agreement was not fully executed until September 15, 2015. Therefore, the first
agreement was reduced to $58,368 because a contract must be in place for funds to be
administered pursuant to LMCH grant requirements. 21
MYD’s scope for the LMCH funds included leading health education efforts around
prenatal healthcare and preterm birth risk reduction, publicizing MYD events and health
information to women at-risk of delivering preterm, and monitoring and reporting data about
program deliverables and health outcomes for MYD participants. To achieve these goals, MYD
used the funds for personnel, supplies, and other expenses including advertising and participant
incentives. 22
Yolanda Hill-Ashford, DHD Director of Family and Community Health, stated that
MYD was scheduled to receive LMCH dollars from the 2018 to 2019 round of funding. 23
However, on December 15, 2017, MYD representative Marisa Galuppi Rodriquez stated in an
email that MYD was no longer interested in receiving LMCH funds. 24 Later that same day, Ms.
Hill-Ashford emailed Dr. Khaldun to ask why MYD no longer wanted to receive the grant funds.
Dr. Khaldun responded “Not a surprise- recall Sonia [Hassan] mentioned they were looking for
other options. Also the Mayor’s office is helping them to fundraise- we can talk in person.”
ii. Introduction of ODG to MYD
In addition to receiving LMCH funding, ODG staff were instructed to assist MYD in
raising funds. On August 10, 2017, Alexis Wiley, Chief of Staff, sent an email to Dr. Hassan
and copied ODG Chief Development Officer Ryan Friedrichs and Marisa Galuppi Rodriquez
regarding Make Your Date Fundraising. It stated “I’d like to introduce you to Ryan Friedrichs.
He is our chief development officer and the Mayor has tasked him with launching a large scale
fundraising effort to Make Your Date. He’ll be in touch soon! Have a great weekend!”
Mr. Friedrichs responded to Dr. Hassan later that day with an email which states “I am
looping in Ms. Brandi Shelton on my team to find a time for us to meet in the Mayor’s Office or
talk by phone, whatever you would prefer. I will also bring all three of our lead Development
Officers to the discussion, who respectively focus on public grants, philanthropic grants and
corporate fundraising.”
Ms. Wiley made the initial introduction between Dr. Hassan and Mr. Friedrichs after
attending a meeting with Mr. Friedrichs and Mayor Duggan. At that time, SFD, which was
preparing to partner with MYD, had received a $2 million grant from the Ralph Wilson
Foundation. Ms. Wiley stated that for MYD and SFD to “be able to scale together, there needed

21

An analysis as to why there was a lengthy delay may be found in ANALYSIS SECTION.
Contract No. 6000468, pg. 8-12.
23
Yolanda Hill-Ashford Interview, August 7, 2019.
24
Email from Marisa Galuppi Rodriquez to Yolanda Hill-Ashford, Joneigh Khaldun, Tammy McCrory, Sonia
Hassan, and Jennifer Hurand regarding MYD Revised SOS-FY17 dated December 15, 2017.
22

Page 6 of 36

 to be more funding so that we could better serve the women in the city. 25” The SFD and MYD
partnership was officially introduced a week later in mid-August.
iii. Transportation/ Lyft
In early 2017, the Mayor made funding transportation for pregnant women enrolled in
MYD and/or SFD a priority because it was a barrier to participants attending events and
appointments. He explored a relationship with Lyft and General Motors to assist pregnant
women to get to their appointments using Lyft services at a discounted rate. The plan was to
have MYD and SFD serve as “gatekeepers” or the coordinators for booking “Baby Lyft” rides.
However, the deal was never finalized and other options had to be considered. 26
Therefore, in August 2017, MYD became a Mayoral Priority. Mr. Friedrichs explained
that once something becomes a Mayoral Priority it appears on the Mayor’s priority list. ODG is
then tasked with putting together a budget, scope, and timeline to achieve the stated priority. 27
Items appear on the priority list at the suggestion of a department director or at the direction of
Mayor Duggan. MYD was put on the priority list, at the Mayor’s direction, which prompted Ms.
Wiley’s email introduction of Mr. Friedrichs and Dr. Hassan. 28
MYD and/or SFD appeared on the Mayoral Ranked Departmental Grant Priorities list on
the following dates:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

February 2017- SisterFriends $800,000
April 2017- SisterFriends $800,000
September 22, 2017- SisterFriends/ Make Your Date $690,000
October 26, 2017- SisterFriends/ Make Your Date $930,000
November 28, 2017- SisterFriends/ Make Your Date $930,000
December 19, 2017- SisterFriends/ Make Your Date $930,000
February 6, 2018- SisterFriends/ Make Your Date $930,000

ODG’s fundraising efforts for SFD/ MYD began around the time SFD was launched with
MYD as its clinical component. The funding efforts were primarily focused on transportation.
Mr. Friedrichs stated that he worked with DHD in an attempt to secure transportation funding for
both programs.
On February 6, 2018, an External Funding Priority Closeout Sheet was completed
regarding “SisterFriends/ Make Your Date Transportation Support.” It stated that “[f]ull funding
support secured through City annual budgeting process for FY19 Budget, per Deputy Chief
Operating Officer Katie Hammer.” It estimated that $930,000 was needed from the DHD budget
to provide “[t]ransportation support in the form of free or low-cost access to ride-share programs
and other transportation options suitable to expectant mothers and mothers of infants.” Mr.
Friedrichs noted that it is not uncommon for the Chief Financial Officer to step in and provide
25

Alexis Wiley Interview, August 19, 2019.
Mayor Duggan Interview, August 20, 2019.
27
Ryan Friedrichs Interview, June 4, 2019.
28
Alexis Wiley Interview, August 19, 2019.
26

Page 7 of 36

 funding for mayoral priorities. He stated that other programs, including Ceasefire Detroit, 29 use a
portion of city funds. 30
The initial $930,000 cost estimate was based on the following assumptions: 31
Program
Rides/ Participant
Cost/ Participant
# of Participants
Total Cost

SFD/ MYD

MYD Only

56
$784
500
$392,000

Total

24
$336
1600
$537,600

80
$1,120
2100
$929,600

However, a more thorough estimate was later completed by DHD to determine the actual amount
of money needed to fund transportation. DHD determined that $225,000 per year would likely
cover the cost of rides for all pregnant mothers enrolled in SFD and/or MYD. 32
On February 22, 2018, a Request for Proposals (RFP) 18PC1722 was issued for
“Transportation Services for Detroit Health Department Programs.” Proposals were sought for
qualified firms to provide transportation to City of Detroit residents who participate in select
DHD programs. Transportation was to be provided to and from DHD-approved health and
human services appointments as well as approved DHD and partner program activities. Five (5)
companies responded to the RFP and received the following final scores: 33
Company
Final Score

Lyft
52.5

Round Trip
50

Trans Dev
43.75

Moe
0

Trinity
16.25

Lyft was awarded a two (2) year contract after the company received the highest evaluation
score. The contract is funded through the City of Detroit’s general fund. SFD and MYD have
separate Lyft accounts which are used to order rides for program participants. Regardless of
which program orders the rides, Lyft is paid by DHD. 34
The OIG was unable to obtain a cost breakdown of how much in general funds was paid
to Lyft for MYD participants only. Shirley Gray, SFD Program Manager, explained that making
this determination would be a large undertaking. The SFD team would be required to cross
reference every ride and compare that information with DHD’s assessments to discern whether

29

CeaseFire Detroit is a crime prevention strategy. It uses “national best practices for outreach and operates with
the belief that overall quality of life for Detroiters will improve and violence reduction will occur through
community outreach and collaboration.” https://www.ceasefiredetroit.com/who-we-are
30
Ryan Friedrichs Interview, June 4, 2019.
31
Documentation provided by DHD.
32
Email from David Yeh, Director of Special Projects to Rasaan Ewell, Pamela Crump, Twanisha Glass, Timothy
Lawther, Angela Taylor, Felishia Brown, and Joseph Mutebi re: Client Transportation Requisition 448376 with RFP
in WORD Format dated February 19, 2018.
33
The Evaluation Team consisted of DHD Director of Special Programs David Yeh, Office of Contracting and
Procurement (OCP) Specialist Pamela L. Crump, and OCP Facilitator Donald G. Bryant.
34
Email from Jean Ingersoll to Jennifer Bentley re: OIG Transportation Follow-up Questions, dated August 26,
2019.

Page 8 of 36

 the ride occurred when an individual is dually-enrolled or enrolled in MYD only. 35 Therefore,
the OIG did not pursue accounting details as it is not as important as the fact that general funds
were provided to those enrolled in MYD.
Between August 2017 and April 2019, program participants enrolled in either SFD or
MYD completed 7,353 rides for a total cost of $127,301.65. 36 In August 2018, DHD began
tracking rides based on which program request it. The breakdown between August 2018 and
April 2019 is as follows: 37
Total Rides Completed
1896
2209

MYD
SFD

Total Cost
$19,007.44
$33,956.23

DHD has budgeted the following for Lyft rides and bus tickets 38 going forward using
general fund money.
Total 39

Budget Year
2019-2020
2020-2021
2021-2022

$325,000
$341,250
$358,313

c. Use of Other City and Non-City Resources in Support of MYD
Several public servants provided services and resources to MYD that were not merely
financial. These City employees provided their time and talents to MYD. For example,
Monique Phillips, ODG Fund Development Officer, stated that MYD was one of her first
priorities when she started at ODG in July 2017. She spoke with MYD representatives Marisa
Galuppi Rodriguez and Janine Bieda, as well as WSU employee Susan Miller bi-weekly, either
in person or over the phone, to discuss funding. She explained that the City of Detroit acted as
MYD’s fundraising group and MYD was the one that set the meetings and times. Ms. Phillips
attempted to raise funds from the Children’s Foundation of Michigan, the Skillman Foundation,
and the Carls Foundation by assisting MYD with outreach and proposals. Only the Carls
Foundation awarded MYD with a grant.
Specifically, in early 2018, Ms. Phillips was asked by MYD/ WSU representatives to
assist MYD in building a relationship with the Carls Foundation. Ms. Phillips researched and
found where MYD and the Carls Foundation priorities aligned. She then made an email
introduction between the two agencies. She also made comments and edits to the proposal that
35

Email from Jean Ingersoll to Jennifer Bentley regarding SFD Metric August.xlsx dated September 18, 2019.
In an email dated August 29, 2019, Jean Ingersoll, then acting DHD Director explained that, prior to Lyft’s City
contract, Lyft provided rides to SFD and MYD participants through a grant from the United Way of Southeastern
Michigan which was administered by SEMHA.
37
SisterFriends Metric Report for April 2019.
38
Bus tickets account for about 8% of the transportation budget. Additionally, rides may be accessed for iDecide
participants. Between January 2019 and April 2019, iDecide participants completed 28 rides at a cost of $461.48
according to the SFD Metric Report for April 2019.
39
Approximately $25,000 of the $325,000 is allocated for bus tickets.
36

Page 9 of 36

 was submitted by MYD to the Carls Foundation. Ms. Phillips opined that a call from the City of
Detroit, which most people would assume is a request from the Mayor, holds more weight than if
the non-profit merely reached out on its own. In fact, Ms. Phillips stated she was informed by
someone at the Carls Foundation that, if not for the City’s ask, MYD would not have received
funding. 40
Ms. Phillips continued to assist MYD with fundraising until July or August of 2018,
when the task was reassigned to Claire Huttenlocher, also a Fund Development Officer for ODG.
Ms. Huttenlocher stated she continued Ms. Phillips efforts to help MYD raise funds. Ms.
Huttenlocher had monthly check-ins with Ms. Rodriquez and Ms. Miller, though she stated they
were not very responsive. Her efforts were limited to assisting MYD secure funding from the
Children’s Foundation of Michigan as well as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).
Ms. Huttenlocher’s involvement with attempting to obtain funds from RWJF was limited to
reviewing MYD’s application. However, she was not successful in securing any funding from
RWJF. 41 Ms. Huttenlocher stopped communicating with MYD on February 7, 2019 at the
request of her supervisor, Deputy Chief Development Officer Sirene Abou-Chakra.
DHD employees also spent a lot of time and effort on MYD. All levels of DHD
employees from the Director to Program Managers assisted with the SFD and MYD
partnership. 42 According to email, DHD staff was required to pull together metrics and other
data, which included reporting the number of SFD referrals to MYD, for weekly mayor status
updates, bi-weekly meetings with Ms. Wiley, and monthly meetings with Mayor Duggan. The
OIG investigation found that DHD staff spent considerable time reconciling discrepancies
between SFD and MYD data as well as working to ensure a successful partnership.
Ms. Wiley also had considerable involvement with MYD. She was a “communications
resource” for MYD when its partnership with the City of Detroit began in 2014. That role
evolved after MYD partnered with SFD. She helped them work together to amplify the impact
of the organizations’ work with pregnant women. Ms. Wiley explained that the partnership was
a “Mayoral decision,” therefore this initiative naturally fell within her scope of responsibilities,
which include leading many of the Mayor’s key initiatives. Ms. Wiley also attended bi-weekly
meetings with representatives from MYD and SFD to discuss how the programs were working
together and to gauge how many women were being serviced. 43
d. Other Mayoral Priorities
ODG meets regularly with department directors to determine their priorities and funding
status, which includes any gaps in funding. Before ODG assists departments with raising
additional funds, the department priorities are presented to the Mayor and his executive
leadership team. Meeting attendees typically include Alexis Wiley and Dave Massaron 44 as well
40

Monique Phillips Interview, May 29, 2019.
Claire Huttenlocher Interview, May 23, 2019.
42
DHD has had considerable turnover with those involved with the SFD and MYD partnership. Those involved
include, but are not limited to, Abdul El-Sayed, Joneigh Khaldun, Tammy McCrory, Leseliey Rose Welch, Deborah
Whiting, Yolanda Hill-Ashford, Tamekia Ashford, Shirley Gray, and David Yeh.
43
Alexis Wiley Interview, August 19, 2019.
44
Dave Massaron stopped attending these meetings when he became the City of Detroit’s CFO.
41

Page 10 of 36

 as ODG leadership consisting of Katerli Bounds, 45 Sirene Abou-Chakra, and Ryan Friedrichs.
Department directors attend when invited. 46 Because there is a limited amount of money
available, ODG seeks approval from the Mayor before any fundraising efforts are initiated to
ensure that the directors’ priorities align with the mayoral priorities. 47
Priorities are also determined directly by the Mayor. Major initiatives, such as Strategic
Neighborhoods, Census, and Goal Line, come directly from Mayor Duggan. Ms. Abou-Chakra
estimated that 40% to 50% of the initiatives come directly from the Mayor. ODG focuses most
on these priorities. 48 Mayor Duggan also has the final say regarding funding priorities so he can
move around or change anything as needed. 49
Mayor Duggan stated that he has the same level of involvement with other initiatives as
he does with MYD. He gave the examples of the Detroit Opera House, Grow Detroit’s Young
Talent (GDYT), the Charles Wright Museum, the Boy Scouts, the Boys and Girls Club, and Goal
Line. The Mayor stated that a huge part of his job is determining what charitable causes would
add value to the City and then support them. Mayor Duggan stated that he spent much more
time on GDYT than he did on MYD. He said that he spent a “minimal amount” of time on
MYD compared to other initiatives. 50 Ms. Wiley concurred during her interview with the OIG.
She also cited Mayor Duggan’s involvement with GDYT and Goal Line as examples. 51
Mr. Friedrichs also indicated that Mayor Duggan and his executive leadership team are
active with other initiatives and have directed similar fundraising efforts. 52 In an email dated
April 6, 2019, Mr. Friedrichs provided John Roach 53 with other initiatives ODG raised funds for
that he felt was analogous to MYD. The email provided the following examples:
•

On June 11, 2015, Alexis Wiley forwarded Mia Cupp’s, Wayne Metro Director of
Development & Communications, email to Ryan Friedrichs, Elizabeth Palazzola from
COD as well as Jerome Drain and Louis Piszker from Wayne Metro. It stated “I’ll
introduce you to Ryan right now! He’s fantastic! Hope you both have a chance to
connect soon!” This was in response to Ms. Cupp’s email which stated, in part, “I’d like
to ask for guidance on how to make contact with Ryan Friedrichs the new CDO for the
City. It would be so great to share some of the stuff we are working on as well as to
discuss some potential collaboration.” Ms. Cupp hoped to partner with Mr. Friedrichs on
WRAP (Water Rental Assistance Program) for renters as well as other collaborations.

•

On May 9, 2017, Mr. Friedrichs received an email stating that the Michigan Black
Chamber of Commerce (MBCC) was holding grants for “Untold Stories” initiative to lift
up more stories of Detroit neighborhood businesses. It stated that the “990 from the

45

Katerli Bounds is the ODG Director of Grants.
Ryan Friedrichs Interview, June 4, 2019.
47
Sirene Abou-Chakra Interview, June 4, 2019.
48
Id.
49
Ryan Friedrichs Interview, June 4, 2019.
50
Mayor Duggan Interview, August 20, 2019.
51
Alexis Wiley Interview, August 19, 2019.
52
Ryan Friedrichs Interview, June 4, 2019.
53
Mayor’s Spokesperson.
46

Page 11 of 36

 MBCC is from 2015, but is good to go and covers them to be a fiscal sponsor for this
project.”
•

On September 15, 2016, Ryan Friedrichs emailed Alexis Wiley stating that “Skillman
came through with the $25,000 match Carnegie asked us to get for part of their grant
supporting Municipal ID…” Mr. Friedrichs reported directly to Ms. Wiley on Detroit’s
Municipal ID program in partnership with Global Detroit and others, which was being
funded with a grant to SEMHA.

•

On November 18, 2016, Alexis Wiley introduced Ryan Friedrichs via email to the
General Motors Senior Vice President for partnership on workforce training. It stated “I
wanted to introduce you to our Chief Development Officer Ryan Friedrichs. He works
for Mayor Duggan and manages our philanthropic partnerships and he’s looking to work
more closely with the GM Foundation and understand the foundation’s strategy going
forward.”

•

Alexis Wiley “built the bridge” to United Way to support the Industrial Sewing and
Innovation Center and Design Core Detroit via Detroit Regional Workforce Fund grant.

•

Alexis Wiley and team successfully raised funds together for the preservation of Dr.
Ossian Sweet’s historic home via the Neighborhood Stabilization Program’s African
American Civil Rights Grants competition.

•

On September 11, 2015, Alexis Wiley linked Ryan Friedrichs with the CEO of Detroit
PAL to help lead fundraising effort for the “Goal Detroit” soccer league.

•

On July 12, 2017, Alexis Wiley linked Ryan Friedrichs with David McGhee at Skillman
Foundation to get a grant to fund the non-profit Playworks to train the staff who will be
running the City of Detroit’s Summer Fun Centers.

•

Alexis Wiley wrote all major foundations in the City of Detroit saying they’ve raised
$3.8 million, half of their goal for GDYT for City Connect/ Connect Detroit and Detroit
Economic Solutions Corporation. 54

In addition to the above examples, ODG has raised funds for numerous projects ranging
from $5,000 to $32,606,264.15. Attached to this report is a chart created by ODG which
summarizes the projects, awards, and work put into fundraising by their office. Based on the
OIG review of the record, it is evident that ODG raises funds for other agencies and non-profits
to support mayoral initiatives and that significant time and effort have been invested in some of
these projects.
However, certain aspects of the City of Detroit’s relationship with MYD are unique.
MYD was created at the direction of Mayor Duggan whereas most, if not all, of the City’s other
partners were already established with a proven track record. Additionally, the OIG
54

Email from Ryan Friedrichs to John Roach dated April 6, 2019 with the subject of “follow-ups+.”

Page 12 of 36

 investigation revealed that MYD received an inordinate amount of City time and resources,
considering the fundraising goals and scope of work when compared against other projects of
similar size and scope. 55 Some of the additional time required by City staff was due to the
unresponsiveness of those involved with MYD.
Further, there is no established process by which partner agencies are selected to work
with the City of Detroit and obtain fundraising assistance from the City. Therefore, going
forward, we recommend Mayoral Priorities should be funded in fair, open, and transparent
process to ensure that funds are spent wisely, efficiently, and effectively.
e. No Conflict of Interest per City Charter
It has been alleged that Mayor Duggan had a relationship with Dr. Hassan and was thus
in violation of the City’s Ethics Ordinance for not disclosing it. While such allegations would
generally go to the Board of Ethics, we are addressing this issue in the context of abuse of
authority, for which the OIG does have jurisdiction.
The City’s ordinance only requires a public servant who exercises significant authority 56
over a pending matter to disclose any financial interest. Section 2-6-31 Disclosure of Interests by
Public Servants states:
(a) Except as otherwise provided by applicable law, a public servant
who exercises significant authority over a pending matter shall
disclose:
(1) Any financial interest, direct or indirect, that he or she or
an immediate family member has in any contract or
matter pending before City Council;
(2) Any financial interest, direct or indirect, that he or she or
an immediate family member has in any contract or
matter pending before or within any office, department
or agency of the City; and
(3) Any interest that he or she, or an immediate family
member has in real or personal property that is subject to
a decision by the City regarding purchase, sale, lease,
zoning, improvement, special designation tax
assessment or abatement or a development agreement.
(b) All disclosures that are required under Subsection (a) of this
section shall be made, in writing, on a form that is created by the
Law Department and sworn to in the presence of a notary public.
After completion, the form shall be filed with the Board of

55

See the attached chart created by ODG.
Exercises significant authority means having the ability to influence the outcome of a decision on behalf of the
City government in the course of the performance of a public servant’s duties and responsibilities.
56

Page 13 of 36

 Ethics, which shall forward a complete copy of the form to the
applicable department director or agency head.
The ordinance also states that the purpose of applying and enforcing disclosure
requirements and standards is to “ensure that governmental decisions are made in the public’s
best interest by prohibiting public servants from participating in matters that affect their personal
or financial interests. 57” However, it should be noted that the disclosure requirements focus on
the financial interests of public servants.
Under the City’s ordinance, a public servant is only required to disclose a personal
relationship if that person is the public servant’s “spouse, domestic partner, individual who lives
in the Public Servant’s household or an individual claimed by a Public Servant or a Public
Servant’s spouse as a dependent under the United States Internal Revenue Code at 26 USC 1. 58”
Consequently, the OIG did not investigate the nature of any relationship between Mayor Duggan
and Dr. Hassan. Moreover, as previously stated, for purposes of the OIG investigation, the
relationship, if any, is not relevant.
f. Analysis
Mayor Duggan prioritized reducing the rate of preterm birth and infant mortality in the
City of Detroit at the start of his first term as the Mayor. He provided MYD with many City
resources including funding and the assistance of City employees. Mayor Duggan’s support
continued when he directed SFD and MYD to form a partnership to assist pregnant women in the
City’s effort to reduce infant mortality. Based on the evidence gathered by the OIG, we
conclude MYD did receive preferential treatment as a Mayoral Priority.
i. Creation of MYD as a City Partner
Mayor Duggan’s transition team, which operated in November and December 2013,
consisted of 12 committees. The committees produced approximately 18 departmental reports
which included descriptions of key issues, recommended strategies for program improvements
and organizational structures, and 100 day action plans. Then DHD Director Vernice Anthony
and Dr. Hassan co-chaired the health care transition committee. Members of the committee were
unpaid, volunteer positions. 59

57

City of Detroit Ethics Ordinance 2012, Article V. Ethics, Division 1. Generally, Section 2-5-1. Statement of
Purpose. Commentary for this section states “The integrity of City government and public trust and confidence in
public officers and employees require that public servants be independent, impartial and responsible to the People;
that government decisions and policy be made within the proper channels of the governmental system; and that
public servants be prohibited from participating in matters that affect their personal or financial interests. The
purpose of this article is to establish guidelines for ethical standards of conduct for all City government officials and
employees by defining those acts or actions that are incompatible with the best interests of the City and by
mandating disclosure by public servants of private financial or other interests in matters affecting the City.”
58
2012 City of Detroit Charter, Sec. 2-105. Definitions and Rules of Construction: Immediate family member.
59
Transition Committee Chairs dated December 2, 2013 and Supplemental Documents for Inspector General from
the Mayor’s Office provided on August 29, 2019.

Page 14 of 36

 The report produced by Ms. Anthony and Dr. Hassan called for the establishment of a
“city-wide policy of regular implementation of evidence-based strategies to reduce the rate of
pre-term birth and thus affect the rate of infant mortality. 60” The report recommended that
Mayor Duggan “create a uniform City-Wide Preterm Birth Reduction Plan through partnerships
with hospitals, universities, and other programs. Designate pilot site for implementation of the
Preterm Birth Reduction Plan. 61”
On February 27, 2014, MYD was announced during Mayor Duggan’s first State of the
City Address. According to the Mayor’s Office, an “unprecedented coalition came together to
implement [the Pre-term Birth Reduction Plan] recommendation, combining the efforts of
Wayne State University and Yale University, the National Institute of Health, major
philanthropic organizations, and several health care and medical organizations. 62”
Initially, Dr. Hassan was to form a non-profit, raise money, and implement the evidencebased strategies with the goal of reducing the rate of pre-term birth and infant mortality.
However, in mid-2014, Mayor Duggan was informed that it would be a year before the nonprofit would be certified. Therefore, it was decided that MYD would be managed as a Wayne
State program. 63 On May 15, 2014, MYD officially began enrolling pregnant women to its
program.
The Mayor’s Office issued a press release on April 4, 2019. It stated that “no city funds
were ever provided to Make Your Date non-profit and no private money was ever raised for it.
Every dollar of city funds went directly to Wayne State University.” Ms. Wiley also made this
distinction in an April 2, 2019 email which stated, in part,
City staff briefly collaborated with the Wayne State philanthropy
department to try to raise funds for the Wayne State program, but
those efforts were unsuccessful and no funds were raised. At no
time did anyone from the city participate in any fundraising effort
for Make Your Date nonprofit- all efforts were a direct collaboration
with university staff for the university-run program. 64
However, this is a distinction without a purpose. Though City funds were paid to WSU,
it was with the understanding that it would be used solely for MYD, regardless if MYD is
characterized as non-profit or WSU program. This, in part, is evidenced by a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) between DHD 65 and WSU dated August 28, 2015. The MOU set forth
the “understanding that each party desires to finalize contract negotiations for [DHD] to fund
select program activities for WSU’s Make Your Date program activities.” Additionally, emails
regarding ODG’s fundraising efforts for MYD included not just WSU staff but also MYD
representatives. Therefore, though City of Detroit funds may have initially flowed to WSU, the
60

Department of Health Transition Report, undated.
Id.
62
Supplemental Documents for Inspector General from the Mayor’s Office provided on August 29, 2019.
63
Mayor Duggan Interview, August 20, 2019.
64
Email from Alexis Wiley to Joe Guillen dated April 2, 2019 re: voicemail.
65
In August of 2015, the Detroit Health Department was known as the Detroit Department of Health and Wellness
Promotion as stated in this MOU.
61

Page 15 of 36

 money was undisputedly designated for MYD. Based on the evidence gathered by the OIG, to
suggest otherwise would be simply inaccurate.
ii. Other Non-Profits and Programs Not Considered
Other previously established non-profits and programs were not considered by Mayor
Duggan to lead the fight against infant mortality. Mayor Duggan stated that his experience as
CEO of DMC allowed him to become familiar with infant mortality and preterm births rates in
the City of Detroit as well as with research programs within the DMC, specifically the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) Perinatology Research Branch (PRB). Therefore, following his
election, Mayor Duggan made it a priority to create an initiative to address infant mortality. He
asked Dr. Hassan, who was the project site manager for the PRB in addition to being the co-chair
for the health care transition committee, to assist with this task. She presented a plan to address
infant mortality by disseminating the NIH PRB’s research to the pregnant women of Detroit
which led to the creation of MYD. 66
Mayor Duggan unilaterally selected MYD to partner with the City of Detroit to address
pre-term birth and infant mortality. It is indisputable that Mayor Duggan’s nine (9) years of
experience at DMC put him in a position to have a good understanding of the successes and
failures of similar programs which he encountered while at DMC. However, there may have
been additional programs he did not have personal knowledge of.
Because City time, resources, and funding was used in part for this program, other nonprofits should have been considered to effectuate the Mayor’s initiative. A formal process
should have been undertaken in which non-profits and other programs could submit their
qualifications and proposals for consideration. These proposals should have been evaluated and
the best program selected, which may very well have been MYD. As the head of the City of
Detroit, the Mayor has a responsibility to select partners in a fair, open, and transparent manner
since City resources were put into this initiative.
iii. City of Detroit Funding Efforts for MYD
Mayor Duggan explained that WSU expressed concerns that SFD participants would
exceed the capacity of the MYD representatives after SFD received a $2 million grant in 2017.
Therefore, he made the decision to assist WSU in raising money so that MYD could increase its
staffing to keep up with the demands of new SFD participants. However, when it was
determined that SFD enrollment was not drastically increasing, WSU decided to do its own
fundraising for MYD. 67
According to Ms. Wiley, “[n]o city funds were ever provided to Make Your Date nonprofit and no private money was ever raised for it. 68” However, the OIG investigation revealed
that these statements are largely inaccurate. ODG staff worked with both WSU and MYD
representatives on fundraising efforts. According to ODG staff emails, the collaboration began
66

Mayor Duggan Interview, August 20, 2019.
Id.
68
April 4, 2019 Press Release from the Mayor’s Office.
67

Page 16 of 36

 in August 2017 and continued until November 2019. This partnership lasted over two years,
suggesting that ODG staff and WSU/ MYD representatives more than “briefly collaborated.”
Additionally, ODG efforts were successful in that MYD was awarded a grant from the Carls
Foundation, an award that MYD would not have received if not for the City’s ask. 69
Further, City of Detroit general funds were allocated and used for transportation for
expectant mothers who are enrolled in either MYD or SFD or both. Mayor Duggan stated
transportation was an important issue which he tasked then DHD Director Joneigh Khaldun with
solving. DHD implemented a Lyft program to provide transportation so that women can go to
and from their doctors’ appointments.
Mayor Duggan stated that he was more concerned about pregnant women getting to their
appointments than how the expense would be allocated between MYD and SFD. 70 According to
DHD, the department pays Lyft directly for all rides, including those given to MYD participants
only through the use of general funds. Therefore, though MYD does not directly receive general
fund dollars, these funds are used to fund a program that, in part, benefits MYD participants who
are not involved in a city program.
Shirley Gray, SFD Program Manager, is responsible for the overall operation and
management of SFD. Ms. Gray stated that the transportation aspect of SFD and MYD is
different than what she normally sees. She explained that program participants do not typically
receive transportation. However, she has only been with DHD since July 2018 and she did not
believe MYD received preferential treatment “with the exception to transportation.” She
clarified that it may not be preferential treatment but it was different from other initiatives. 71
iv. Lack of Fair and Transparent Selection Process
There are no policies or procedures that dictate the selection of mayoral initiatives or
priorities. As the head of the executive branch of City government, the Charter provides a wide
latitude for the Mayor to implement programs, services, and activities. However, when City
resources and funds are directed in initiating and implementing the program, it necessitates a
greater level of scrutiny. Therefore, any agency that is selected to receive City resources and
funds should go through a process to confirm that it is the best agency for the job and best use of
taxpayer resources. Those allocating funds have a duty to ensure that they are being spent
wisely, efficiently, and effectively. As such, Article IX of the Michigan Constitution requires
accountability in the use of public funds.
The OIG investigation found that MYD was selected in a manner that did not follow any
established procedures. The selection of MYD was based on Mayor Duggan’s prior knowledge
and at the recommendation of his transition team, which included Dr. Hassan. While the Mayor
was able to articulate his position in selecting MYD, because it appears no other agencies were
considered to ensure that the best possible selection was made in his initiative to combat infant
mortality, in the eyes of the public, MYD had unfair advantage over other organizations. DHD
69

Monique Phillips Interview, May 29, 2019.
Mayor Duggan Interview, August 20, 2019.
71
Shirley Gray Interview, August 7, 2019.
70

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 employees confirmed there were other organizations already in existence, prior to the creation
and the selection of MYD that could have been paired with SFD. 72 Therefore, to ensure a fair,
open, and transparent process, there should be a process by which Mayoral Priorities are
selected.
Based on the OIG’s investigation and research, it is not best practice to select a non-profit
or other program to receive City resources without some type of selection criteria and review.
Best practice is generally defined as a “procedure that has been shown by research and
experience to produce optimal results and that is established or proposed as a standard suitable
for widespread adoption. 73” By not considering other agencies, it unnecessarily invited the
appearance of an unfair process.
Other agencies have also been selected to partner with the City of Detroit on various
mayoral initiatives. However, as stated above, there is no consistent, articulable process by
which partner agencies are selected to work with the City of Detroit and receive fundraising
assistance. This is not best practice, as all City employees, including elected officials, have a
responsibility to ensure that City time and resources are expended wisely, efficiently, and
effectively through a transparent process.
Other non-profits or programs were not given the chance to present a plan to Mayor
Duggan on how they would address infant mortality. Instead, the Mayor simply tasked Dr.
Hassan, as a member of the mayoral transition team, to develop a plan to address the issue.
Mayor Duggan stated that MYD was what he logically believed would work after “seeing
everything else” during his time as CEO of DMC. 74 Mayor Duggan’s belief may be
accurate but this was not verified in an open process. If he had followed a transparent and
articulable process to make this important selection, there would be no doubt about the
accuracy of his assertion.
All public servants have a responsibility to follow established processes meant to ensure
a transparent, open, and fair process when using City resources and funds. No City of Detroit
policy directly addresses the selection of a non-profit to partner with for Mayoral Priorities or
other city initiatives. However, there are established procedures that must be followed when
both City of Detroit general funds and grant funds are being used to pay for services. The City
of Detroit Office of Contracting and Procurement’s (OCP) General Conditions Procurement
Policy and its Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) Manual provides guidance to City
departments that need to secure goods and/or services. 75 These policies and procedures mainly
focus on the competitive bid process and the sole source non-competitive purchase process.

72

The OIG did not analyze the other organizations and their ability to provide similar services to MYD. The OIG is
not an expert in this area and is, therefore, not qualified to do so. The OIG relied on the expertise of DHD
employees. It should be noted that if MYD was selected through an articulable process, open to other such agencies,
this would not be at issue in this instance.
73
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/best%20practice
74
Mayor Duggan Interview, August 20, 2019.
75
These procurement policies pertain only to City of Detroit departments and do not extend to quasi-government
agencies such as the DLBA and DBA.

Page 18 of 36

 In this instance, OCP’s policies and procedures are instructive because City of Detroit
general funds, grant funds, and other resources were provided to MYD. Therefore, the City
essentially purchased MYD’s services. OCP’s policies and procedures seek to maintain
processes that support principles that include supplier competition and purchases that are made
based on the highest standards of ethics and integrity. 76 The General Conditions Procurement
Policy states that procurement for the City of Detroit shall be “carried out in a manner which
provides a transparent, open, and fair opportunity to all eligible bidders to participate. 77”
The City of Detroit’s SOP Manual states that a citywide understanding of appropriate
behavior protects the integrity of the purchasing process. It identifies the following four
standards that must be upheld by the departments and staff:
(1) Responsibility – taking ownership for decisions that are
made or failed to be made, and the consequences that result; (2)
Respect – showing a high regard for oneself, the department,
and resources entrusted to it and supporting an environment
where diverse perspectives and views are encouraged and
valued; (3) Fairness – the requesting department has a duty to
make fair decisions and act impartially and objectively in order
to make ethical and cost effective purchases; and (4) Honesty –
acting in a truthful manner both in conduct and
communications. 78
Additionally, OCP identifies market research as an essential step in making informed
procurement decisions in its SOP Manual. It allows flexibility in the type of approach to be used
to perform this research, but the process should help in gaining expertise in the market before
making a selection. 79 Following this process would ensure that the City of Detroit partners with
the best agency or agencies to provide services to the citizens.
OCP is responsible for managing the bid process and ensuring a fair, competitive, and
value-driven environment in which to purchase government goods and services. The City of
Detroit must competitively bid all new contracts to the greatest extent possible. 80 This includes
contracts funded with grant dollars. In such instances, ODG and the funding agency must be
consulted regarding bid evaluation guidelines. 81 These ideals should be incorporated into the

76

City of Detroit SOP Manual (April 2016), Chapter 1: General Procurement Information, pg. 4.
City of Detroit General Conditions, Revised April 7, 2017.
78
City of Detroit SOP Manual (April 2016), Chapter 1 General Procurement Information, Section 1.2: Transparency
and Ethics, pg. 9.
79
Federal Acquisition Regulation, Part 10, March 2005.
https://www.acquisition.gov/sites/default/files/current/far/pdf/FAR.pdf and City of Detroit SOP Manual, Chapter 2:
Procurement Planning, A. Market Intelligence, pg. 7.
80
City of Detroit SOP Manual, Chapter 3: Making a Purchase, Section 3.5: Creating, Advertising, and Managing
Solicitations, I. Managing the Solicitation, pg. 25.
81
City of Detroit SOP Manual, Chapter 3: Making a Purchase, Section 3.6: Receiving, Evaluating, and Selecting
Bid Responses, pg. 29.
77

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 selection of a non-profit or agency that is selected to partner with the City of Detroit as it
receives City resources.
Additionally, OCP also has guidelines for when a non-competitive purchase can be made.
For example, in sole source procurements, the contract opportunity is not publicly advertised or
competitively bid because only one source is capable of supplying the goods or services. The
requesting department and OCP must substantiate that only one source can provide the goods
and services and that the recommendation is in the best interest of the City of Detroit before
developing the contract. 82 However, in this instance, it is unlikely that MYD would have been
eligible for such an exception. Based on the OIG investigation, there are other agencies that
could have potentially provided similar services.
Despite providing resources to MYD, the City of Detroit entered into only one MOU
with WSU. On August 28, 2015, DHD 83 and WSU entered into an MOU that set forth the
“understanding that each party desires to finalize contract negotiations for [DHD] to fund select
program activities for WSU’s Make Your Date program activities.” It called for contract
negotiations to be completed before the end of September 2015 and it expired on September 30,
2015. An MOU is important because it is “documentation of a formal agreement between the
City of Detroit and at least one other entity to establish a formal partnership. The MOU outlines
the duties, responsibilities, program details, funding, and protections for both organizations in
order to support a shared effort. 84”
Currently, there is no formal agreement between the City of Detroit, DHD, WSU, and
MYD and there has not been such an agreement since September 30, 2015. It is important to
note that WSU entered into an agreement with SEMHA for the $358,368 of LMCH funds which
specified how the money was to be spent. However, WSU and/or MYD has no agreement
directly with the City of Detroit or DHD which details what services MYD must provide in
exchange for Lyft funding or other City resources. Again, this is not best practice and gives the
impression that MYD is not being held to the same standard as others that receive funding from
the City.
It is not unique or uncommon that the City of Detroit is partnering with a non-profit.
According to Non-Profit Government Contracts and Grants; The State Agency Perspective
published by the Urban Institute Center on Non-Profits and Philanthropy,
Non-profit and government organizations have a long history of
working together to address social issues and deliver publicly
funded programs and services. They often share the same mission
and goals and offer each other valuable resources. For instance,
government agencies frequently allocate financial resources to nonprofits through contracts and grants that help address local
82

City of Detroit SOP Manual, Chapter 3: Making a Purchase, Section 3.8: Non-Competitive Purchases, pg. 38.
In August of 2015, the Detroit Health Department was known as the Detroit Department of Health and Wellness
Promotion as stated in this MOU.
84
City of Detroit SOP Manual, Chapter 2: Procurement Planning, B. City of Detroit’s Purchasing Toolkit, xi.
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), pg. 22.
83

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 community needs, while non-profits tend to be more narrowly
focused and allow government agencies greater flexibility and reach
to address specific issues or target populations. Roughly one-third
of non-profit budgets contain funding through government contracts
and grants to deliver public programs and services. 85
This same report details best practices for city and non-profit partnerships. It states that the
contract and grant processes generally involve four stages (pre-award, award, implementation,
and closeout) and each stage entails distinct activities as shown below. 86 It is not uncommon for
state agencies to have some variation in how their contract and grant processes are implemented
but there is a process that is followed. 87
State Agency Contract and Grant Process
Pre-award Stage

•Announce
opportunity
•Receive
applications an
proposals
•Evaluate and
select non-profits

Implementation
Stage

Award Stage

Closeout Stage

•Disburse payment
•Manage and
oversee

•Notify award
recipient
•Execute contract
or grant

•Review and
reconcile final
audit and other
reports

The report also explains that state agencies tend to have some discretion in how they
review and select non-profits. 88 When asked how their agencies select non-profits for funding,
most state agencies reported that each program has established evaluation criteria used by a
review panel. 89 This is in sharp contrast to how MYD was selected. As stated above, MYD was
selected by Mayor Duggan based on his knowledge and experience. This is not best practice
given the fact that City resources were allocated to this mayoral priority. It gives the impression
that MYD received preferential treatment since it was selected by Mayor Duggan and did not go
through a competitive selection process.
85

Research Report Non-Profit Government Contracts and Grants; The State Agency Perspective by Saunji D. Fyffe,
October 2015. Urban Institute Center on Non-Profits and Philanthropy. pg. VI Executive Summary.
86
Source: US Government Accountability Office.
87
Research Report Non-Profit Government Contracts and Grants; The State Agency Perspective by Saunji D. Fyffe,
October 2015. Urban Institute Center on Non-Profits and Philanthropy. pg. 12.
88
Description of Sample Agencies

Human services
Arts, culture, and
humanities
Environment and
animal

Northeast
1
1
1

South
3
1
1

89

Midwest
1
1
3

West
2
1
2

Research Report Non-Profit Government Contracts and Grants; The State Agency Perspective by Saunji D. Fyffe,
October 2015. Urban Institute Center on Non-Profits and Philanthropy. pg. 15.

Page 21 of 36

 Based on the evidence gathered, the OIG concludes that the selection of MYD lacked
fairness, openness, and transparency. Though no specific policy exists for the selection of
Mayoral Priorities, this process unnecessarily gave the impression that MYD was given
preferential treatment. To ensure public trust, it is important that we, as a public body, have an
open and transparent process in how we allocate City resources, including providing funds to
non-profit organization.
Again, to be clear, there is no evidence that MYD misused funds or that it is not the best
partner for the City of Detroit initiative to combat infant mortality. However, it is imperative
that all city business is conducted in the most transparent way possible to ensure the public’s
confidence in the City’s process in determining how to most wisely, efficiently, and effectively
use city funds.
v. Issues with the Relationship between SFD and MYD
In late 2016, Yolanda Hill-Ashford, DHD Director of Family and Community Health and
former SFD Program Manager, presented Birthing Project USA at a meeting attended by Mayor
Duggan and other DHD staff. Birthing Project USA is a national program that seeks to “improve
women’s health and birth outcomes through SisterFriending, education, community
collaboration and capacity building. 90” Mayor Duggan supported this idea and as a result
established SFD.
Mayor Duggan was aware of complaints from expectant mothers regarding access to
service and adequate training. Therefore, he thought SFD and MYD should partner to address
these issues. Mayor Duggan contacted MYD and asked MYD to support SFD with their clinical
education. After some discussion, the parties agreed that they would share referrals across
programs. In August 2017, the partnership was announced. 91 Ms. Hill-Ashford noted that the
partnership was natural because MYD was clinical and SFD was a mentorship program. 92
David Yeh, DHD Director of Special Projects, stated during his interview with the OIG
that just prior to launch of SFD, it was made clear that SFD and MYD should work together as a
single unit. He specified that MYD focused on prenatal care only while SFD focused on both
prenatal and postnatal care. Mr. Yeh stated that “we were to be presented as an integrated
program, even if we were kind of separate legal entities… In terms of operations, it should be a
seamless process. Everything from dual intake to weekly meetings…” 93
However, they did not operate as an integrated program with a seamless process. Even
prior to the MYD and SFD partnership, DHD staff had difficulties working with MYD staff.
The issues began when DHD gave MYD LMCH funds. Contract negotiations for the first round
of funding took several months and an inordinate amount of time and effort from several DHD
employees. Chelsea Harmell, former SEMHA/ DHD Maternal Child Health Program Manager,
90

https://www.birthingprojectusa.org/index.html
Mayor Duggan Interview, August 20, 2019.
92
Yolanda-Hill Ashford Interview, August 7, 2019.
93
David Yeh Interview, August 7, 2019.
91

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 began dealing with the contract issues in December 2014. 94 In an email dated May 12, 2015, she
stated
negotiations have stalled over several budget line items (initially
nearly half of the budget was dedicated to advertising), changing
program staff, Dr. Hassan’s lack of availability to meet over the
phone or in person for months on end, and continued confusion on
the DHWP side about whether the MYD program activities are
serving the population at large or acting as clinical research. MYD’s
primary concerns relate to ownership of program materials and
publications developed with proposed DHWP funds. 95
Similar issues occurred with subsequent rounds of LMCH funding. In addition, because
LMCH funds are Title V Maternal Child Health Program block grant funds, they are subject to
strict state and federal regulations. Therefore, detailed reporting is required from any
subcontractor that receives any portion of this money, including MYD. 96 DHD staff had
difficulties obtaining MYD’s budget and justification and were therefore required to spend
unnecessary extra time and effort to obtain the justification necessary to receive reimbursement
for the LMCH funds.
SFD Strategic Planning Meeting Minutes stated that DHD had a “tumultuous relationship
with [MYD] (Mayor mandated DHD to give MYD $200,000 when they first began and we have
trouble getting outcomes from their program.) 97” Ms. Hill-Ashford stated that she had
difficulties getting the justification for the LMCH funds given to MYD. She said that talking to
MYD representative Ms. Rodriguez about numbers was “like pulling teeth… They don’t do
things really in the spirit of partnership. 98”
Mr. Yeh also noted tensions between SFD and MYD and questioned why MYD would
be so closely integrated with the City of Detroit. He stated that he believed MYD received
preferential treatment. Mr. Yeh said he understood why a health system organization would
work with DHD, but does not think MYD was a strong enough organization to justify such a
close link with the City. He also stated that “at the risk of going way out of lane, [MYD]
became, in my view, more active and wanting to be closely involved after [DHD] got the $2
million grant from [the Ralph] Wilson [Foundation]” in early 2017. He said that MYD “thought
that they should be getting the funds rather than [DHD] because they were the high-profile,
evidence-based, going-to-change-infant-mortality-for-the-City program.” 99
Mayor Duggan and Ms. Wiley also acknowledged problems between SFD and MYD.
Mayor Duggan stated that there was initial tension between the programs; however the program

94

Chelsea Harmell was the SEMHA/ DHD Maternal Child Health Program Manager from December 2014 to
November 2015.
95
Email from Chelsea Harmell to Leseliey Rose Welch dated May 12, 2015.
96
Email from Chelsea Harmell to Deborah Whiting and Barbara Cerda dated July 9, 2015.
97
SisterFriends Strategic Planning 3.14.17 Meeting Minutes.
98
Yolanda Hill-Ashford Interview, August 7, 2019.
99
David Yeh Interview, August 7, 2019.

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 leads were able to get the programs working together to assist pregnant mothers. 100 Ms. Wiley
stated that there were “a lot of personality issues” and SFD and MYD “did not seem to like each
other much.” While the SFD and MYD’s partnership continued, Ms. Wiley decided to stop
attending the bi-weekly meetings with them in the spring of 2018. She stated “it was clear the
relationship between DHD and MYD...it didn’t feel like it was getting better to me. I did not
want to keep working with them.” Ms. Wiley stated that her issues with continuing her
involvement “had more to do with internal city stuff than it did with MYD.” When asked for
clarification, Ms. Wiley merely stated that there were” personality issues in terms of working
with DHD.” She added that there was nothing unique about [her] interaction or the Mayor’s
interaction with MYD” and that MYD did not receive any type of preferential treatment. 101
Some DHD employees reported feeling pressured from the Mayor’s Office regarding
MYD. Ms. Hill-Ashford said that if MYD ever had a problem with the DHD, they would go
directly to the Mayor’s Office and the Mayor would call the DHD Director who would, in turn,
scold the DHD staff regardless of fault. 102 A September 13, 2017 email exchange highlights this
frustration. Then DHD Director Joneigh Khaldun emailed Ms. Wiley and stated
Mayor mentioned in Cabinet- I agree, but also think there is a
misunderstanding. You should also know that they are invited to
our orientations, as the Mayor requested and they said they would
do, but they do not show up. I am happy to run and tell the issues
we have with them when they come up but was actually hoping we
could work some things out internally, but I see that is not their
approach. All is not perfect on their end either. 103
Ms. Wiley responded “Totally understand. That’s why I asked you to initiate communication
with Make Your Date instead of reaching out myself. Let’s just meet and hash it all out. 104”
Based on Ms. Hill-Ashford’s past work experience, she stated MYD is unique because of
Mayor Duggan’s involvement. She clarified that it was not unusual for a clinical department to
want to reach out but the partnership felt forced because it was what the Mayor wanted. Ms.
Hill-Ashford said that MYD “absolutely, absolutely, absolutely” received preferential treatment
in terms of mayoral support and “it was highlighted, it was the preferred program.” Ms. HillAshford provided the example of the work required of Tamekia Ashford Nixon, DHD Director
of Communications. She explained that Ms. Nixon was the communications person for DHD,
but she was required to focus a disproportionate amount of attention on the SFD and MYD
partnership because “it was connected to the Mayor’s Office.” 105
Ms. Hill-Ashford expressed her concerns about the SFD and MYD partnership soon after
Mayor Duggan directed its formation in early 2017. At that time, she was the SFD Program
100

Duggan Interview, August 20, 2019.
Alexis Wiley Interview, August 19, 2019.
102
Yolanda Hill-Ashford Interview, August 7, 2019.
103
Email from Joneigh Khaldun to Alexis Wiley RE: Make Your Date/ SisterFriends dated September 13, 2017.
104
Email from Alexis Wiley to Joneigh Khaldun RE: Make Your Date/ SisterFriends dated September 13, 2017.
105
Yolanda Hill Ashford Interview, August 7, 2019.
101

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 Manager. She explained that, after her third or fourth meeting with the Mayor’s Office, “it
started to feel more like a takeover” instead of just a partnership. She stated that it felt like SFD
was merely supporting MYD. She noted that “what could have been a natural fit felt really
forced.” Ms. Hill-Ashford said that SFD was tasked with recruiting women for MYD and it
became the focus of the meetings. She stated that it “started to feel awkward when that became
the sole focus of SFD.” 106
Ms. Hill-Ashford’s assertion about recruiting is supported by an email sent by Dr. Hassan
on September 13, 2017. She stated that “I would like that we hold off on sending MYD patients
to SF temporarily so that we don’t saturate the capacity of SFD and rather focus on SFD
recruiting patients jointly to SFD/MYD. 107” This statement is troubling because the stated goal
of both programs is to reduce infant mortality. The focus should be on making sure expectant
mothers are receiving all assistance available to them as opposed to bolstering MYD’s
enrollment numbers.
In addition to her frustrations regarding recruiting, Ms. Hill-Ashford made it known to
others that she was having difficulty getting the justification for the LMCH funding from MYD.
She recalled at one time, she had been told “don’t say anything” by Dr. Abdul El Sayed who was
then DHD Director. Additionally, she questioned MYD’s ability to solve the City of Detroit’s
infant mortality issue. She explained that MYD addresses cervical length measurements but
there are many other factors that could lead to infant mortality. 108 She noted that MYD is not
known in the community and she felt pressured to work with MYD. She stated it could “tarnish
our chance to get out there and be successful because the community wasn’t really necessarily
responding well to MYD.” Ms. Hill-Ashford was removed from the SFD Program Manager
position soon after voicing her dissatisfaction. She believes her removal was due to her being
critical of MYD, which she believed resulted in a poor work performance evaluation. 109
vi. Issues with the Relationship between ODG and MYD
ODG staff also had issues working with MYD and WSU representatives. ODG
Development Officer Monique Phillips stated that she essentially acted as MYD’s Development
Officer in assisting them to raise funds. She met with MYD representatives bi-weekly, either in
106

Id.
Email from Sonia Hassan to Yolanda Hill-Ashford, Joneigh Khaldun, Alexis Wiley and cc: Heather Stern, Janine
Bieda, Marisa Rodriguez, and Jennifer Hurand re: Make Your Date/ SisterFriends dated September 13, 2017.
108
An email circulated at DHD from Cynthia Taueg at St. John’s to anhov01@aol.com dated September 3, 2015
also expressed concerns about MYD being able to solely address the infant mortality issue. The email was
forwarded from “Mitchell. It stated “Attached is yet another article challenging the cost effectiveness and clinical
efficacy of universal ultrasound and treatment with the progesterone for those with a short cervix. In this study, they
found a short cervix <25mm to be uncommon, only 0.9%. They calculated that Make Your date type program
would only decrease the preterm delivery rate by 20 patients in a population of 18,250 women (a miniscule 0.11%,
see page 65). They also refer to the growing body of literature that is finding that universal ultrasound and
progesterone are not cost effective. The importance of this article is the reason that ACOG chose it to be the articles
that must be read for an Ob-Gyn to maintain Board Certification. In contrast, growing evidence supports the
effectiveness of IM progesterone; following the publication of my article in the NEJM in 2003, the number of
preterm births in the USA is about a half million fewer than trends would have predicted. In retrospect our decision
not to participate in Make Your Date was correct.”
109
Yolanda Hill-Ashford Interview, August 7, 2019.
107

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 person or via phone call, to discuss funding leads that were identified by both MYD and ODG.
She frequently spoke with MYD representatives Marissa Galuppi Rodriguez, Janine Bieda, and
WSU representative Susan Miller.
Ms. Phillips described her actions with MYD as unique. She typically only works with
non-profits if they are acting as a fiduciary for a City department. She explained that some funds
must be given to a 501(c)(3) and thus the non-profit functions as the “go between” so the funds
can flow to the City department. There is usually an MOU to formalize the relationship and
responsibilities of the non-profit and the City of Detroit. However, this was not the case with
MYD. As discussed above, the City of Detroit had only one (1) MOU with WSU and/ or MYD
that was for August 28, 2015 to September 30, 2015.
ODG Fund Development Officer Claire Huttenlocher stated that her involvement with
MYD was primarily limited to monthly check-ins with Marisa Galuppi Rodriquez and Susan
Miller. She stated that they were not very responsive. Thus, she was not successful in assisting
MYD to secure grant funding. 110 Ms. Huttenlocher stated that she never felt any pressure to
provide MYD with any additional assistance and there was nothing unique about the assistance
she provided to MYD. 111
Based on the above evidence, the OIG concludes many of the public servants who were
most directly involved with MYD felt pressured and therefore spent a disproportionate amount
of time on this agency because it was a Mayoral Priority. Additionally, several public servants
stated that MYD was given City resources not afforded to other non-profits or similar agencies.
Therefore, we highly recommend that policies and procedures be created that will prevent such
situations from occurring in the future.
V.

Deleted Emails

It was alleged that two (2) ODG staff members were directed to delete emails regarding
MYD by a high-ranking official in the Mayor’s Office in an attempt to hide the amount of work
done by the department to secure grant funding for MYD. Because another agency is conducting
a concurrent investigation on this matter, this report will not address whether the person(s) who
ordered the deletion of the emails violated any statute concerning the Michigan Record Retention
Schedule. Moreover, because we cannot opine on legal matters or make legal determinations on
behalf of the City, we will only address whether the person(s) who ordered the deletion of emails
abused his/her/their authority.
a. Timeline of Actions
i. Approximately December 2018
ODG staff were first instructed to delete MYD emails around December 2018. During
his interview, Mr. Friedrichs stated that Ms. Wiley called him soon after surveillance video of
Mayor Duggan was broadcast outside of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center. Ms. Wiley
110
111

Claire Huttenlocher Interview, May 23, 2019.
Id.

Page 26 of 36

 told Mr. Friedrichs to have Claire Huttenlocher and Monique Phillips stop contracting MYD and
to delete the outreach emails pertaining to MYD. The directive did not extend to Mr. Friedrichs,
Katerli Bounds, or Sirene Abou-Chakra. Ms. Wiley justified her direction to Mr. Friedrichs by
stating that she did not want to “pull the grants department into all of this. 112”
Mr. Friedrichs then contacted Ms. Abou-Chakra and told her that, based on a
conversation he had with Ms. Wiley, ODG should no longer communicate with MYD and both
Ms. Huttenlocher and Ms. Phillips should delete all related emails. 113 Ms. Abou-Chakra clearly
relayed these instructions to Ms. Phillips who deleted her emails but only after she forwarded
some of the emails to her personal account, so she could maintain a record. 114 Ms. Huttenlocher,
however, did not receive the message and continued to reach out to MYD via email. 115
Ms. Wiley admitted that she spoke with Mr. Friedrichs sometime in December 2018.
However, she stated that the purpose of the conversation was to find out what fundraising efforts
were made by the ODG on behalf of MYD and to have his department stop contacting the
organization. Ms. Wiley “did not recall” directing Mr. Friedrichs to have his staff delete MYD
emails. 116
ii. February 7, 2019
On February 7, 2019, ODG staff were given a second directive to stop contacting MYD
and to delete all MYD related emails. Mr. Friedrichs explained that Ms. Wiley called again
because Ms. Rodriquez at MYD notified her that Ms. Huttenlocher was continuing to email
MYD about fundraising. Mr. Friedrichs contacted Ms. Abou-Chakra and again instructed her to
relay the directive to Ms. Huttenlocher. He also noted that, at that time, a “full stop” occurred to
“let the circus settle. 117”
Ms. Huttenlocher stated during her OIG interview that Ms. Abou-Chakra called her on
February 7, 2019 and ordered her to delete her MYD emails. Ms. Abou-Chakra told her that the
request came from Ms. Wiley and that Ms. Phillips had also been told to delete emails. 118 Ms.
Abou-Chakra further stated to Ms. Huttenlocher that Mr. Friedrichs was aware of the request and
the deletions were meant to “protect you guys.” Ms. Huttenlocher did not know what that meant
but stated that it was framed around wanting to protect them from the press coverage. 119
Ms. Wiley confirmed that Ms. Rodriquez contacted her because ODG’s grants team
continued to reach out to MYD, sending her the same grant agreement for months that MYD had
no interest in signing. She also confirmed that she spoke with Mr. Friedrichs a second time
about stopping all MYD communication. Ms. Wiley noted that with “Bob Carmack and all of
112

Ryan Friedrichs Interview, June 4, 2019.
Sirene Abou-Chakra Interview, June 4, 2019.
114
Monique Phillips Interview, May 29, 2019.
115
Sirene Abou-Chakra Interview, June 4, 2019. Claire Huttenlocher Interview, May 23, 2019.
116
Alexis Wiley Interview, August 20, 2019.
117
Ryan Friedrichs Interview, June 4, 2019.
118
Ms. Abou-Chakra also stated during her OIG interview that she was told on two (2) separate occasions to stop
communicating with MYD and for Ms. Phillips and Ms. Huttenlocher to delete emails.
119
Claire Huttenlocher Interview, May 23, 2019.
113

Page 27 of 36

 the craziness going on,” the intention was that the ODG grant team should stop reaching out to
MYD. However, Ms. Wiley again denied requesting that Mr. Friedrichs have his staff delete
emails. She stated “I do not recall saying that and when I learned emails had been deleted I was
surprised. 120”
iii. Mid-March to April 2019
Around March or April of 2019, Ms. Abou-Chakra sought out details on what fundraising
efforts had been undertaken on behalf of MYD after Ms. Wiley requested this information.
Because she did not have firsthand knowledge of what ODG did to raise funds for MYD, Ms.
Abou-Chakra worked with Mr. Friedrichs, Ms. Phillips, and Ms. Huttenlocher to compile the
information for Ms. Wiley, which then was provided to her. 121
Later that same week, Ms. Phillips and Ms. Abou-Chakra were called into Ms. Wiley’s
office. Ms. Phillips explained her MYD fundraising efforts to Ms. Wiley. During the meeting,
Ms. Wiley asked Ms. Phillips to provide her with detail on what a particular email said. Ms.
Phillips responded that she did not know because, per Ms. Wiley’s instructions, the emails were
deleted. Ms. Abou-Chakra recalled Ms. Wiley saying “that was right” at the meeting. 122
Ms. Wiley recalled the meeting with Ms. Phillips and Ms. Abou-Chakra to discuss
ODG’s fundraising efforts, including the agencies ODG had reached out to on behalf of MYD.
However, Ms. Wiley recalled the meeting occurred in April. Ms. Wiley stated that, during the
conversation, the Carls Foundation came up and she asked Ms. Phillips if there were any emails
pertaining the Carls Foundation. She replied ‘no’ and informed Ms. Wiley that her emails had
been deleted. Ms. Wiley explained that she “did not think anything of [the deletions]” because
she was not aware of the content of the conversations and she just assumed the deletions were
normal and innocent. 123
iv. Early May of 2019
In early May of 2019, after an ODG employee who was being dismissed from her
employment alleged that there was a “sinister motive for deleting the emails,” Mr. Friedrichs
approached Dave Massaron, Chief Financial Officer, about recovering the deleted MYD
emails. 124” Mr. Massaron then contacted Beth Niblock, City of Detroit Chief Information
Officer, as well as WSU to assist in recovering the emails. During his OIG interview, Mr.
Friedrichs stated that the emails were recovered to “avoid the appearance of impropriety. 125” He
did not know if the emails would have been recovered if not for the employee’s allegations.

120

Alexis Wiley Interview, August 19, 2019.
Sirene Abou-Chakra Interview, June 4, 2019 and Claire Huttenlocher Interview, May 23, 2019.
122
Sirene Abou-Chakra Interview, June 4, 2019.
123
Alex Wiley Interview, August 19, 2019.
124
Ryan Friedrichs Interview, June 4, 2019. Ms. Abou-Chakra also stated during her interview that the emails were
recovered only after a “disgruntled employee” complained.
125
Ryan Friedrichs Interview, June 4, 2019.
121

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 b. Analysis
There is no single definition for abuse of authority. 126 Black’s Law Dictionary defines it
as a “misuse of power by someone in a position of authority who can use the leverage they have
to oppress persons in an inferior position or induce them to commit a wrongful act. 127” The
Ethics Office for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization states
The abuse and misuse of power or authority in the course of
performing work can occur both with external stakeholders and
internally among staff. The effects can be damaging to morale and
to working relationships. Abuse of power or authority can take
various forms. Examples include:
•
•
•
•

Bullying or harassing behavior
Requesting staff to do personal errands or favours
Pressuring staff to distort facts or break rules
Interfering with the ability of a colleague to work effectively (i.e.
by impeding access to information or resources) 128
i. Abuse of Authority

Based on the above outlined facts, the OIG finds that Alexis Wiley abused her authority
when she ordered Ms. Phillips and Ms. Huttenlocher to delete MYD emails through their boss,
Mr. Friedrichs. Likewise, we find Mr. Friedrichs and Ms. Abou-Chakra also abused their
authority by relaying the directive to Ms. Phillips and Ms. Huttenlocher. The OIG makes these
findings based on a preponderance of the evidence which reflects that it is “more probable than
not 129” that Ms. Wiley gave this direction to ODG staff.
Mr. Friedrichs definitively stated that Ms. Wiley gave him the directive for his staff to
stop communicating with MYD and to delete MYD emails. He told the OIG that he clarified
with Ms. Wiley that she was ordering that the emails be deleted to which she replied “yes.” He
further stated that he believes Ms. Wiley “meant well” and was merely trying to protect the ODG
staff. 130
The OIG finds Mr. Friedrichs’ statement credible. After Mr. Friedrichs received the first
order from Ms. Wiley for his staff to delete MYD emails in December of 2018, he immediately
contacted Ms. Abou-Chakra so she could inform Ms. Huttenlocher and Ms. Phillips. At that
time, he told Ms. Abou-Chakra the request came from Ms. Wiley. Moreover, after Ms. Wiley
made the same request in February of 2019, Mr. Friedrichs again provided this information to
Ms. Abou-Chakra. She then contacted Ms. Huttenlocher and Ms. Phillips to remind them of the
126

It may also be referred to as abuse of power.
Thelaw.com Law Dictionary and Black’s Law Dictionary, 2nd Edition, https://dictionary.thelaw.com/abuse-ofpower/
128
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/ethics-office/ethics-guidance/abuse-of-power-or-authority/
129
https://www.merriam-webster.com/legal/preponderance%20of%20the%20evidence
130
Ryan Friedrichs Interview, June 4, 2019.
127

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 directive from Ms. Wiley. Ms. Huttenlocher recalled that Ms. Abou-Chakra told her that the
request came from Ms. Wiley. 131
The statements made by Mr. Friedrichs, Ms. Abou-Chakra, Ms. Phillips, and Ms.
Huttenlocher are consistent in that the order to delete the emails came from Ms. Wiley. While
Ms. Wiley had trouble recalling the specific directive she issued to Mr. Friedrichs, we find that
more likely than not, Ms. Wiley initiated the directive. Moreover, we note Mr. Friedrichs
relayed this information to his staff in real time. Therefore, we find Mr. Friedrichs’ statement to
be persuasive.
Mr. Friedrichs told the OIG that he believed “this was permissible under the laws and
policies. 132” Also, at that time, there was no indication that the MYD email deletion would
become an issue as Ms. Abou-Chakra, Ms. Huttenlocher, and Ms. Phillips did not initially
express any concerns about the request. At the time the direction was received, the OIG had not
yet opened its investigation and there was no pending FOIA request for the ODG documents.
Therefore, he would have no reason to try to preemptively shift blame or make up the fact that
the directive came from Ms. Wiley.
Ms. Wiley disputes that she ordered him to have his staff delete MYD emails. However,
in her OIG interview, instead of providing a definitive statement that she did not give that
directive, she said that she “does not recall” or “does not remember” telling Mr. Friedrichs to
delete the emails. 133 Ms. Wiley eventually clarified that she may have mentioned during the
December 2018 conversation with Mr. Friedrichs that emails were discoverable under FOIA.
She said that Mr. Friedrichs may have misunderstood her statement but she never told Mr.
Friedrichs to delete emails. 134
Ms. Wiley explained she learned MYD emails had been deleted during a meeting with
Ms. Abou-Chakra and Ms. Phillips regarding ODG’s MYD fundraising efforts. Ms. Wiley told
the OIG that she “had no reason to think it was something that needed to be reported” because
she assumed the emails were deleted as a part of the normal course of business. 135 However, this
contradicts Ms. Wiley’s earlier statement that she was surprised when she first learned emails
had been deleted. Additionally, this contradicts Ms. Abou-Charka’s recollection of the meeting.
Ms. Abou-Charka recalls Ms. Wiley being reminded that she told ODG to delete emails to which
Ms. Wiley replied “that was right. 136”
It is important to note that Ms. Wiley’s statements support the recollections of Mr.
Friedrichs, Ms. Abou-Chakra, Ms. Huttenlocher, and Ms. Phillips on several points. Ms. Wiley
acknowledged that she told Mr. Friedrichs to have his staff stop communicating with MYD on
131

Ryan Friedrichs Interview, June 4, 2019; Sirene Abou-Chakra Interview, June 4, 2019, and Claire Huttenlocher
Interview, May 23, 2019.
132
Ryan Friedrichs Interview, June 4, 2019.
133
Alexis Wiley Interview, August 20, 2019.
134
Alexis Wiley Interview, August 20, 2019. Ms. Wiley’s attorney interrupted the OIG interview to interject this
point. Ms. Wiley confirmed that her attorney’s statement was accurate. However, she mostly told the OIG that she
“did not recall” telling Mr. Friedrichs to delete emails.
135
Alexis Wiley Interview, August 19, 2019.
136
Sirene Abou-Chakra Interview, June 4, 2019.

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 two (2) separate occasions. She also acknowledged the meeting with Ms. Abou-Chakra and Ms.
Phillips where the deletion of MYD emails was mentioned. Curiously, the only deviation in her
recollection as compared to everyone was her order to delete MYD emails.
Ms. Wiley told the OIG that she learned the email deletion may be an issue after an ODG
employee, who was about to be terminated, questioned the motivations for doing so. Ms. Wiley
also learned at the same time that the employee was alleging that the Mayor’s Office directed the
deletion of emails. She said that she subsequently contacted Mr. Friedrichs and he alleged that
he received the direction to delete MYD emails from her. Ms. Wiley denied this, but he told her
that she did give that command. 137
Ms. Wiley then called Mayor Duggan to inform him of her conversation with Mr.
Friedrichs and to deny directing the deletion of MYD emails. 138 Mayor Duggan confirmed that
he learned about the deleted MYD emails from Ms. Wiley. He told the OIG that he was aware
of pending FOIA and OIG requests for emails, at the time of his interview, “so the last thing [he]
wanted was for emails to be deleted.” He also took steps to ensure that the emails were
recovered.
There is no evidence to suggest that Mayor Duggan directed or knew about Ms. Wiley’s
order to Mr. Friedrichs for his staff to delete MYD emails. The OIG interviewed Mr. Friedrichs,
Ms. Abou-Chakra, Ms. Huttenlocher, Ms. Phillips, and Ms. Wiley regarding the deleted MYD
emails. None of them implicated Mayor Duggan and the OIG has no reason to find that he was
involved or knew about the mandate when it was given by Ms. Wiley.
However, the OIG finds that the directive to delete MYD emails was an abuse of
authority by Ms. Wiley, Mr. Friedrich, and Ms. Abou-Chakra. All three (3) are in a position of
authority over Ms. Huttenlocher and Ms. Phillips. This made it extremely difficult for Ms.
Huttenlocher and Ms. Phillips to question this order, let alone ignore it. Not only did their direct
supervisor give the directive but also the head of their department pursuant to someone from the
Mayor’s Office.
ii. Alleged Reasons Given for Deletion Directive
Ms. Huttenlocher and Ms. Phillips were put in a very difficult position when they were
directed by their immediate supervisor, Ms. Abou-Chakra, to delete emails. This was
compounded by the fact that they were told the order came down from Ms. Wiley, who works in
the Mayor’s Office, through Mr. Friedrichs, who is the head of their department. Both Ms.
Huttenlocher and Ms. Phillips were uncomfortable with this request though neither felt they
could express their concerns when they were first ordered to delete the MYD emails. 139

137

Alexis Wiley Interview, August 19, 2019.
Alexis Wiley Interview, August 19, 2019.
139
Claire Huttenlocher Interview, May 23, 2019 and Monique Phillips Interview, May 29, 2019.
138

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 Ms. Phillips eventually expressed her concerns to Mr. Friedrichs during a meeting where
Ms. Abou-Chakra and Ms. Huttenlocher were also in attendance. 140 Ms. Phillips told the OIG
that Mr. Friedrichs said the deletion request was made in an attempt to protect the staff. He
stated that those in higher positions should have to be the ones to deal with this issue. 141 Ms.
Huttenlocher also subsequently expressed her concerns to Ms. Abou-Chakra and Mr. Friedrichs
though she acknowledges that she deleted the MYD emails without initially expressing her
discomfort. 142
Mr. Friedrichs did not delete his MYD emails. He told the OIG the emails were “his
armor.” However, he stated that he understood asking “the 20 year olds [Ms. Huttenlocher and
Ms. Phillips] to delete their emails to protect them. 143” Ms. Abou-Chakra, who did not delete
any MYD emails because she had nothing responsive to this directive, also stated that the
intention was to “protect the staff so there were not emails out there to bring their names into it.”
Both Mr. Friedrichs and Ms. Abou-Chakra said that, upon reflection, they had concerns
about the order to delete MYD emails. Mr. Friedrichs noted that one of his concerns was that the
deletion would give the “appearance that something happened.” He wanted to continue to raise
funds for MYD because he felt MYD was a good program. 144
Ms. Abou-Chakra stated her concerns to the OIG more strongly. She stated that it was
“horrible judgment” on all their parts and made ODG “look guilty for something they should not
look guilty for.” She explained that there was nothing to hide in the emails and that they would
show that ODG did what they were supposed to do. Ms. Abou-Chakra also took responsibility
for not pushing back when the initial deletion directive was given and acknowledged that she
does not believe it was “the right thing to do. 145”
Ms. Wiley stated that she had no concerns about MYD emails being deleted. She told the
OIG that she did not take any steps to recover the emails once she learned of the problem. She
said “I did not view it as that big of a deal. I did not view it as they did something wrong. 146”
The OIG finds the directive to delete MYD emails troubling. More likely than not, when
someone orders emails pertaining to a specific subject-matter be deleted, the person who issues
the order does not want anyone to have access to the emails or have the ability to see them.
However well intended, such order suggests a lack of transparency in government. The basic
foundation of good government requires transparent and open governance. It also showed a
profound lack of judgment by Ms. Wiley, Mr. Friedrichs, and Ms. Abou-Chakra. The deletions
occurred after FOIA requests had been submitted to the City of Detroit Law Department for
emails and other documentation related to MYD. Though no FOIA request for ODG emails and

140

Ms. Phillips could not recall the date of the meeting but said it was after she was told twice to delete MYD
emails.
141
Monique Phillips Interview, May 29, 2019.
142
Claire Huttenlocher Interview, May 23, 2019.
143
Ryan Friedrichs Interview, June 4, 2019.
144
Ryan Friedrichs Interview, June 4, 2019.
145
Sirene Abou-Chakra Interview, June 4, 2019.
146
Alexis Wiley Interview, August 19, 2019.

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 documentation had been submitted when the deletion occurred, any reasonable person could
assume that the request was coming.
Ms. Wiley, Mr. Friedrichs, and Ms. Abou-Chakra all stated that the City of Detroit and
ODG did nothing improper or unethical regarding MYD. They felt that the City acted
appropriately in partnering with MYD and attempting to assist the organization raise funds. In
fact, Ms. Abou-Chakra sent an email to the OIG after her interview stating, in part
I wholeheartedly believe that if I felt there was something
incriminating or unethical in those emails, I would have pushed back
on deleting them. The fact they were superfluous in nature made the
request to delete them seem innocuous. I am sharing this because I
pushed myself hard on yesterday and wholeheartedly believe that to
be the truth. Thanks for your time and the work that you do. 147
Mr. Friedrichs and Ms. Abou-Chakra both stated that Ms. Huttenlocher and Ms. Phillips
were instructed to delete their MYD emails to protect them. The very fact the emails were
ordered to be deleted and were deleted imply negative motives. Moreover, the fact there was
such an order issued and was subsequently executed unnecessarily gave credence to the ODG
employee’s suggestion that deletion of emails was a cover-up.
iii. Issues with Recovered Emails
Mr. Massaron worked with both the City of Detroit Department of Innovation and
Technology (DoIT) as well as WSU to recover the deleted emails. Mr. Friedrichs stated that
WSU gave the City of Detroit all of the emails they had between MYD/ WSU and the City of
Detroit. Ms. Huttenlocher and Ms. Phillips were then asked to determine if all of their MYD
emails had been recovered. 148 It should be noted that this is a difficult task, given that their
communications with MYD date back to 2017. Regardless, Ms. Huttenlocher indicated that
some Robert Wood Johnson Foundation emails may be missing 149 and Ms. Phillips noted an
email she received from Dr. Hassan praising her work was also missing. 150 Ms. Phillips’ email
was subsequently recovered.
While Mr. Massaron did provide the OIG with 59 recovered emails, in fact, not all MYD
emails were recovered. The OIG was able to recover an additional 26 emails.
On May 14, 2019, after the OIG became aware of Ms. Wiley’s directive to ODG staff to
delete emails, the OIG contacted DoIT to request that the department assist us in recovering any
deleted emails. Based on the information provided by DoIT, the OIG identified the additional
emails.

147

Email from Sirene Abou-Chakra to Jennifer Bentley dated June 5, 2019.
Ryan Friedrichs Interview, June 4, 2019.
149
Claire Huttenlocher Interview, May 23, 2019.
150
Phone Conversation with Ms. Phillips in July 2019.
148

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 Additionally, between Mr. Massaron, the OIG, and WSU, it still cannot be definitely
stated that all deleted MYD emails were recovered. Mike Homant, Director of Enterprise
Technology Operations for DoIT, informed the OIG of the following
Important, the below documentation excludes accounts that have
been put on legal/litigation hold. Accounts on legal/litigation hold
do not allow for emails to be deleted. 151
The definition of a deleted email is one that has been deleted and
removed from the email trash or deleted items folder. This includes
items that the customer deletes bypassing the email trash or deleted
items folder by using [Shift] + [Delete].
Our current email platform Microsoft Exchange Online, allows for
deleted email to be recovered for 14 days. This capability may be
changed by Microsoft at any time.
The City’s legacy email platform GroupWise, allows for deleted
email to be recovered for 1-4 days based on what GroupWise post
office the customer is in. The reason for the variation based in post
office is based on the size of post office and amount of space required
for the backup. The email is recoverable until the backup system
overwrites the last backup containing the deleted email. The backup
system was originally setup with a 14 day retention period which
has shortened based on the growth of the post offices. 152
The emails deleted by Ms. Huttenlocher and Ms. Phillips were in the GroupWise email
platform. Based on the above information, it is impossible to definitively say that all deleted
MYD emails have been recovered. Though WSU likely has a different emails system that may
preserve emails longer, they would not have access to emails that were exchanged internally in
the City of Detroit regarding MYD.
Additionally, Ms. Wiley has publicly stated that the City’s efforts to raise funds for MYD
were unsuccessful and that the City of Detroit made only preliminary inquiries on behalf of
MYD. However, the recovered emails show otherwise. These emails show that ODG staff made
more than preliminary inquiries on behalf of MYD. Attached are summaries of the emails
recovered by both the City of Detroit and the OIG that shows the extent of the work done via
email by Ms. Huttenlocher and Ms. Phillips.
The OIG finds that the recovered emails contradict statements made by Ms. Wiley
regarding the amount of work and effort ODG put forth in an attempt to secure funding for
MYD.

151

Neither Ms. Huttenlocher nor Ms. Phillips’ email accounts had legal/ litigation hold.
Email from Mike Homant, Director of Enterprise Technology Operations for DoIT, to Ellen Ha, Jennifer Bentley,
Beth Niblock; cc: Kamau Marable RE: Deleted Email Retrievals, July 15, 2019.
152

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 Regardless of the number of emails exchanged, the contents of the emails, or whether the
emails were recovered, the damage was done when the emails were ordered to be deleted. While
all those who recalled the events of email deletion were consistent in that the order was given in
best intention to protect employees, it is not the intent or the motivation we question in our
investigation, but rather the fact they were ordered to be deleted. The OIG finds that the ordering
of the deletion of emails is more than a minor or trivial action. It threatens the public’s ability to
trust that their government is operating in a transparent manner.
iv. Use of Personal Email
Pursuant to a document request, the OIG received emails sent and received by the Mayor
and Ms. Wiley from their respective personal email accounts. Therefore, we are compelled to
make the following findings.
Mayor Duggan and Ms. Wiley both use personal email to conduct City business. Mayor
Duggan told the OIG that he performs city business on his personal email, though not as much,
since the City switched GroupWise to Outlook email platform. He said that he received training
that he could use private email accounts but noted that all city business, regardless of the email
account, is subject to FOIA. 153 Ms. Wiley told the OIG that she uses her personal email account
to conduct city business and is under the impression that is not an issue. 154
The OIG finds this practice extremely problematic. All City of Detroit public servants,
including elected officials, are given a City email address. This is what should be used to
conduct City business. When any public servant uses a personal email account to conduct City
business, anyone seeking information from that account is at the mercy of that individual to
produce the emails on their own. This is in contrast to City email which can be accessed by
DoIT to recover the emails with or without the public servant’s knowledge.
It is important to note that there is no indication that Mayor Duggan or Ms. Wiley failed
to turn over any emails responsive to any FOIA request from their respective personal email
accounts. However, moving forward, the use of private emails to conduct city business should
be discontinued, unless the public servant is unable to access the city’s email.
VI.

Conclusion

Based on the OIG investigation, we find Mayor Duggan gave MYD preferential
treatment. However, in doing so, he did not violate any City policies, procedures, or laws
regarding the selection of City partners or Mayoral Priorities as there were none. However, the
OIG finds the selection lacked fairness, openness, and transparency because it excluded other
potential agencies, non-profits, and programs who may have been able to help reduce Detroit’s
infant mortality. The selection of MYD did not follow any established process in which a
thorough and complete evaluation of the organization occurred. Thus, we conclude his actions
violated best practice and good governance.

153
154

Mayor Duggan Interview, August 20, 2019.
Alexis Wiley Interview, August 19, 2019.

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 Finally, Ms. Wiley, Mr. Friedrichs, and Ms. Abou-Chakra abused their authority by
ordering their subordinates to delete emails related to MYD. These actions show a blatant
disregard for transparency and good governance. It also showed a profound lack of judgment by
all involved.
VII.

Recommendations

The OIG makes the following recommendations:
1. Establish policies and procedures for the selection of organizations, agencies, and nonprofits that will partner with the City of Detroit and receive any type of City resource.
This policy should ensure fairness, openness, and transparency in the selection process.
2. Provide training to ODG staff as well as Alexis Wiley regarding Michigan Record
Retention Policy.
3. Issue appropriate discipline to Alexis Wiley for ordering ODG staff to delete MYD
emails as well as for providing misleading public statements regarding MYD funding.
4. Issue appropriate discipline to Ryan Friedrichs for ordering ODG staff to delete MYD
emails.
5. Issue appropriate discipline to Sirene Abou-Chakra for ordering ODG staff to delete
MYD emails.
6. Establish a policy preventing all public servants from conducting City business on
personal email accounts.

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