Midtown Detroit Inc. names former state Rep. Maureen Stapleton as interim director

Former state Rep. Maureen Stapleton will be the interim director of Midtown Detroit Inc. as the nonprofit community and development group looks to replace longtime director Sue Mosey.

Stapleton, who, as a Democrat, from 2011 until 2013 represented District 4 on Detroit's east side with portions of Midtown, starts the job Friday.

Mosey retired at the end of last year after serving as Midtown Detroit Inc.'s first director. The organization's board voted late last week to approve Stapleton for a one-year contract.

Midtown Detroit Inc. plays an active role in fostering economic development in the city's Midtown and New Center areas and organizes special events including Noel Night and DELECTRICITY.

It was formed by the 2011 merger of the University Cultural Center Association and the New Center Council. Mosey had led the University Cultural Center Association since the early 1990s.

It was unclear Thursday whether the organization intends to undertake a formal search process for a permanent replacement for Mosey.

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Stapleton, 58, said one of her first responsibilities will be working with area anchor institutions, businesses, community stakeholders and developers to update the organization's Community Strategic Plan.

“Midtown is, in my opinion, the most successful placemaking effort in Detroit, and some would argue in the state of Michigan," she said. “My goal is to do two things: continue to move those things in the pipeline forward and find new opportunities for development — both housing and retail — so that Midtown continues to be a place where people live, work, shop and play."

She added, “I don’t want anyone to believe that Midtown is done — it’s not.”

Stapleton is a longtime public servant who worked in the city's youth and recreation departments in the 1990s during the administration of former Mayor Dennis Archer. She later worked as an administrator for the city of Indianapolis.

Stapleton returned to Detroit and won election in 2010 to the state House, serving for one term before losing to Rashida Tlaib in a 2012 primary that followed a redistricting that pitted the two incumbents against each other.

Stapleton then went on to be the first chair of the then-new Detroit Public Lighting Authority.

More recently, she was the executive director in the city of Columbus, Ohio, for an infant mortality reduction initiative from September 2020 until last spring.

“Maureen has spent her career successfully making organizations stronger and has a proven track record of spearheading community development and long-range planning efforts for federal, state and local government agencies,” Ned Staebler, board chair of Midtown Detroit Inc., said in a statement.

“Her deep roots in our Midtown and New Center Detroit communities make her ideally suited to guide this organization through this leadership transition and her vast understanding of organizational development makes her uniquely qualified to create a strategic plan to move Midtown Detroit Inc. forward.”

Contact JC Reindl: 313-222-6631 or jcreindl@freepress.com. Follow him on X @jcreindl.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Midtown Detroit Inc. names Maureen Stapleton as interim director