Jocelyn Benson is the Secretary of State of Michigan. She is also the former Dean of Wayne State University Law School in Detroit, Michigan, a co-founder of the Military Spouses of Michigan and a board member of the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality. She is the author of State Secretaries of State: Guardians of the Democratic Process. Crain's named her one of Michigan's "Most Influential Women" in 2016 and in October 2015 she became one of the youngest women in the state's history to be inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame, second only to Serena Williams. On November 6, 2018, Benson was elected to be Michigan's next Secretary of State, becoming the first Democrat to hold the office since Richard H. Austin left office in 1995.
Benson was appointed Dean of Wayne State Law School in December 2012 at the age of 35, becoming the youngest woman to lead a top 100 law school in United States history. As Dean she significantly expanded the law school's opportunities for experiential learning and established two "marquee" programs: the Levin Center at Wayne Law, chaired by former United States Senator Carl Levin, and the Program on Entrepreneurship and Business Law, which helps aspiring business professionals in underserved communities participate in the economic revival of Detroit. The PEBL program offers early-stage legal assistance to participating local startups and creates forums for entrepreneurs to receive general legal guidance, access community resources and share their own business experience. Prior to being appointed Dean in 2012, Benson was the Associate Director of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights, where she started the Michigan Allies Project, an effort designed to track hate incidents throughout Michigan and provide legal support for victims.
The Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality
From 2016-2018 Benson served as CEO of the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality, where she led a coalition of all major sports leagues to empower athletes to advance equality. One of her major initiatives as CEO of RISE was to launch , a nonpartisan effort to register professional and college athletes to vote and encourage them to lead their fans in becoming informed and engaged citizens.
Military Spouses of Michigan
In 2012, Benson joined with three other military spouses and family members in Michigan to create Military Spouses of Michigan, a network dedicated to providing support and services to military family members and veterans in Michigan. In January 2013, the group was selected to represent the state of Michigan in the Presidential Inaugural Parade; the only group of military spouses to receive that honor.
Civics education and election law
In 2011, Benson was selected to serve with retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the national board of directors of , a nonprofit created by Justice O'Connor to improve civics education throughout the country. In addition to serving as an appointed member of the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Election Law, she is also the founder and current director of the Michigan Center for Election Law, which hosts projects that support transparency and integrity in elections. In 2011 the Center hosted Michigan's first "Citizens' Redistricting Competition," providing an opportunity for Michigan citizens to access software and draw their own redistricting maps for the state. Benson developed and supervised three statewide nonpartisan election protection efforts in Michigan in 2007, 2008 and 2012. During the 2008 election, she was called to testify before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, where she called on Secretary Terri Lynn Land to ban the use of foreclosure lists to challenge voters' eligibility on Election Day. She is a frequent commentator on voting rights and election law on local news and radio broadcasts. In 2007, Benson worked with several groups to successfully keep a Secretary of State branch office open in Buena Vista Township, Michigan. The U.S. Department of Justice, under then-President George W. Bush, concluded that the closure of the office would violate the Voting Rights Act.
Secretary of State
In March 2010, Benson published her first book, State Secretaries of State: Guardians of the Democratic Process. The book highlights best practices of Secretaries from throughout the country and seeks to inform voters about how Secretaries of State from either side of the political spectrum can work to advance democracy and election reform. After working with Secretaries of State from around the country while researching the book, Benson was inspired to run for the office in her home state of Michigan. On October 27, 2017, Benson announced her candidacy for Michigan Secretary of State. She was elected on November 6, 2018, defeating Republican Mary Treder Lang, becoming the first Democrat to serve since Richard Austin left office in 1994.
Family and personal life
A long-distance runner, Benson averages two full marathons per year. She has completed twenty-three full marathons since 2005, including races in New York City, Detroit, Honolulu, San Francisco, Washington DC, Florence, Venice, Chicago and Philadelphia. She completed her 18th Marathon representing Team Red White and Blue in Rome, Italy. In 2016 she completed her second Boston Marathon and became one of a handful of women in history to complete the Boston Marathon while more than 8 months pregnant.
