Clarinda Barnett-Harrison Becomes First Woman CEO of Detroit Wayne Joint Building Authority
Detroit Wayne Joint Building Authority has a new leader — and a first.
Board commissioners have appointed Clarinda Barnett-Harrison as chief executive officer, making her the first woman to hold the top job at the Detroit Wayne Joint Building Authority, the public body responsible for stewardship of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center.
In the role, Barnett-Harrison will work with the Authority’s Board of Commissioners and oversee facilities management and capital improvement programs tied to the municipal center. The building houses major public functions for Detroiters and Wayne County residents, with tenants that include the City of Detroit’s legislative and executive branches and city departments, the Clerk offices of both the City of Detroit and Wayne County, and Probate and Third Circuit Courts.
“Clarinda is a proven leader with the experience, vision, and integrity needed to guide the Authority into its next chapter,” said Sharon Madison, chairperson of the DWJBA Board of Commissioners. Madison said Barnett-Harrison’s understanding of public-sector operations and policies — paired with what she described as a collaborative leadership style — made her “well-suited for this role.” Madison added that the board is confident Barnett-Harrison will build on the Authority’s foundation while advancing “innovation, accountability, and services” inside the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, which the board referred to as the “People’s House.”
Barnett-Harrison is a Detroiter with more than 21 years of experience spanning urban planning, design, and economic development, according to the Authority. Her background includes leadership roles at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and other regional organizations, where the Authority said she was recognized for strengthening systems, fostering partnerships, and delivering results aligned with institutional goals and community needs.
Most recently, Barnett-Harrison served as director of talent development and programming at the Michigan Central Innovation District with Ford Motor Company, where the Authority said she helped cultivate an ecosystem supporting hard-tech and mobility entrepreneurship. The Authority also said she has held executive leadership roles across nonprofit organizations, academia, government, and the private sector.
Clarinda Barnett-Harrison doesn’t step into this role as a résumé on legs — she steps in as a Detroiter who understands what that building means when you’re not walking through it with a badge.
Coleman A. Young Municipal Center is where Black Detroit goes when the stakes are high and the clock is loud: to fight a tax bill, to handle a probate case after somebody’s auntie passes, to file paperwork that decides whether a family keeps a home, to show up for a hearing that can shift a life. Naming the first woman CEO of the authority that stewards that space lands as more than a leadership change. It’s a signal about who gets trusted to manage the civic front door — the place residents hit first when government is supposed to work.
Her background matters in a very specific way.
Barnett-Harrison has spent two decades moving between planning, economic development, and institution-building — the kind of work that decides whether “revitalization” is a press-release buzzword or a real shift you can feel on a block. From public-sector strategy to building talent and programming, she’s been positioned where policy meets money, where visions live or die based on execution. Now that experience is being placed in service of the “People’s House,” with facilities and capital improvements that won’t be judged by renderings — they’ll be judged by whether everyday Detroiters can walk in, get what they need, and leave feeling like the system saw them.
In announcing her appointment, the Authority described Barnett-Harrison’s career as one focused on bridging public policy and private capital to help execute “transformative projects” aimed at sustained community impact and fiduciary stability.
“I am deeply honored to step into the role of Chief Executive Officer at the Detroit-Wayne Joint Building Authority,” Barnett-Harrison said in a statement. She called the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center “the civic heart of our region” and said leading the Authority’s capital transformation is “a critical strategic mandate.” Barnett-Harrison said she is committed to working with leaders within the City of Detroit and Wayne County to execute the project “with rigor,” while ensuring operational excellence and safeguarding the municipal center “so that it remains a beacon of service.”
The board framed the appointment as part of its push for strong leadership and continuity, with a long-range view toward the future of a building that touches everything from court proceedings to basic city services.
As Barnett-Harrison steps into the role, the Authority said it intends to build on its legacy of service while pursuing growth and innovation inside the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center — a place where Detroiters often meet government face-to-face, whether they come b