JANET LAWSON - DIRECTOR, FORD VOLUNTEER CORPS

Janet Lawson is the Director of the Ford Volunteer Corps, part of Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services, the philanthropic arm of Ford Motor Company.  

Lawson came to Ford with a 20-year history of collaborative leadership in the nonprofit and corporate sectors. She exemplifies a life-long commitment to service, volunteerism, and corporate citizenship.

Since her arrival at Ford in the fall of 2006, Lawson has lead a team that has launched a new volunteer initiative called MODEL Teams, created an interactive non-profit “agency driven” volunteer management system, quintupled volunteer activity among Ford volunteers worldwide and launched the Ford corporate volunteer initiative to salaried, hourly and agency employees, as well as Ford retirees nationwide.

In 2004, Lawson was appointed by Governor Jennifer Granholm as the executive director of the Michigan Community Service Commission (MCSC).  Lawson coordinated Mentor Michigan, an initiative of Governor Granholm's developed to increase the number of mentor/mentee matches in Michigan. During her tenure with the MCSC, Lawson also directed Federal AmeriCorps grants within Michigan, collaborated with the Michigan Department of Education to deliver Learn and Serve grants to establish Service Learning as a curriculum reform, worked with the Michigan State Police to direct Homeland Security dollars through Michigan Citizen Corps, redesigned the Governor's Service Awards – an annual state-wide volunteer recognition event and worked with MCSC commissioners to create an epidemic of service in Michigan.

From 2000-2004, Lawson served as the national director of the UAW-Ford Family Service and Learning Centers sponsored by the United Auto Workers, Ford Motor Company and Visteon.  While in this position, she and her team annually mobilized 20,000 volunteers, engaged more than 75,000 participants in life-long learning activities, designed programming at 31 locations nationwide and achieved a 90 percent plus user satisfaction rating.

From 1995-2000, Lawson served as the manager of the Volunteer Leadership Coalition under former Governor George Romney, Harold A. "Red" Poling, Doug Fraser and the Honorable Anna Diggs Taylor. 

Lawson also worked at United Way Community Services as the manager of Detroit’s Promise and the director of Volunteer Services. 

She also is an experienced educator and is involved in a variety of community activities in southeast Michigan.

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Sept. 2, 2008