YMCA’s historic new leadership aims to strengthen community ties

For the first time in its 172-year history, the YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit is helmed by African American leaders and they are being tasked with reversing a membership decline for the longstanding nonprofit that serves thousands of families across the region.

Parrish Underwood was hired in November as the organization’s first African American president and CEO and Eric Huffman was named as the first African American chairman of the YMCA board. 

Underwood and his board are in the midst of efforts he spearheaded to strengthen its ties with the community. Earlier this year, the organization launched a southeast Michigan survey to grasp how the nonprofit can fulfill unmet needs. Leadership has been tight-lipped about who is being targeted in the survey, but YMCA spokeswoman Latitia McCree told BridgeDetroit the list includes local officials, civic and youth-serving organizations, existing Y members and volunteers. The feedback being collected will help inform a three-to-five-year strategic plan by identifying five to six future priorities. 

“We’re intentional about asking [survey respondents] about how they see us and what are some of the things they believe we’re best suited to tackle to improve the community,” Underwood said in an interview with BridgeDetroit. “We’re poised for growth in the next nine-to-18 months and to drive membership numbers back to pre-pandemic levels.”

Underwood replaces Helene Weir, who in 2019 became the first female leader of the Metropolitan Detroit YMCA. 

The Chicago native’s institutional knowledge of the Y spans his entire career over three decades. He started as a day camp van driver at the Metro Atlanta chapter in the summer of ‘91. He formerly did work with the Y’s national arm, the YMCA USA, and, at one point, served as the first African American executive director of the Y’s Birmingham, Michigan, chapter. 

Underwood’s first stint in metro Detroit coincided with the Great Recession and housing crisis, which is when he first saw noticeable dips in donations and memberships. This, in turn, led to the shuttering of several YMCA facilities. The organization took another hit during COVID-19. Before the pandemic, the nonprofit operated 10 facilities, but the subsequent closures of the Livonia, North Oakland, and Lakeshore family YMCAs have dwindled that number to seven. 

The blow from the pandemic however was cushioned by a $10 million donation from Mackenzie Scott, the philanthropist and ex-wife of Jeff Bezos. Underwood, who worked at the Atlanta chapter when Scott announced the donation in late 2020, described it as a “lifeline.” 

The money, he said, has been used to keep the lights on, sustain programs, pay staff, and has bought leadership time to develop a recovery plan. 

Things have already begun turning around as memberships slightly increased from 2022 to 2023.

Before COVID, the YMCA of Metropolitan had 14,000 members. Now it’s around 12,500, Huffman said. 

The Y tracks membership units; one unit can be a single person or an entire family. According to McCree, the Y has 10,000 membership units, which she estimates represents 40,000 people. 

Per financial reports, last year the YMCA earned $7.5 million in membership fees. In comparison, it generated almost $15 million in membership dues in 2014.

What’s left of Scott’s donation is just enough to carry the organization through the rest of the year, according to Underwood. 

“[Helene Weir] did an extremely dynamic job of keeping the organization solvent and afloat,” he added.

Positioning for success

Before relocating to Atlanta to head its chapter, Underwood worked for the Detroit area YMCA from 2003 to 2012. 

He decided to apply for the top position in Detroit to reconnect with his Midwest roots. 

Just months before Underwood sought to return to Michigan, Huffman, a lifelong Detroiter who spent more than 30 years in the insurance and financial services industry before retiring as an agency owner at State Farms, became the YMCA’s first African American board chair. 

Huffman said he threw his support and vote on the board behind Underwood.

“One, he had all the skills we needed for the direction we are going in as an organization,” Huffman said. “Two, he knew our organization very well. Three, he had the Y USA background to look at it from a national perspective. Four, I wanted to have the first Black CEO. I thought [Detroit] is the community for it, and it was about time for both of us. I couldn’t believe it took us so long to do it.”

Huffman said his and Underwood’s ascendance to the top positions at the Y is a reflection of the organization’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion – a vision that developed under Weir. In 2021, Weir created a new position called Director of Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, and Global. Ariel Wilkerson, a lifelong Detroiter who has worked for the Y since 2014, was promoted into the role.  

Wilkerson, who is African American, works to mitigate biased hiring practices and ensure pay equity across branches. She facilitates in-person training programs for staff and runs a community conversation series called “Stand for Something.” In April, the Y unveiled a “mural for peace,” born out of one of the community conversations held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 

“We’re definitely repositioning ourselves,” Wilkerson said. “It’s almost like a musician who ages and comes out with a new album and wants you to see their growth and artistry. 

“Yes, we’re the same organization you know as the YMCA, but we’re growing in that our programs and services have evolved over the years. And like a great musician, we want to make sure people are seeing and liking what we are putting out,” she added. 

As board chair, Huffman is working under a two-year term limit, meaning his tenure will end next spring. Afterward, he will most likely move into a chair emeritus role. 

Until then, he’s helping the Y form and strengthen partnerships with local municipalities, an objective the organization had to put on hold during the pandemic. Huffman said he is currently in talks with the city of Farmington Hills and Royal Oak regarding possible initiatives. 

“One of the issues the Y has is we’re trying to be all things to all people. And what happens is we duplicate things,” said Huffman. “If we can focus on what we do best and what the community needs from us, and then collaborate with others… the point is we’re trying to make sure, especially with scarce resources, we’re doing exactly what the community wants.”

Another priority for Huffman is ensuring that Underwood is in position to succeed in his role by the time his (Huffman’s) term ends. 

“I’m just short-term. [Underwood] is the one who is going to be around. We have this running joke: I’d say, ‘I’m out of here next year. You ain’t ever going to see me again,’” Huffman said. “But the truth is I’ll still be around. I’ll always be an advocate for our association.”

More than a gym

In search of a place for “family and fitness,” Tony Kinsey has had a family membership at the Boll Family YMCA in downtown Detroit since around 2006. 

At the time, Kinsey and his wife had three young sons. They took kickboxing and other fitness classes together as a family, and the boys joined the Y’s swim team.

The Kinseys maintained their memberships even during times of financial hardship. They were affected by the recession and housing crisis, but a discount plan allowed them to hold on to their membership.

“I had cancer around that time, too,” Kinsey said. “I was sick, unemployed and was one of those people struggling to get by. I was a big guy back then and the one thing I had control over was my fitness, and the Y was a safe place for me to work through my illness.”

The Y offers a range of membership options. The standard family membership costs $89 a month, but families earning less than $50,000 a year qualify for the Y for All membership, which includes access to all services for $40 per month. 

After almost 20 years, Kinsey has developed a sense of loyalty to the Y. He hopes the plan for its growth includes updating the gym equipment at the Boll facility to stay on par with newer gyms nearby like Crossfit in the D, The Vibe Ride Detroit, and PT in the D.

During the early years of their membership, the Kinseys found non-fitness-related programs worth their while at the Y. His boys enrolled in the YMCA Achievers program, a career and college prep mentoring program for teens. 

“I remember a time when I would walk into the gym between 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. and see the place packed with kids and high schoolers,” Kinsey said. “But I don’t see kids like I used to today.”

That’s another change Kinsey wants to see at the Y: “a recommitment to the youth.” 

But according to leaders, the Y’s waning commitment to the youth is a misconception – one the Y is working to correct within its members and the larger community. 

The Achievers program is one of hundreds of programs and services offered at the Y. 

According to McCree, the YMCA spokeswoman, the organization serves about 30,000 children each year in a range of programs, some of which are free. Offerings include swimming classes, before- and after-school childcare services, STEM and arts programs, and summer camps. 

Most of the youth activity happens, not at facilities like Boll, but at the Y’s two camps serving Detroit kids – near Oscoda and Howell – at 40 different schools and other mobile locations across the city. 

“We have to go outside and do programs where we can,” said Huffman. “The building you see is not just the Y. So much of what we do, you don’t see it because we’re out in the community.”

Underwood emphasized that the Y is more than just the gym and swimming facility that so many people associate with it. 

“A large portion of the work we do does not take place in YMCA facilities, so we have to reintroduce ourselves to the community and expand people’s perspective of who we are.”

Editor’s note: Eric Huffman is the father of Bryce Huffman, BridgeDetroit’s interim engagement editor. This story has been updated to reflect that Underwood was the first African American executive director of the Birmingham, Michigan, YMCA chapter, and to correct YMCA membership revenue figures.