Mar 16, 2022
“If you admit your failures, other people are less likely to point them out.” Dana Nessel
Denise talks to Michigan’s 54th Attorney General Dana Nessel. If Dana could put her proudest moment on her Wikipedia page, it would be the work she did while in private practice on the DeBoer v. Snyder lawsuit, challenging Michigan's ban on adoption by same-sex couples to jointly adopt their children. The case was later amended to challenge the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, which ultimately led the U.S. Supreme Court striking down bans on same-sex marriage all over the U.S. in 2015.
Dana says, “Now there are millions of people across the United States that can marry the person that they love and have legal rights to their family who were never able to before.”
A champion of civil rights for the LGBTQ community, of which she is a member, she admits her toughest moments were as a single mom of two pre-mature twins, working full time on large cases with no family close by to help. She’s made it a practice not to listen to the naysayers and encourages everyone to have faith in themselves. Instead, set your mind to doing what you want to do.
Dana maintains her confidence primarily through a healthy, self-deprecating sense of humor. She loves to use humor to defuse tough situations—when it’s better to have the FIRST word. When we admit we’re wrong, it lets others know that we’re open to doing better for ourselves and others. Dana talks about how some of her past failures led to her greatest successes.
Always be your own best advocate. Don’t give up. Brush yourself off and be proud of who you are. She believes as Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
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Native Michigander Dana Michelle Nessel is an attorney and politician who is the 54th Attorney General of Michigan. A member of the Democratic Party, Nessel is the second openly lesbian person elected attorney general of a state in the United States as well as the first openly LGBTQ person elected to statewide office in Michigan. She won the election as a first-time candidate for public office. A former criminal prosecutor and civil rights attorney, she founded Fair Michigan, a nonprofit that works to prosecute hate crimes against the LGBTQ community. A graduate of the University of Michigan and Wayne State University Law School, Attorney General Nessel lives in southeast Michigan with her wife, Alanna Maguire, and her twin sons, Alex and Zach.
Denise Ilitch, an owner of Ilitch Family Companies and President of Ilitch Enterprises, has been a part of Detroit’s business and philanthropic community for over 40 years. As a mother, lawyer, entrepreneur, devoted community servant and tireless advocate for women and children, she learned early, from her father, that everyone is worthy of contributing to the world. Her passion for affordable, accessible, quality education stems from her own experience as a first-generation student, earning a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, where she currently serves on the Board of Regents.
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