Member At Large
Eva Garza Dewaelsche has served as President of SER Metro-Detroit Jobs for Progress, Inc., for over 20 years and became its CEO in 2007. President Obama honored her in 2014 with the White House Champion of Change award for her leadership in making SER Metro a multi-state workforce development organization with workforce center operations and programs with over 50 locations and over 500 employees in Texas, Illinois, and Michigan.
Prior to SER Metro, she worked at National Bank of Detroit as a market research analyst for 10 years. A former police officer, she previously served as a Police Commissioner under Mayor Dennis Archer (1999-2003) and Mayor Duggan (2015-2020). She served as Chair or Vice Chair several times. In 2024, the mayor appointed her to the Board for a new term ending in October 2028.
Her work and civic roles reflect her dedication to improving the quality of life for Detroiters. Her current board affiliations include the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, Wayne County Community Development Entity, Detroit-Wayne County Integrated Health Network, New Detroit, Inc., Comerica Community Development Advisory Council, Wayne State University (WSU) President’s Advisory Council, Detroit Regional Workforce Alliance, and DTE Community Advisory Council.
A lifelong Detroit resident and graduate of Western High School, she earned a Bachelor of Sociology and Master of Education from WSU. She also completed the Harvard Executive Training in Community Leadership,
Police Commissioner Dewaelsche and her husband Robert recently acquired El Central Hispanic Newspaper, the state’s oldest and largest bilingual publication. They have two daughters: Lisa who lives in New Orleans and Christina who lives in New Jersey with her husband and two children.