About

 

Tim Killeen (D-Detroit) has been a Wayne
County Commissioner since 2007. He was
born and raised on the lower east side of

Detroit, the fifth of seven children. His

father, Jim, was an investigator with the

U.S. Immigration Service. After his

retirement from the Justice Department,

Jim served as Wayne County Clerk for

18 years. Tim's mother, Georgia, a former

teacher and FBI employee from St. Paul,

Minnesota, raised Tim, his five sisters and

one brother on Lakewood Avenue in Detroit.​

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After graduating from Detroit's De La Salle High School, Tim went to work as manager of the Cass Corridor Food Cooperative in the 1980s. The Cooperative was a member-owned, not-for-profit food store that served the Cass Corridor and Wayne State neighborhoods as well as healthy eaters from all over the metro area through the 1990s. The co-op ran on the philosophy of "Food for People, Not for Profit." Through that experience, Killeen gained the skills of running a small business that, at the same time, provides a community service. From 1981 through 1986, he served on the board of directors of the Michigan Federation of Food Cooperatives, including one year as chairman. During that time, Tim sat on the bargaining team to negotiate the first labor contract in the organization's history. Tim is proud to have worked cooperatively with the union to reach a fair and equitable labor agreement.

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Tim earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and a teaching certificate from Michigan State University in 1992, graduating with honors. He returned to the east side of Detroit and taught science at Denby High School for the next 14 years. Tim also purchased a home on Detroit's east side, where he resides today.

In 1994, he joined the Sierra Club, a national grassroots organization dedicated to protecting the environment. In 1997, Tim became the Sierra Club's political chairman for Southeast Michigan. In that position, he combined his love of nature with his belief in the power of grassroots organizations to effect political change. Under his stewardship, the Sierra Club's Southeast Michigan political program has grown enormously and is now an effective political presence. In 2001, the Michigan Sierra Club Board of Directors named Tim the political chairman for the State of Michigan, a position he held until 2005.​

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Tim has served in many capacities since joining the Wayne County Commission, including a member of the Committee on Audit since 2007. He has served as chairman of the Committee on Health and Human Services since 2010. Tim also sits as the Commission representative on the Board of Authority Health. This governmental organization was created to deal with the medically un- and under-insured citizens of the county when it looked like Detroit Receiving Hospital would go bankrupt in the late 1990s.​​​

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In 2012, the State of Michigan passed as law that

separated the Wayne County Mental Health

Agency from county government and made it a

free-standing Authority. Tim was tasked by the

Chair of the Commission in writing the enabling

resolution that unsnarled this $700 million entity

from county government. The new Detroit

Wayne Mental Health Authority has thrived in its

independence and Tim has been a board member

since its inception.

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Tim's environmental advocacy has been fueled by his great passion for the outdoors. He has taken many trips through the woods and wilderness of Upper Michigan and has crisscrossed Isle Royale several times on foot and in a canoe. On these excursions, he enjoys his son's camp cooking and pursues an interest in nature photography.

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