Michelle Regalado Deatrick is an American politician, activist, and poet. Deatrick serves as the elected National Chair of the Democratic National Committee's Council on the Environment and Climate Crisis, which she founded in August, 2019. Deatrick also served as a surrogate and 2020 Michigan co-chair for the Bernie Sanders campaign. She served in the Peace Corps in East Africa, and as Vice Chair of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners. Elected to the Democratic National Committee in 2016, she was also elected Midwest Representative to the DNC Women's Caucus in 2018. Deatrick was the Special Projects Director in Michigan for the 2016 Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, and stumped for Former Secretary of StateHillary Rodham Clinton. She was a policy analyst at Stanford University. She is a graduate of Wesleyan University and holds Master's degrees from Harvard University and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Deatrick is also a member of UAW Local 1981 and serves as a delegate to her regional labor federation. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Southeast Michigan Land Conservancy. In addition to her political work, she teaches writing workshops and has won several national poetry fellowships and awards.
Elected Official and Public Servant
Deatrick serves on the Washtenaw County Environmental Council, which she founded. She was named Woman of the Year by the Women's Council of Washtenaw County in 2017. In 2016, Deatrick ran one of the few successful red-to-blue campaigns in Michigan, beating a three-term incumbent for a seat on the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners with 53% of the vote in the mostly rural 2nd district. Deatrick strongly supports small farms, renewable energy, veterans' services, and natural area preservation. While serving as County Commissioner, Deatrick led measures resulting in the County being the first in the Midwest to sign on to the . She also wrote and succeeded in passing a resolution founding the County's first environmental council, with the mission of achieving net carbon neutrality for the County and pursuing environmental justice. She led an initiative in support of DACA recipients and ensured that a County contract with a landfill operator accounted for inflation, potentially bringing the County hundreds of thousands in additional revenue over time. In May 2017, Deatrick successfully proposed anti-poverty legislation to lower the chances of residents losing their homes or facing water and electricity shut-offs. Deatrick also wrote and succeeded in passing several measures, including: a ban on purchase of Nestle brands of bottled water by County departments in July, 2018 ; a statement of opposition to the Rover pipeline, a natural gas pipeline that traverses several townships in western Washtenaw County, passing close to a children’s camp; a resolution upholding the Paris climate accord; and a resolution increasing wages for county direct care mental health workers. As County Commissioner, Deatrick wrote and passed additional proclamations honoring the work of two Food Policy Council members, honoring county naturalist Faye Stoner, and condemning the deportation of mother and longtime community member Lourdes Salazar.
Activist and Community Organizer
Deatrick is an activist focusing on social and economic justice, women's issues, and climate change. On September 20, 2019, Deatrick spoke in an invited forum on environmental justice and politics and taught a workshop on writing Environmental Poetry at the Washtenaw County Climate Strike, part of the Global Climate Strike that millions participated in. On March 16th, 2019, Deatrick was lead organizer, as Chair of , of Over 1500 people attended. On March 15th, 2019, Deatrick was an invited speaker at the Washtenaw County Climate Strike on the University of Michigan Ann Arbor's Diag."Climate change is an alarm clock that's been going off, ignored by those in power, for years," she said. "This strike is a beautiful thing. We have been called the grassroots for a reason - step on us, we spring back up." In late 2018 and in 2019, Deatrick was a spokesperson for Michigan One Fair Wage. In October 2018, Deatrick was co-organizer of the Stand with Survivors Rally and March in Ann Arbor, a response to the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh. In January 2018, Deatrick was a lead organizer for the 2018 Ann Arbor Women's March, which brought thousands of community members to the University of Michigan Diag and joined marches and rallies around the world. In April 2017, Deatrick co-organized and spoke at the Tax March in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In January 2017, Deatrick was a lead organizer of the Women's March in Ann Arbor, Michigan as a part of the Women's March that took place all over the world. More than 11,000 people gathered at the University of Michigan Diag and marched through Downtown Ann Arbor. In 2014, Deatrick was heavily involved with Michigan small farm rights, in particular advocating for full Right to Farm protection for non-commercial farms and farms in transitional agricultural areas. A small-scale farmer herself, Deatrick co-founded the Michigan Small Farm Council to advocate for small farming operations across the state.
Writer and Teacher
Deatrick has won multiple writing awards, including both Winner and First Runner-Up in the 2012 Chautauqua Poetry Contest. She teaches writing privately and for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Michigan. She actively maintains a blog about poetry, the environment, and the 80-acre farm and native prairie she lives on and cares for. Her work has also appeared in the American Literary Review, , and Crab Creek Review. Previously, her fiction was featured in Best New American Voices 2006. Deatrick has also received University of Michigan Hopwood Awards in Fiction and Poetry. In January 2015, Deatrick won an Honorable Mention in The 38th New Millennium Awards for her poetry.
On August 7th, 2018, Deatrick narrowly lost her primary race for the 18th district of the Michigan Senate by 241 votes in a four-way race. She had announced her candidacy on September 7, 2017. As a progressive Democratic candidate, Deatrick was endorsed by , , , , , , , , , , Michigan for Single Payer Healthcare, , , , , and . She also received distinctions from Planned Parenthood as a candidate with a 100% favorable rating and as a Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate. On Deatrick's website, she stated: "I’m running for State Senator because we need a leader who believes that politics should be about people, not profit. Because we need a leader who marches with us in the picket lines—and stands up for us in Lansing. We need a leader who listens and who builds bridges. A leader who can hit the ground running and never stop." Her progressive platform includes common sense gun safety measures, increased public education funding, accessible and universal single payer health care, the cleanliness of the environment for the enjoyment and health of all as a fundamental human right, road and infrastructure repair, care and rights for seniors, fulfilling commitments to veterans, getting big money out of politics, criminal justice reform, and equality and representation for women, people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, and the LGBTQ+ community. In Deatrick's announcement speech, she evoked her affection for Washtenaw County as well as her commitment to creating more good-paying jobs, protecting the environment, and fighting inequality. "Like so many others who move here for work or school, I fell in love with the area, put down deep roots, and can't imagine living anywhere else. I want to give back, to serve this community which has given so richly to my family.
Education
Deatrick holds a BA from Wesleyan University, a Master's Degree in Education Policy and Administration from Harvard, and an MFA in creative writing from the University of Michigan. She did further graduate work at Stanford University and is ABD on a PHD in Education + Political Science.
