Ghida Dagher – Brief Bio

​Director of Appointments for Governor
Gretchen Whitmer and the State of Michigan

Ghida Dagher is the Director of Appointments for Governor
Gretchen Whitmer and the State of Michigan. As a member of
Governor Whitmer’s senior team, Ghida oversees the appointment
of people to our state’s 350 boards and commissions, as well as
judicial appointments and administrative appointments to the
Governor’s cabinet and state departments.

Prior to her current role, Ghida served as the Director of Government
Partnerships & Community Affairs at United Way for Southeastern
Michigan (UWSEM). In this capacity, she led in the design and
implementation of strategies that drive impact, promote awareness
and visibility, and enhance programs and resources in the Greater
Detroit community. Her initiatives focused on the areas of education,
economic prosperity, and health.

Before joining UWSEM, she led a variety of local and national policy
initiatives pertaining to immigrant rights, civil liberties, and civic
engagement at the National Network for Arab American
Communities (NNAAC)/ACCESS. Ghida has extensive experience
in coalition building, strategic planning, program development, and
special events. Ghida co-founded a non-profit and political consultancy, and served as strategist on local, state, and national issue-based and candidate-based campaigns. She is also a national trainer for New American
Leaders (NAL), a nonpartisan organization dedicated to building a more inclusive democracy by training first and second generation Americans to run for public office. Having moved to the U.S. at age of 9,  Ghida’s family came seeking asylum from Lebanon and Sierra Leone. Her career and leadership are shaped by her multicultural background and her real-world
understanding of struggle and opportunity. She’s a true believer that her immigrant background grounds her and her American experience propels her. She’s deeply dedicated to the engagement and empowerment of all communities, particularly those underrepresented.

Ghida has served on the boards of the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, ACCESS, Young Nonprofit Professional Network of Detroit, KidsCount of Michigan, ALICE Michigan Report, and is a Truman Political Partner and a German Marshall Fund Marshall Memorial Fellow. Her leadership was recognized by Crain’s Business Detroit “20 in their 20’s” in 2018.

She has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Middle Eastern North African Studies from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.