Chief Executive Officer
The Heat and Warmth Fund (THAW)

Saunteel Jenkins currently serves as CEO of The Heat and Warmth Fund (THAW), a non-profit organization that provides energy assistance to Michigan residents in need. Last year THAW provided more than $25 million in energy assistance to over 26,000 low-income Michigan households.

Prior to her role at THAW, Jenkins served as a member of Detroit City Council. She was first elected to Detroit City Council in November 2009. In July 2013 was voted by her colleagues to serve as Council President-the first council member in 90 years to be elected by the body for a leadership role. In November 2013 Saunteel Jenkins was re-elected, under the new Council by district system, as one of two at-large council members.

An advocate for public service and civic involvement, Jenkins has served on a number of boards that have an impact on city government, the city's quality of life and Detroit's future. These include the City of Detroit Election Commission; City of Detroit Employee Benefits Plan Board; Detroit General Retirees Pension Board; Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC); Detroit Riverfront Conservancy; Detroit Transportation Corporation and Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG}. She currently serves on the boards of Wayne State University's Tech Town; Wayne State University's Helping Individuals Go Higher (HIGH} Program Advisory Board; Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation; Metro-Detroit Crime Stoppers; and the Detroit Future City Steering Committee.

Jenkins, a lifelong Detroiter, worked as a social worker, director of the residential treatment center at the Mariners Inn homeless shelter for men in Detroit, national business development director for a private education company that provides services to low-income children in at-risk school districts, and at one time ran her own dessert catering company.

Jenkins received her bachelor's and master's degrees in social work from Wayne State University.