Ann Verhey-Henke

Ann Verhey-Henke is an adjunct lecturer with the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. She is the lead project manager at the Fastest Path to Zero in the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan. Ann has held a variety of positions in her 25+ year career at the University of Michigan, most recently as the strategic director of the Center for Socially Engaged Design, where she is one of the co-authors of the socially engaged design process model. Her work focuses on creating opportunities for multiple stakeholders to design a collective space to collaboratively design opportunities for societal impact. She founded Innovation in Action, a flagship student innovation program, as well as the Summer Studio, a design studio for teams of interdisciplinary students to focus on cutting-edge faculty research.

Ann worked with faculty colleagues at Michigan Public Health to co-create Grant Sprints, an innovative and collaborative approach to idea generation, grant-writing, execution, and dissemination. She also worked with colleagues across UMSI, Law, and Academic Innovation to develop Design Jams, campus-wide opportunities for students to engage with community stakeholders on a pressing societal challenge. Ann holds a Masters of Divinity from McCormick Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hope College in Psychology and Religion with a minor in Women’s Studies.