Governor Jennifer Granholm appointed Reginald Turner to the Michigan State Board of Education in September 2003.  Since then, he has worked tirelessly to drive constructive changes in education to ensure that ALL of our children have opportunities to reach their potential.   Turner strives to enhance the culture of education so that students, parents, teachers and policy makers appreciate the importance of universal literacy, challenging curriculum and lifelong learning.

Prior to Turner’s service on the State Board of Education, former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer appointed him to the Detroit Board of Education in December 2000.

Turner has been volunteering in Michigan schools for many years.  He served for ten years as the Steering Committee co-chair with Archer for the Medical-Educational-Legal-Law Enforcement Team Program, an anti-drug and violence-prevention initiative that mentored over 5,000 children each year.  Turner also has been an active participant in K-12 mentoring and law related education programs through numerous other organizations.

Turner is a noted leader in civic and legal circles.  He is a partner and executive committee member in the Clark Hill law firm.  Turner completed a term as President of the National Bar Association in August 2006.  In 2002-2003, he served as President of the State Bar of Michigan.  Turner is listed in the peer review guide “The Best Lawyers in America” and he is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, reserved to less than one percent of lawyers in each state.  He is one of Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s Lawyers of the Year for 2005.

Turner often engages in pro bono  representation in important civil rights and civil liberties cases.  He was counsel in the historic affirmative action case involving the University of Michigan, representing a coalition of civil rights organizations known as  Citizens for Affirmative Action’s Preservation, and seventeen African American and Latino students.  He has represented African American and Latino organizations in Voting Rights Act litigation as well.

Turner  served as a 1996-1997 White House Fellow in Washington, D.C.  During the fellowship Turner coordinated a nine-agency Presidential task force which addressed socioeconomic issues in riot-plagued St. Petersburg, Florida, and he chaired a White House delegation which toured South Africa and Mozambique.

Turner is a member of the Board of Directors of Comerica, Inc., a Fortune 500 financial institution.  He is a Vice Chair of the United Way of Southeastern Michigan, the Detroit Institute of Arts, and the Detroit Police Foundation.  Turner also serves as the Secretary of the Wayne County Economic Development Corporation Executive Committee.  He is a member of the Boards of Directors of the Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan and the Josephson Institute.  He is Chair of the City of Detroit Board of Ethics.

Turner is a 1987 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, where he received the Irving Stenn, Jr., award for excellence in leadership.  After graduation, he completed a Michigan Supreme Court clerkship with Justice Dennis Archer.