Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Hertz.
Hi Ryan, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I am the President and CEO of Lighthouse, a nonprofit organization based in Pontiac, Michigan, working to build equitable communities that alleviate poverty. Our programs and services help people across Southeast Michigan move from homelessness to housing, and from crisis to stability.
I have served in this role since 2019, when Lighthouse of Oakland County merged with South Oakland Shelter (SOS) to form Lighthouse MI. I previously served as CEO of SOS. Since then, we have significantly expanded what Lighthouse can do to meet the growing needs of our community.
Today, Lighthouse offers a broad range of services, including a family emergency shelter, food distribution serving more than 5,000 people each week, rental and financial assistance, affordable housing development, runaway and homeless youth programs, supportive services, follow-up care, and innovative crowdfunding technologies. At the heart of our work is a simple but powerful goal: meeting people where they are and helping them get back on their feet.
I’m deeply passionate about improving the quality of life for our most vulnerable neighbors, and I’m proud of the impact our team has made — helping thousands of people find stability, regain independence, and move forward with renewed purpose.
In addition to my work at Lighthouse, I was appointed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer to serve on the Michigan Interagency Council on Homelessness. I also proudly serve on the Capital Advisory Committee for NeighborWorks Capital, Steering Committee for the Pontiac Neighborhood Fund, and on the Detroit Advisory Council for Adamah.
My journey to the work I do today began in an unusual way. In undergrad, I majored in Folklore & Ethnomusicology, with a minor in Anthropology — my interests were in arts, language, and cultures of indigenous communities. I was studying Lakota Sioux language, ritual, and music, and spent time at the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations in South Dakota. That is where I was first exposed to deep poverty, an experience that profoundly moved me and shifted my focus toward helping people achieve a higher quality of life.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Before joining Lighthouse, I served as the CEO of South Oakland Shelter (SOS) for nine years, a rotating emergency shelter in partnership with local churches and synagogues. I later led the merger of SOS and Lighthouse. Today, both organizations operate under one umbrella. In addition to expanded programs and services, our work has grown to include more than 500 affordable housing units, with more than $100 million in new affordable residential developments currently under construction.
In all, I’ve spent the last 18 years serving metro Detroit’s most vulnerable residents — from families facing eviction to individuals rebuilding their lives after experiencing homelessness. Our team and volunteers have assisted people through the COVID-19 pandemic, when the need for our services dramatically increased almost overnight, and through federal policy changes that are significantly impacting resources that help us deliver critical programs and services today.
Before the pandemic, we were already serving more than 10,000 people each year. When COVID-19 hit, the need surged. We scaled from providing emergency food to about 500 households a week to nearly 5,000, and quadrupled our emergency shelter capacity to meet the community’s needs. We would not have been able to accomplish this without the collaborative spirit of our community. Volunteers, partners, and sponsors stepped up in extraordinary ways, and the support we received during the pandemic was truly overwhelming. The expansion and growth of our work during that challenging time has led to Lighthouse becoming the impactful organization we are today.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
There are many ways to get involved with Lighthouse. We were founded by volunteers in the 1970s. Today, we rely on volunteers to operate our emergency food distribution system and more.
While our family emergency shelter and youth shelter are now centralized in Pontiac and Royal Oak, and we’re currently redeveloping our family emergency shelter to add capacity, volunteerism remains at the core of what we do. People can volunteer, make donations, advocate with us, and learn more by visiting lighthousemichigan.org.
If you or someone you know is in need of support, they can contact Lighthouse directly by phone at (248) 920-6000 or visit https://lighthousemi.org/service/ to navigate available services in our community.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
The merger of SOS and Lighthouse represented a “risk” for both organizations, but it really pushed us to expand the organization into what we believed was possible. During COVID, we chose to scale our response, especially food distribution, despite uncertainty around funding, and were ultimately able to raise $3.5 million in the early months of the pandemic. We also leaned into providing more affordable housing, by advancing projects like Beacon Square Towne Homes, Auburn Place, and the Lee Plaza. Those risks expanded our geographic reach and provided more essential housing to those in need. Even during uncertain times, we’re not operating out of fear — we’re operating from strength, guided by our mission and the needs of the community. For mission-driven organizations, calculated risk-taking isn’t optional—it’s essential. Many of the programs and housing developments taking place at Lighthouse wouldn’t exist if we hadn’t put significant organizational assets at risk in pursuit of transformational opportunities.
Contact Info:
- Website: lighthousemichigan.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lighthousemi/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LighthouseMichigan
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/lighthousemi/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn-yFX3cytAzxbfuuy8e7HQ
