Stacy Stout is the Assistant to the City Manager in the City of Grand Rapids to support city neighborhood initiatives, and internal capacity for authentic community engagement, with an overarching goal to make the city more equitable. Stout brings a strong racial equity and community empowerment lens to the work, pulling on her lived experience and training as a former Michigan team member at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
Prior to the Foundation, Stout was the Dean of Students at Burton Middle School in Grand Rapids, where she emphasized restorative justice and coordinated comprehensive intervention services. Prior to her work with Grand Rapids Public Schools, she was the Education Director at the Hispanic Center of Western Michigan overseeing early childhood, youth, adult education and parent leadership programs.
She currently serves on the steering committee of the Latino Community Coalition of Kent County, and is one of four co-founders of the Latina Network of West Michigan with a vision to be a catalyst for systemic change through leadership development, a space of cultural belonging, and reclaiming the Latina narrative.
Stout earned a Master of Public Administration with an emphasis in nonprofit management and leadership at Grand Valley State University, where she had previously received her bachelor’s degree in biology.
Stout resides in Grand Rapids with her husband and three children. She enjoys family time, good coffee, baking, gardening and attending cultural events such as festivals, speakers, and indigenous gatherings. She also enjoys reading and discussing books with the Latina Network book club.