Herman Jenkins, a native Detroiter, credits the relationships with friends, coaches, and mentors in sports as the key underpinnings of his development as a youth. A standout at the University of Detroit Jesuit High School, Jenkins earned a scholarship to play basketball at the University of Detroit Mercy where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in History. Jenkins is also a graduate of Wayne State University where he completed a Master’s in Sports Management and Administration.
Jenkins’ professional career began with the Detroit Tigers starting in Community Relations and moving to Strategic Planning. Jenkins helped establish Community Relations programming such as the Travelling Baseball Camps, Negro League Scholarship, and the Jackie Robinson Essay Art and Poetry Contest which the organization continues to this day. Jenkins also managed the development of the Tigers Diverse Business Partners program, an effort to be more inclusive of minority and women-owned businesses in the team’s procurement processes.
Jenkins owns and operates FLYSHO CREATIVE, a digital content production company that specializes in branding corporate citizenship. FLYSHO CREATIVE’s clients included Better Made Snack Foods, and most recently, Japanese software developer HULFT. Jenkins also owns The Collective, a 1901 Tudor mansion in Detroit’s historic Indian Village, that has been converted into a business incubator and co-working space.
Jenkins has also demonstrated a commitment to work in any way, big and small, to be a force for good in communities in and around the City of Detroit. In 2016, Jenkins was appointed to the Detroit Entertainment Commission (DEC), a chartered commission that advises Detroit City Council on methodology and best practices in utilizing entertainment, the arts, and sports to nurture community and economic development. Jenkins was elected to serve as Chairman of the DEC in 2017 and served in that role until leaving DEC in January 2020. The DEC is credited with the strategic visioning for the Detroit Recreation Department’s City Walls mural arts program and creating the Spirit of Entertainment Award, the highest honor of achievement in the arts awarded by the Council.
Jenkins is thrilled to join the Friends of the Rouge Team as Program Manager, Trails. “The Rouge Watershed is important because it impacts so many communities as the river and its tributaries drain our stormwater overflows into the Detroit River. I am intrigued and inspired by the idea of working to help transform the Rouge – to design and build trails, blueways, and greenways and that can serve as connective tissue for people living in these communities, often siloed from one another. Working with community groups and stakeholders to develop programs and activities, it is an opportunity to bring people and communities together with around a truly underutilized and underappreciated natural resource.”
Jenkins lives in Detroit with his wife Kimberly and daughters Ella (16) and Alia (8).