Demetrius Starling

Demetrius Starling (he/him) is a program officer at The Kresge Foundation. Demetrius supports the human services program. He joined the foundation in 2026.

Previously, Demetrius served as the senior deputy director of children services for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ Children’s Services Administration, where he oversaw the state’s child welfare system, including Children’s Protective Services, the foster care system, adoption services, licensing, guardianship, family preservation services, prevention, and juvenile justice programs. He brings nearly 30 years of both public and private child welfare agency experience to his new role.

Demetrius served as inaugural board member for National Advisory Board commissioned by the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law to address the overreporting and overrepresentation of Black and Indigenous children in the child welfare system. He graduated in the first cohort of the Sankofa Institute for African American Executive & Emerging Child Welfare Leaders and is a 2024 Aspen Ascend fellow.

A native of Flint, Michigan, Demetrius earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Ferris State University.