When Gretchen Whitmer was growing up, her beloved grandmother Nino taught her that you can always find something good in other people. “Even the meanest person might have pretty eyes,” she would say. Nino’s words persuaded Whitmer to look for the good in any person or situation—just one of many colorful personal experiences that have shaped her political vision. (And, as Whitmer writes, one that resonated more than another piece of advice her grandmother offered, to “never part your hair in the middle.”)

Learn what went into the making of Michigan’s governor and rising Democratic leader Gretchen Whitmer when she comes to Commonwealth Club World Affairs to discuss the principles and instincts that have shaped her extraordinary career, from her early days as a lawyer and legislator and her 2018 election as governor of Michigan, to her bold and innovative actions as she led the state through a series of unprecedented crises. Her motto in politics, she writes, is to “get s--t done.”

Whitmer shares the lessons in resilience that steered her through some of the most challenging events in Michigan’s history, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, a 500-year flood, the rise of domestic terrorism, and the fierce fight to protect reproductive rights. Along the way, she’ll tell stories about the outsize characters in her family, her lifelong clumsy streak, the wild comments she’s heard on the campaign trail, her self-deprecating social media campaigns (including her star turn as a talking potato with lipstick), and the slyly funny tactics she deploys to neutralize her opponents.

The Detroit Free Press wrote “There's more national interest in Gov. Whitmer than any Michigan prospective candidate since Gerald Ford.” Come find out why.