Reneé Fluker, Founder and President of the Midnight Golf Program, oversees daily program operations and manages all phases of donor relations. She spends her evenings mentoring 250 metro-Detroit high school seniors each week. Since 2001, over 3700 students have matriculated through the program, with 99% enrolling in a post-secondary program. The Midnight Golf Program started with 17 students meeting at Franklin-Wright Settlements, a small community center in Detroit, to learn golf skills. Today, the program has expanded to a 30-week curriculum for two cohorts that has helped hundreds of metro Detroit’s at-risk high school students enter college and various professional careers. Students are educated on topics including financial literacy, college readiness and community activism—while being exposed to the game of golf.
A graduate of Wayne State University, Reneé uses her social work background to support students’ progression through the program. After 35 years of service, she retired from the Michigan Department of Human Services. She is a lifetime member of the NAACP and was inducted into the African American Golfers Hall of Fame. Reneé is a member of the Michigan Chronicle Women of Excellence class of 2015, a 2016 Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated Women of Distinction Honoree, and received the 2017 Community Impact Award from the Wolverine Bar Association. Also in 2017, Reneé was named one of the Gary Burnstein Clinic’s Esteemed Women of Michigan and received the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Detroit: Irvin F. Swider Eternal Flame Award. Reneé was named one of Crain’s 2018 Notable Women in Nonprofits, and was selected for the McGregor Fund’s 2019 Miller Fellowship. In 2021, she was awarded Louise Guyton Award by the Detroit Community Health Connection. She serves on the advisory board for African American Golf Digest Magazine and The Gasper Financial Group Board of Advisors. Reneé has a son, Jason, daughter-in-law, Christianne, and a new granddaughter, Jenavieve.
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