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Nominated by Ashley Lowe

"Ann Routt, the executive director of the Michigan Advocacy Program (MAP), has been working toward access to justice for nearly 40 years.

Ann began her work with MAP as a staff attorney in the Monroe County office of Legal Services of South Central Michigan. There she represented domestic violence survivors in housing, family law and public benefit cases. Ann quickly moved to the Washtenaw County office, where she began working in administration and supervising the LSC field offices. Ann has mentored dozens of legal services attorneys and administrative staff throughout her years at MAP, creating a multitude of legal services-minded attorneys who now work in legal services, government roles, and private practice.

In her time at MAP, the program has expanded exponentially, in many ways thanks to Ann’s dedication. When Ann started at the program in 1985, MAP was a small LSC funded organization covering three counties. Today, MAP currently has a budget of around $20 million with close to 200 employees across eight offices throughout Michigan. She has been at the forefront of so many MAP programs and allows staff to reach and stretch their impact work. The growth of the program has been phenomenal.

It is her work to innovate new programming and her tenacity in working to expand funding for statewide legal services that puts Ann in a class all her own. She was instrumental in accessing funding through the Crime Victim’s Legal Assistance Program (CVLAP), creating a dozen new attorney positions placed in programs throughout the state and in tribal courts in Michigan. Housing the administrative work for CVLAP at MAP, while placing advocates in legal services offices throughout the state was a truly innovative idea that has benefited both advocates and survivors of crime where they are located. Ann has worked diligently to obtain and maintain funding from the State of Michigan for offices to handle SSI cases that are referred from the Michigan Department of Human Services, allowing attorneys to represent clients who need increased disability benefits. Ann has also been essential to statewide advocacy for the continuance of COVID-era housing funding that currently supports more than 100 advocates throughout the state who are defending tenants from eviction. Ann’s work to create funding opportunities that benefit all of the legal services offices in Michigan, not just MAP, shows her deep commitment to access to justice for all Michiganders.  

Ann is known in Michigan’s legal aid community as supportive, respectful, deeply empathetic and always open to new ideas. She has no ego and has worked tirelessly and collaboratively to get results. Ann will be retiring this year, capping decades of dedicated and passionate work for low-income individuals and families across Michigan. She will be deeply missed by everyone at MAP and its colleague programs, and will be recognized as a Champion of Justice by all who worked with her for many years to come."