Garlin Gilchrist

Garlin Gilchrist II (born September 25, 1982) is an American politician, engineer, entrepreneur, and activist who is serving as the 64th lieutenant governor of Michigan, since January 2019. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Gilchrist was born in Detroit. In 1989, his family moved to Farmington, Michigan. His mother worked at General Motors for 32 years and his father worked in defense contract management for the Department of Defense. In 2005, he graduated from the University of Michigan College of Engineering, earning two Bachelor of Engineering degrees in computer engineering and computer science in engineering. Gilchrist moved to Redmond, Washington and worked for Microsoft for four years as a software engineer, where he helped build SharePoint. Next, Gilchrist worked as a community organizer and director of new media for the Center for Community Change, now known as Community Change. Later, Gilchrist worked for MoveOn.org in Washington, D.C., as national campaign director.

In July 2014, Gilchrist moved back to Detroit, working for the City government under Chief Information Officer Beth Niblock as director of innovation and emerging technology.He created the Improve Detroit smartphone app that allows residents to report issues for the city to address. He served as Founding Executive Director of the Center for Social Media Responsibility within University of Michigan School of Information from the University of Michigan Detroit Center.

In 2017, Gilchrist ran for Detroit City Clerk against incumbent Janice Winfrey. He lost by 1,482 votes.

Gilchrist was selected as a Community Change Champion in Community Organizing in 2019 for his work to advance social and racial justice in the United States.

Gretchen Whitmer selected Gilchrist as her running mate in the 2018 Michigan gubernatorial election. The pair defeated the Republican ticket of Bill Schuette and Lisa Posthumus Lyons. With Whitmer's victory, Gilchrist became the first African-American to serve as Lieutenant Governor of Michigan. He took office on January 1, 2019.

Gilchrist and his wife, Ellen, have twins, Garlin III and Emily (born 2013). Their third child, Ruby Madeline Gilchrist, was born in June 2019.

Gilchrist is 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 m) tall.