Goodwill of Greater Detroit Names New Director to Lead Nationally Recognized Flip the Script
Terrell Topps to continue legacy of second chances for at-risk individuals starting July 28, 2025
DETROIT (July 28, 2025) – Goodwill of Greater Detroit (Goodwill) has named Terrell Topps as director of its award-winning and nationally recognized Flip the Script program, effective July 28, 2025.
For more than two decades, Flip the Script has been dedicated to fostering second chances for thousands of individuals across the metro Detroit region who are justice-involved. With Flip the Script locations in Detroit and Pontiac, the program has a remarkable success rate, with 92 percent of participants avoiding incarceration.
As director, Topps will continue to lead the strategic development and growth of Flip the Script’s prison diversion and reentry services, education recovery, financial literacy, coaching and workforce development in Wayne and Oakland counties.
“Terrell has dedicated his life to advocating for at-risk and justice-involved individuals, passionately pursuing increased access to education and resources needed to provide a second chance at living a productive, independent life without judgment,” said Greg Anderson, vice president of workforce development. “With a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities that await the most vulnerable populations within our city, he has embodied our Flip the Script mission long before becoming our director. We are confident that he not only has the right skillset to continue advancing our program, but also the personal drive and innate ability to create change that will carry Goodwill’s Flip the Script legacy forward.”
Throughout his career in social work, Topps has often collaborated with diverse stakeholders, reentry specialists and the criminal justice system to establish impactful programs and services designed to effect change. He created the Detroit Public Schools’ “Black Men Do Read” initiative, supported Wayne State University’s (WSU) felony-friendly career fair in partnership with the City of Detroit and led WSU’s Educational Transition Coordination program that is a prison to college pipeline for formerly incarcerated individuals.
Most recently, Topps served as the Michigan director at the Center for Employment Opportunities, a nonprofit providing ongoing support services to individuals returning home from incarceration. In this role, he managed operations that provided immediate employment services and guidance. He also previously founded and operated Toppside Counseling Services, a business venture designed to empower at-risk and justice-impacted populations.
To support his pursuit of continuously creating equitable opportunities for all, Topps received his graduate degree in social work with a specialization in interpersonal transition therapy from WSU. While at the university, he also became a first-year seminar instructor.
Under Topps’ leadership, Flip the Script will continue to thrive as one of the most successful prison diversion and re-entry programs in the country. Serving individuals ages 16 to 39, Flip the Script is designed to empower and transform lives through life skills, cognitive behavior therapy, GED preparation, job placement, financial literacy and coaching, anger management, domestic violence and post-employment retention services.
