Mr. Taylor received a juris doctor degree from Detroit College of Law in 1964. In 1971, he was named director of the Michigan Employment Security Commission, the state's third largest agency. He held this position concurrently for two years with that of Department of Labor director.
In 1984, he was chosen to head New Detroit, Inc., and served as president of the country's first urban coalition until 1989 when he was named vice president-community and governmental affairs for Detroit Edison.