2023 Speakers

Nick Allen

PhD Candidate, Urban Development and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Dennis W. Archer Jr.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, sixteen42 ventures

Sandy K. Baruah

President and Chief Executive Officer

Willie Bell

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Family Assistance for Renaissance Men

Kofi Bonner

Chief Executive Officer, Bedrock LLC

Larry Brinker Jr.

Chief Executive Officer, Brinker Group

Antoine Bryant

Director, Planning and Development Department, City of Detroit

Charity Dean

President and Chief Executive Officer, Metro-Detroit Black Business Alliance

Bud Denker

President, Penske Corporation

Mike Duggan

Mayor, City of Detroit

Richard Florida

Co-Founder, Creative Class Group

Garlin Gilchrist II

Lieutenant Governor, State of Michigan

Anika Goss

Chief Executive Officer, Detroit Future City

Laura Grannemann

Vice President, Rocket Community Fund; Executive Director, Gilbert Family Foundation

Jason Hall

Founder, RiDetroit

Roderick Hardamon

Chief Executive Officer, URGE Development Group and URGE Imprint

Christopher Jackson

Partner, Queen Lillian

Eric B. Larson

Chief Executive Officer, Downtown Detroit Partnership

Amanda Lewan

Co-founder, Bamboo

Melanie A. Markowicz

Executive Director, Greektown Neighborhood Partnership

Christy McDonald

Special Correspondent and Anchor, WDIV-TV 4, NBC

Claude Molinari

President and Chief Executive Officer, Visit Detroit

Danielle North

Owner, Kidz Kingdom; Founder, Dream Studio Detroit

Cindy Pasky

President and Chief Executive Officer, Strategic Staffing Solutions

Luke Polcyn

Deputy Group Executive, Jobs and Economy, Mayor’s Office

Terry Rhadigan

Vice President, Corporate Giving, General Motors

J.J. Tighe

Director, Parks and Trails Initiative, Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation

Gary Torgow

Chairman, Board of Directors, Huntington National Bank

Rhonda Walker

Anchor, WDIV-TV 4, NBC