The pair joined Olympia Development as part of a company growth spurt following its opening of Little Caesars Arena — the home of the NBA’s Detroit Pistons and the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings — and plans to develop the surrounding area as The District Detroit.

Construction on the Early Childhood Education Center has finished and the new facility will welcome students in fall 2021. The School of Education is involved in curriculum and professional development for the center, as well as coordinating cross-campus holistic support services for children and families.

Informed by survey findings, TRAILS is now collaborating with the district to implement responsive programming, and already nearly 4,000 DPSCD staff have attended districtwide TRAILS trainings on understanding and supporting student mental health needs and effective self-care strategies.

A Podcast on what makes one want to be in the city of Detroit. Join our host Katie Benjamin as she interviews students, scholars, innovators, and leaders from across the city to learn how they came to live, work, and love in Detroit.

As a new pastor Charles Williams III made sure to connect Historic King Solomon Baptist Church to its social service roots. He established a food pantry at the church, clothing giveaways, Thanksgiving meals and youth mentoring services. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Michigan in March 2020, Williams was ready to do more.

The Dow Sustainability Fellows program supports U-M graduate students and scholars in their efforts to create sustainable solutions to pressing issues in various areas of study. The fellows engage in interdisciplinary, actionable, and meaningful work, tackling problems on a local, national, and global scale. Each fellow receives a $20,000 stipend and participates in collaborative activities and a team project.

“There are at least opportunities to meet one another, collaborate with one another, advise larger groups of people who are doing engagement, and who are working in Detroit, and who are thinking about working in Detroit. It doesn’t have to be everybody starting from scratch completely every time. It’s not perfect yet but it’s better than it was, and I think people are communicating.”
~ Trina Shanks, social work professor

O’Keefe recognizes that addressing racial inequity is a big and complex problem and says that the planning field as a whole “still has a lot to grapple with when it comes to equity.”

I learned how to motivate my team as a leader, how to ask the right questions to ensure I’m developing the best deliverables for my client, and how to celebrate small wins in order to move toward larger goals.