Justin Golden, BBA ‘02, has partnered with several other U-M alumni to start Greatwater Opportunity Capital, a real estate private equity investment management and development firm focused on providing housing in Detroit’s neighborhoods.

Khalilah Burt Gaston’s original goal for Share the Mic Now: Detroit was to host five conversations; she and her team ended up hosting 26 involving more than 50 women during 10 days in August. Thousands of people viewed the conversation videos on social media and can continue to do so on Facebook.

“The voices of Black and Brown planners and our allies will shape the future of this country’s neighborhoods and the world. I intend to be a part of this change, no matter how much my anxiety tells me the time isn’t right or you don’t have all of the “right words” to bring clarity yet.”
~ Jermaine Ruffin

“If I were talking to myself 20 years ago, I would say consider the needs of the community you are trying to serve, versus developing a product or service in a vacuum and then trying to sell people on your idea.”
~ Lisa Nuszkowski

“I wrote the book because nobody had really explained how Detroit had the world’s largest manufacturing economy when the automotive industry started.”
~ R.J. King, UM-Dearborn alumnus

“People say Detroit is on a rebound. I vehemently disagree with that. One-third to one-half of all homes in the city have foreclosed. One in six homes don’t have water. I’ve tried to use my platform to talk about what I see happening in the neighborhoods and in the shadow of all of this money coming in.”
~ Drew Philp, author and journalist

“The university — even though it’s nationally and internationally recognized — does have a commitment to the state and helping it improve. The university in my mind has always had a very strong commitment to public health and society.”
~ Dr. Betty Chu, MBA `13/MD `95, senior vice president, Henry Ford Health System

Suddenly his idyllic safe haven was a soul-crushing prison. Visceral memories of crime, poverty, injustice, and interactions with Detroit police resurfaced with a vengeance. Ward stopped sleeping. He cried in therapy. He refused to watch the Floyd video.

Amy Good’s work with Alternatives For Girls was inspired by a challenge she received from professor emerita Rosemary Sarri as she neared graduation from U-M’s School of Social Work. “She said, ‘Do something hard, and build something that wasn’t there before,” Good said.