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Leadership Features

Urban Exchange: Trading Ideas with Toronto

Model D's Claire Nelson and Hopscotch Detroit social innovator Ajooni Sethi go north to share the power of play as a tool for civic engagement with our Canadian comrades at Yonge St. Sounds like some serious fun was had in the Queen City.

Poor but sexy: REVOLVE aims to re-imagine vacant storefronts and rebuild neighborhood retail

Michael Forsyth, Business Development Manager of the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, heads up the DEGC's recently-launched REVOLVE program. REVOLVE works with growing neighborhoods, aspiring entrepreneurs, and building owners in need of tenants to address Detroit's threefold issue of neighborhood needs, excessive storefront vacancies, and lack of retail density head-on via pop-up. Here he shares with UIX Detroit the short- and long-term visions for REVOLVE.

Getting Smarter: Innovators gather for learning exchange at D:hive

The "hive" was buzzing with ambitious doers leading everything from youth programs to community art projects to startup businesses and micro-lending programs. They came to learn about urban innovation in Detroit, and they left with some new strategies for leadership and social entrepreneurship from special guest Christopher Gergen. Check out our recap & video.

Innovation in Action: Allied Media Projects

Working out of the Furniture Factory in the Cass Corridor, Allied Media Projects is all about innovation, interaction and collaboration. Matthew Piper takes us behind the scenes.

Crossing Paths with Kyle Bartell

Photographer Noah Stephens goes out in search of innovation and crosses paths (more than once) with a young Detroiter on a mission to transform unused parcels into parks. Meet Kyle Bartell, who has a vision to create more public gathering spaces in places where trails are already being blazed. (Photo essay from The People of Detroit for UIX.)
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Leadership Videos

VIDEO: Khalil Ligon

Khalil Ligon is the project manager of the Lower Eastside Action Plan (LEAP), a grassroots community organization that seeks to address land use issues and development planning on Detroit's lower-east side. Video by DETROIT LIVES!

VIDEO: Erik Howard

Erik Howard is the co-founder of Young Nation, a non-profit organization that promotes holistic development of youth in urban settings through building relationships, community education, and passion-driven projects. See him and several other UIX innovators on Friday, April 12 starting at 5:30 p.m. at MoCAD as UIX celebrates our one-year anniversary with a special UIX+ArtXDetroit discussion on placemakingVideo by DETROIT LIVES! for Detroit Creative Corridor Center

VIDEO: Kimo Frederiksen

Kimo Frederiksen owns True Body Fitness in Corktown, an intimate fitness center that offers one-on-one personal training in a private atmosphere as well as group classes. He has also partnered with the Ruth Ellis Center in Highland Park to mentor one of their youths. In everything he does, Frederiksen is helping to change lives one little bit at a time. Video by DETROIT LIVES!

VIDEO: Rishi Jaitly

Kiva Detroit co-founder Rishi Jaitly talks about his work with Kiva Detroit and the Knight Foundation at the Revitalization & Business Initiative's Detroit Shift conference, held at the University of Michigan's School of Business is association with Model D's IdeaLab. Video by RB Conference.

VIDEO: John George

John George, founder of Motor City Blight Busters, says enough with all the talking: "Get off your ass and do something." Which is exactly how Blight Busters came to be. Tired of a house in his neighborhood being used as a crack house, he took it upon himself to board it up. Since then the nonprofit has boarded up, secured, demolished, rebuilt, repainted or otherwise positively impacted some 1,500 houses in the city with 120,000 volunteers logging almost 700,000 hours. You want change? Do it yourself. Video by DETROIT LIVES!
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