Laura J. Trudeau
Laura Trudeau is senior program director for the Community Development and Detroit programs. She manages Re-Imagining Detroit 2020, The Kresge Foundation’s nine-point framework to reverse decades of disinvestment in Detroit and reposition the city as a model for revitalization.
Nationally, Laura works with community development grantmakers and practitioners to identify promising initiatives for the redevelopment of older industrial cities and to build bridges between Detroit and other urban communities to encourage the sharing of information and strategies.
In addition to leading the Community Development and Detroit teams, Laura co-manages Kresge’s program department.
Laura joined Kresge as a program officer in 2001, initially working on the foundation’s national facilities capital challenge grant program. She was instrumental in developing Kresge’s Green Building initiative. Laura also has worked as a senior program officer and as a program director at the foundation.
From 1972 to 2001, Laura worked at what is now JPMorgan Chase in the trust office, commercial banking and public affairs. As vice president and regional head for philanthropy and community relations in the Midwest, she oversaw the bank’s grantmaking activity in Detroit and surrounding areas.
A graduate of Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Mich., Laura is active in the nonprofit sector. She serves on the Detroit Local Initiatives Support Corporation’s local advisory board and the Living Cities program committee.