Detroit & The American City Symposium

Danielle Atkinson is the Founding Director of Mothering Justice and Mothering Justice Action Fund, two national organizations working to improve the lives of families by equipping the next generation of mother activists.

Atkinson is a nationally recognized speaker with extensive experience as a church-based, electoral, and community organizer. Her early days working with organizations such as America Votes, State Voices, Population Connection, and  The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now prepared her to found Mothering Justice, a leadership development and advocacy organization in 2012.  To date, Mothering Justice has trained more than 1000 women, reached more than 500,000 mothers in voter engagement efforts, led Mama Conversations around the country, and drafted the Mamas’ Agenda, a policy priority plan addressing financial stability issues of mothers in Michigan. Mothering Justice has been a part of winning campaigns to strengthen breastfeeding rights, licensure for Michigan Midwives, protecting federal safety net programs, and earned sick time in Michigan. Atkinson also helped lead a successful ballot initiative to raise the minimum wage in both Florida and Michigan and establish a paid leave law in Michigan.

Atkinson serves on the board of directors of  Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, Hope Starts Here, the Ghana Lacrosse Association, and as the board chair for 9to5,  in addition to her nonprofit board position. In 2020, Governor Gretchen Whitmer appointed Atkinson to the Michigan Women’s Commission. 

Atkinson’s work organizing mothers has earned her the 2013 Michigan Organizer of the Year Award, the 2015 Black Women’s Roundtable SiStar Award in Organizing, the 2016 National Congress of Black Women-Oakland County Annual Pioneers and Leaders Award, the 2017 Michigan Women’s Progressive Caucus’ Progressive Outstanding Women’s Empowerment Revolutionary Award, and the 2018 African American Leadership Rainwater Award. 

In November 2022, Atkinson was elected statewide to the Board of Governors of Wayne State University. She lives in Royal Oak with her husband and their six children.”

A lifelong Detroiter, Orlando P. Bailey learned how to practice community development in the neighborhood where he was born. Passionate about shifting the narrative of Black cities & neighborhoods, Bailey is an Emmy Award winning journalist and is the incoming Executive Director of Outlier Media. He is currently Director of Engagement for BridgeDetroit, co-host of the podcast Authentically Detroit, and host of Urban Consulate. He is also a regular on-air contributor to WDIV Local 4’s ‘Live in the D!’ and Detroit PBS. Previously, he served as Chief Development Officer for the Eastside Community Network.

A sought-after voice for public dialogues & media, Bailey has appeared on stages & screens for TED, The Aspen Institute, SXSW, Canadian Urban Institute, Wellbeing Cities Forum, the Kresge Foundation, and Detroit’s NPR station WDET. In 2019, Bailey traveled across Europe with The German Marshall Fund of the United States. In 2020, he was named a BMe Vanguard Fellow. In 2015, he was selected as an Emerging City Champion by Knight Foundation and 880 Cities in Toronto. In 2010, Bailey was the recipient of the Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award from Eastern Michigan University, where he received his bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism.

Since then, Bailey has had the privilege to interview hundreds of visionaries & changemakers, including Academy Award winner Ruth E. Carter, Dr. Cornel West, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. Kendi, Dr. Andre M. Perry, Governor Gretchen Whitmer & more.

Rooted in his faith and radical love for his community, Bailey is a passionate advocate for city residents as experts in their lived experience. He serves on numerous boards and he continues to reside on Detroit’s Eastside.

Hannah Beachler made history when she became the first African American to be nominated, and to win, an Academy Award in 2019 for Production Design for her work on the Marvel Superhero film Black Panther, directed by her long-time collaborator Ryan Coogler. Most recently she designed Kill Switch with Academy Award winning director Steven Soderbergh, and Dark Waters, with Academy Award nominated director Todd Haynes. Hannah designed Beyoncé’s stunning visual concept album Lemonade and earned a 2016 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Production Design for A Variety Nonfiction, a 2017 Peabody for her work on the Visual Album, and took home the 2017 Art Directors Guild Award for Excellence in Production Design for Awards or Event Special. She joined the singer again in 2018 to design the interstitials for Beyonce and Jay-Z’s mega tour OTRII. In 2019 Hannah was named one of Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People in Business,” Marie Claire Magazine’s “50 New Guard,” Elle Magazine’s “2019 Women In Hollywood’s Power List,” and InStyle’s “50 Badass Women List.” For her work on Black Panther, Hannah was named Ellevate’s 2019 International Woman of Change and received the Critic’s Choice Award, Hollywood Film Awards, Latino Entertainment Journalists Association Film Awards, Music City Film Critics’ Association Award et al.

In 2016 Hannah collaborated with director Barry Jenkins on the 2017 Best Picture Oscar-winning film, Moonlight, a coming-of-age tale that transcends traditional genre boundaries. The film was named one of the top 25 movies of the 21st century by The New York Times. She also Designed Don Cheadle’s Directorial Debut feature film Miles Ahead, Sundance Film Festival Audience and Jury Award winning film Fruitvale Station, her first collaboration with Director Ryan Coogler. In 2015 Hannah designed Creed, Coogler’s sophomore feature file, the story of Apollo Creed’s legacy. She has been the keynote speaker for tech, automotive and architecture firms all over the world, such as Google, Ford’s “World Symposium”, Detroit CityLab, The PGAV, UX Week 2018, MoMa NYC, Harvard University Graduate School of Design, United Nations African Descendants, and given Master Class’ in Production Design at the 55th Chicago International Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival.

Collaborators include: Academy Award Winning Director Steven Soderbergh, Academy Award-nominated directors Todd Haynes, and Dee Rees, Grammy and Emmy-nominated directors Khalil Joseph and Beyonce Knowles-Carter, Academy Award-nominated cinematographers Ed Lachman, Rodrigo Prieto, and prolific cinematographers Maryse Alberti and Malik Sayeed; and legendary Academy Award-winning costume designers Ruth Carter, and Colleen Atwood.

Angela Glover Blackwell is Founder in Residence at PolicyLink, the organization she started in 1999 to advance racial and economic equity for all. Under Angela’s leadership, PolicyLink gained national prominence in the movement to use public policy to improve access and opportunity for all low-income people and communities of color, particularly in the areas of health, housing, transportation, and infrastructure. Angela is also the host of the Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life podcast and the Radical Imagination podcast and Professor of Practice at the Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley.

Prior to founding PolicyLink, Angela served as Senior Vice President at The Rockefeller Foundation. A lawyer by training, she gained national recognition as founder of the Urban Strategies Council. From 1977 to 1987, Angela was a partner at Public Advocates. Angela is also the co-author of Uncommon Common Ground: Race and America’s Future, and the author of The Curb Cut Effect (2017) and How to Achieve a Multiracial Democracy (2023) published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review.

As a leading voice in the movement for equity in America, Angela serves on numerous boards. She advised the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve as one of 15 members of its inaugural Community Advisory Council, and in 2020 was appointed by California Governor Gavin Newsom to the state Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery. She is the 2018 recipient of the John W. Gardner Leadership Award, presented by the Independent Sector, and in 2017, she received the Peter E. Haas Public Service Award from the University of California, Berkeley.

Alexa Bush (she/her/hers) is a program officer with The Kresge Foundation’s Detroit Program. Alexa supports investments in transformative public spaces in the city of Detroit that promote greater understanding and inclusion, as well as strategies that advance the interconnections between sustainable urban development and economic equity.

She joined the foundation in 2021. Previously, Alexa served as Urban Design Director-East Region at the City of Detroit Planning and Development Department, where she was involved with planning and developing inclusive economic recovery efforts in partnership with residents. She implemented work through the Strategic Neighborhood Fund and led Detroit’s Reimagining the Civic Commons initiative in the Fitzgerald neighborhood in northwest Detroit.

Alexa has also held positions with SmithGroup and San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR).

She earned a bachelor’s degree in visual and environmental studies from Harvard University and a master’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Virginia.

Alexa serves on the board of the Landscape Architecture Foundation.

Wafa Dinaro is the executive director for the New Economy Initiative (NEI), a project of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. In this role, she leads the program and grantmaking activities for entrepreneurship-based donors of the Community Foundation. She also cultivates public support for inclusive entrepreneurship and small business development-related initiatives.

Before her current role, Dinaro directed economic development for Wayne County, Michigan. Her responsibilities included the oversight and execution of Wayne County’s economic development initiatives including business attraction, retention and expansion programs, small business, and entrepreneurial support.

Dinaro has held a variety of other positions in the private and public sector over the years and is seasoned at developing partnerships between business and government. Her professional background includes project management, community development, strategic planning, and communication. Dinaro’s experience also includes diplomatic work, where she led operations for the Department of Defense while assigned to Defense Attaché Offices in U.S Embassies around the world.
Dinaro holds a master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree in political science and communications from the University of Michigan.

Donovan Duncan’s understanding of the housing industry’s impact on communities is a key aspect of his professional expertise. As an Executive Vice President for Urban Strategies, Inc., he brings over twenty years of experience in the Community and economic development and Housing industry, including managing and implementing asset and property management strategies within the federal, state, and local ecosystems. His lived experience further enhances his understanding of why housing is at the nexus of sustaining community impact.

He has extensive experience in community revitalization and development initiatives, resident services, minority and female participation, Section 3, YouthBuild initiatives and energy conservation along with single family and multifamily housing and finance analysis, Rental Assistance Demonstration Program (RAD), Neighborhood Stabilization programs and planning/project management, HOPE VI, Choice Neighborhood Initiative (CNI) and Promise Neighborhood Initiative. His work as the Executive Director of Western Reserve Revitalization and Management Company and the Director of Asset Management and Operations for the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority had him
manage a development budget of $150 million and $700 million in real estate, tax credit, and project-based housing units.

Donovan was a fellow in the 2013-2014 Annie E. Casey Fellowship class, an intensive leadership development program. He is also the Board chair of Forever Family National Board of Directors in Atlanta, Georgia, Board chair of Foot Solider Park and Credit Builders Alliance. Lastly, Donovan is the previous chair of the National Community Development and Revitalization of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials. Donovan was also named a Field catalyst in the inaugural cohort of the Center for Community Investment. Donovan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration/Finance from the University of Akron and a Master’s Degree in Organizational Development and Diversity Management from Cleveland State University.

Byna Elliott is a seasoned financial executive devoted to caring for communities. As global head of Advancing Black Pathways (ABP) for JPMorgan Chase, Elliott’s mission is to strengthen the economic foundation of the Black community and to shrink the racial wealth divide globally.

Elliott spearheads the implementation of targeted investments and initiatives within the firm’s all- encompassing framework of diversity, equity, and inclusion while leading Advancing Black Pathways’ global efforts to address four critical areas where there are racial disparities and economic barriers that create barriers for sustained financial prosperity: careers and skill building, business growth and
entrepreneurship, financial health and wealth creation, and community development.

Prior to her role at JPMorgan Chase, Elliott was the Chief Enterprise Responsibility Officer at Fifth Third Bank, where she oversaw the firm’s corporate social responsibility functions, which included environmental sustainability, philanthropic giving, ethical business practices, and economic responsibility. Elliott was the chief architect behind the success of the firm’s landmark five-year $32 billion investment in underserved communities in the United States from 2015 – 2020.

A native of Detroit, Michigan, Elliott openly discusses her experience of being raised in a low-income household by her single mother and grandmother. Despite facing financial struggles, her grandmother instilled in her a deep sense of compassion and community involvement.
This valuable lesson left an indelible impression on Elliott and influenced her actions and character.

Today, Elliott actively carries on her grandmother’s legacy in both her personal and professional life Her dedication and effort go beyond just a job, as they stem from her passion and compassion. Through her tireless work, she has brought hope and tangible change to communities in need for over twenty years.

Elliott currently resides in Michigan with her husband, Tony. She is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated and is also the mother of two college-aged children.

Omar Gates is a Climatologist for GLISA. Gates provides climate information and data to researchers and decision-makers throughout the Great Lakes region through a co-production approach. This approach involves working closely with practitioners to find ways to have climate data supplement their work. As GLISA’s Tribal Liaison, he helps integrate climate science with Indigenous Knowledges for the adaptation practices of Great Lakes Tribal communities and organizations. These experiences cultivate the valuable lessons of maintaining trust and strengthening relationships between Tribal Nations and GLISA.

Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist has dedicated his career to solving problems. An engineer by training, he uses thoughtful and fact-based practices to solve real problems and make government work better for Michigan families.

As part of the Whitmer Administration, Lt. Governor Gilchrist has focused on helping Michiganders in communities across our state realize their full economic and political potential. From co-chairing the Michigan Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration, to helming the Michigan COVID-19 Task Force on Racial Disparities, to leading efforts to connect over 23,000 unserved locations in Michigan to affordable high-speed internet, Lt. Governor Gilchrist is committed to building a more just, equitable, prosperous, and connected Michigan where everyone can thrive.

Lt. Governor Gilchrist and his wife, Ellen, reside in Detroit where they are raising their twins, Emily and Garlin III, and daughter, Ruby. 

Anika Goss is the Chief Executive Officer of Detroit Future City (DFC), a nonprofit think-and-do tank focused on land use and sustainability, community and economic development, and economic equity in Detroit.

Anika leads a team of experts to implement the DFC Strategic Framework, a comprehensive 50-year guide to decision-making and investment in Detroit. Since taking the helm of DFC, Anika has repositioned the organization with several significant research studies, a web-based dashboard that tracks six indicators that illustrate the deep disparities that exist in Detroit and the region, and has awarded over $330,000 in grants towards vacant land revitalization. Prior to DFC, Anika held nearly 25 years of leadership in national and local roles in community development and non-profit management.

Anika’s leadership has been recognized in Detroit and nationally, including Crain’s Detroit Business, Michigan Chronicle, and Corps! Magazine. She serves on the board of national and local organizations including The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Detroit Branch, The Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis, and served on Governor Whitmer’s Growing Michigan Together Council, a state commission focusing on population growth. Anika has also had numerous speaking engagements, including her recent TED Talk “Detroit’s climate crisis—and how to build a resilient future everywhere.”

Catherine Coleman Flowers is an internationally recognized environmental activist, MacArthur “genius” grant recipient, and author. She has dedicated her life’s work to advocating for environmental justice, primarily equal access to clean water and functional sanitation for communities across the United States.

Founder of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice (CREEJ), Flowers has spent her career promoting equal access to clean water, air, sanitation, and soil to reduce health and economic disparities in marginalized, rural communities.

Flowers sits on the Board of Directors for the Climate Reality Project, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the American Geophysical Union, as well as serving as a Practitioner in Residence position at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. In 2021, her leadership and fervor in fighting for solutions to these issues led her to one of her most notable appointments yet — Vice Chair of the Biden Administration’s inaugural White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council. In 2023, she was recognized as one of TIME’s “100 Most Influential People” in the world and was featured on Forbes’ “50 Over 50” list.

As the author of Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret, Flowers shares her inspiring story of advocacy, from childhood to environmental justice champion. In the book, she discusses sanitation and its correlation with systemic class, racial, and geographic prejudice that affects people across the United States. She and her work have been profiled by CBS’s 60 Minutes, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, PBS Newshour and more.

Learn more at www.catherinecolemanflowers.com.