As a leadership development program, Challenge Detroit is committed to the professional and personal growth of its Fellows. By supporting our ambitions, connecting us with leaders in the community, and supporting the bonding of the group, we are in a position to positively contribute to Detroit’s revitalization.

Conversation with Phillip Cooley at Ponyride

During our recent team building day, we had the opportunity to connect with Phillip Cooley, the Founder of Slows BBQ at Ponyride in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood. Ponyride is an incubator for socially conscious artists and entrepreneurs to work and share knowledge, resources and networks. Phil spoke on the community revitalization efforts he is involved with and shared his vision for the countless opportunities he sees in Detroit.

Getting On the Mark

Before lunch, we participated in a self-defense workshop with Darryl Jefferson of On The Mark Detroit, LLC. Self-defense skills are practical to know no matter where you live, not just Detroit. During the session,Darryl walked us through several scenarios and best practices. It was an active experience that all the fellows appreciated and walked away with valuable skills.

Envisioning Our Detroit

After a delicious lunch by Beautiful Soup, a local home-grown caterer, we engaged in an interactive vision board activity. Each Fellow brought in a picture that represented a piece of our vision for Detroit. We were tasked to create a unified board compiling over 30 unique mixed media graphics. We were given 5 minutes to plan, and 5 minutes to execute our ideas. It was truly a collaborative effort, and the resulting vision board speaks for our unity and collective creativity for Detroit’s future!

Bowling in the Garden

We capped off the day unwinding at Garden Bowl in Midtown. The activity brought us together (regardless of our skill in the lanes), and allowed us to connect on a deeper level.

Overall, the day was a reminder that there are tremendous opportunity and passionate people in the city of Detroit… including us!

Interested in becoming a Challenge Detroit year three Fellow? The application process opens in early February, stay tuned!