In this week’s Fellow Spotlight, we are checking in with Alissa Servioukova. She fills us in on what she enjoys most about Detroit, her host company, DTE Energy, and what she enjoys most about being a Challenge Detroit Fellow.

Tell us about living in Detroit. What neighborhood do you live in and what things make it unique and exciting?
I moved to Detroit about three months before starting Challenge Detroit, and have actually lived in two different neighborhoods. I first spent about five months living in Southwest Detroit, which was a really great way to start my life in the city. It’s very walkable and bike-able, which was important since I didn’t have a car for the first few months. And the fact that it had lots of really fantastic mexican food options made it feel a little more like “home” since I lived in LA for almost 10 years.

In December, however, I moved to West Village, ironically on the east side of Detroit. I have to say the first few months were not extremely glamorous, as it was the thick of winter. But as the flowers started blooming and the sun’s becoming a more permanent staple in the sky, the neighborhood, just like the city, has just come alive. With really fun small businesses within a few blocks of me, and Belle Isle just half a mile away, I couldn’t ask for a better way to spend my summer!

What do you enjoy most about living, working, playing, giving and leading in Detroit?
One thing that really drew me to Detroit is the strong sense of community, something that I had a hard time finding living in Los Angeles and New York. I’ve found that most people are incredibly warm and welcoming, taking the pressure off of being new in the city – and making it much easier to get involved, in whatever it is that you do. It’s definitely make Detroit feel more and more like home every day!

Tell us about your host company and your role in the organization.
I’m working at DTE Energy, in our neighborhood revitalization program, called Energize Detroit. Our primary focus is on the area surrounding our headquarters in Downtown Detroit and we’ve had some great accomplishments as well as some really great projects in the pipeline. Be sure to check out my video for more details!

What have you learned from Challenge Detroit so far?
I really appreciate that Challenge Detroit integrates the Design Thinking methodology into all elements of the program. It’s a really critical way to ensure that solutions to social problems appropriately reflect the needs of the community, rather than being imposed by outsiders. This is especially important in Detroit, where community engagement and empowerment is so critical to supporting and uplifting the residents.

What kind of impact do you hope to have with your host company and within the city?
My professional interest really lies in improving efficiency and effectiveness across the social impact sector – to ensure that we achieve the greatest impact possible. Internal to DTE, I plan to continue to develop more robust metrics and program best practices to better track our progress and impact in the community, as well as evaluate the possibility of implementing similar programs across the city.

What are you most looking forward to in the final months of Challenge Detroit?
There are a few things I’m really excited about. First, my impact project – I’m working with another fellow, Branden Bufford, and the Wayne County Community College District to evaluate the possibility of bringing Year Up to Detroit. Year Up is a nationally recognized talent and workforce development program that focuses on closing the opportunity divide for minority youth. Racial equity and job access and readiness are two significant issues in Detroit that need to be resolved and overcome if the changes we’re starting to see in Detroit are to be permanent and available to all.

I’m also looking forward to seeing where the other fellows land (geographically and job-wise) after the fellowship ends, though the hope, of course, is that everyone will stay in the city.

Also, be sure to check out Alissa’s video to learn more about her time in Detroit, so far.