Ellington Smith is a 2021-2022 Fellow. Ellington grew up in Detroit and attended Calvin University where he earned a Bachelor of Film and Media, minor in Journalism and Religion.

Tell us about your host company and your role in the organization.
I work for DPSCD in the Knowledge Management department. My role is pretty much divided into two different categories. Firstly, I assist with any support my department and other departments may need in managing their information and content on their specific site on our internal Hub. This is done through trainings, making of videos, layout support, and many other areas. Secondly, I write stories for our internal Hub about fascinating things people on staff all over the district are doing. From teachers in various schools, to administrators at the Fisher or other buildings the district possesses.

This is an image of students enjoying themselves outside at Sampson Webber Academy after I conducted an interview with one of their teachers about effective ways she builds character with her students.

Tell us about the challenge project you’re currently working on; what are you learning from the experience?
Currently we are working with the Marygrove Conservancy and I am the Team Lead for the Listening Team. Our job is to understand the needs of various stakeholders and come up with some recommendations as to how Marygrove could fill these needs. I am learning a lot about both being a leader of a team, but also about what it takes to truly impact a community on the ground in a profound way. In various interviews my team had the task of simply listening to people who are greatly involved in these communities and it has opened my eyes to what works and what people may need more of.

An image from a story I did on a resource pantry the district has that is for homeless students and families. Click to see full size.

How do you hope to impact the community as a Fellow?
My hope is to impact the community through projects that emphasize personal connections and relationships. In working with both Marygrove and MDBBA, I hope that the projects that we have constructed have tangible impact with individuals in various communities and lead to greater communication between these organizations and the people of the communities that they wish to work in. Often times there are development and revitalization projects where the emphasis is not personal and on the individual people and relationships. At Challenge, I hope to continue to have opportunities to change the emphasis.

Since becoming a Fellow, what is something you have learned about Detroit that has positively impacted your perspective on the city?
One thing I have learned is about the history of Black Bottom and Hastings street, and how there was a plethora of black businesses booming with people making a way for themselves and their families in the city in a very profound way. Learning the details of this greatly impacted me and what I know about this city I love. Growing up in schools in this city we were not taught at all about the history of black wealth and innovation that is truly integral to the makeup of the city.

At the Charles H. Wright Museum with friends/other Fellows. We learned a lot about African American History especially in relation to Detroit. Click to see full size.

What has been your biggest takeaway from your time as a Fellow so far and how has it impacted you?
My biggest takeaway is truly learning what it takes to do community development the right way and how the focus must be on the people. When speaking to various leaders around the city during Challenge Fridays, one theme that is echoed is how the most memorable thing about the city and what people always talk about as a highlight, is the people. And Challenge has been wonderfully crafted in showing us how important it is to include people and the specific individuals within various communities when embarking upon any community development project. It has given me a more positive outlook on much of the work being done across the city on the ground right now.

If someone is reading this and considering applying to be a Fellow, share why you would encourage them to apply?
I would encourage them to apply because you become much more acquainted with the city of Detroit as a whole. I have lived in this city my whole life and love it deeply, and have learned so many new things about the city from the work we have listened to and participated in here at challenge.