Tell us about living in Detroit. What neighborhood do you live in and what things make it unique?

My pup hanging out with a friend in front of the Warehouse

I live in a converted warehouse building just north of Woodbridge neighborhood. The space maintains an industrial feel with some really cool brick wall detailing along with concrete flooring – definitely much different than anywhere else I’ve lived before, in a great way. I love my location, as I’m not much more than 5 minutes away from any given place in the city, whether a northwest suburb (where I lived last year), Corktown, Downtown, or the Riverfront – it makes exploring any and all corners of the city a breeze.

What have you learned from Challenge Detroit so far?

Challenge Detroit provides this lifelong Detroit resident the opportunity to ask questions regarding the Who What Where and Why of any and all Detroit topics. I’ve always valued viewing problems, solutions, and everything in between from a holistic perspective, and Challenge Detroit offers avenues to do just that. My “job” as a Fellow is to poke, prod, and engage with the oftentimes downright discomforting questions surrounding Detroit’s past, present, and future. So far, this has meant continued frank discussions regarding education, race relations, systemic inequality, evaluation of the real positives happening throughout the city, and everything in-between. My time occupying these spaces continues to be an evolving learning process, but above all, this time has reinforced the need for frank conversation as a lead in to decisive action – both in decision makers and community stakeholders.

Life size Tonka Trucks courtesy of Edward C. Levy

Tell us about your host company and your role in the organization.

My host company, Edward C. Levy, works within the Steel, Asphalt, and more recently, agriculture industries, using Steel bi-products to service customers. I work in Levy’s Performance Improvement Department – a group that supports sites with auditing, employee and customer surveys, training options, and more.

What kind of impact do you hope to have with your host company and within the city?

I hope to facilitate Levy’s continued involvement in the city. I’m here to learn, but I also hope that I can use my status as a Challenge Detroit Fellow to connect my host company to the city wherever and whenever possible. Levy has some phenomenal programs and partnerships with larger nonprofits within the city including United Way and Gleaners volunteerism efforts. I hope I can add to those efforts and also encourage Levy’s involvement in infrastructure based projects in the future. I’m not so overly confident to state that I alone will have an impact on the city, but I do hope to be involved in projects that do, and maybe, by the end of the year, I’ll have gained enough knowledge to begin envisioning an impact of my own.

Sure, I knew about Belle Isle before Challenge Detroit, but still – somehow, the view seems better this year.

What challenge project are you currently working on and why is the topic relevant to Detroit?