{"id":15390,"date":"2016-04-19T13:42:15","date_gmt":"2016-04-19T13:42:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/?post_type=blogpost&p=15390"},"modified":"2016-04-19T13:42:15","modified_gmt":"2016-04-19T13:42:15","slug":"fellow-spotlight-eric-lacksonen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/fellow-spotlight-eric-lacksonen\/","title":{"rendered":"Fellow Spotlight: Eric Lacksonen"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tell us about living in Detroit. What neighborhood do you live in and what things\u00a0<\/strong>make it unique and exciting?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"IMAG0005\"My neighborhood is unique because it isn\u2019t one of the places that is buzzed about.\u00a0Downtown and Midtown get a lot of hype because that\u2019s where a lot of development\u00a0is, but it isn\u2019t just new things in Detroit that are cool. Our house was built in the 1920\u2019s\u00a0which means there aren\u2019t a lot of outlets but what it lacks in electricity it makes up for\u00a0in character. Wood flooring and wood accents on the ceiling and in doorways add\u00a0really cool style and warmth to our duplex.<\/p>\n

What have you learned from Challenge Detroit so far?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"IMAG0004\"Challenge Detroit has taught me a lot about collaborative problem solving. Our first\u00a0challenge we explored the city and met a lot of business owners and community\u00a0stakeholders. This has helped in all of our other challenges by expanding our network.\u00a0Introducing ourselves to different people and organizations opened up doors for later\u00a0projects so we already knew people that might be working on the same issues.<\/p>\n

Tell us about your host company and your role in the organization.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am in Talent Acquisition with Team Detroit. I coordinate all of our college visits and\u00a0agency tours. I also work on scheduling interviews and drafting new hire paperwork.\u00a0Team Detroit is an international company, but something that I really love is that they\u00a0take time to work on local pro bono projects like Detroit PAL. Team Detroit also cares\u00a0about social issues. We recently hosted an advertising boot camp with the Marcus\u00a0Graham Project an organization dedicated to improving diversity in the advertising\u00a0field.<\/p>\n

What kind of impact do you hope to have with your host company and within the city?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"IMAG0081\"At my host company I want to promote the laid back creative environment Team\u00a0Detroit has to try and draw in talent that might be averse to living in Detroit compared\u00a0to somewhere like New York or Chicago. In the city I would like to be working towards\u00a0expanding the narrative of Detroit\u2019s comeback into the neighborhoods in an effort to\u00a0dispel the feeling of old and new Detroit.<\/p>\n

What are you most looking forward to this spring in Detroit?<\/strong><\/p>\n

This spring in Detroit I am most looking forward to the warmer weather! I can\u2019t wait\u00a0to bike around and be able to play basketball outside on Belle Isle. This winter was\u00a0mild but I am ready for sunshine and flowers rather than snow and gloom.<\/p>\n

To learn more about how Eric is living, working, playing, giving and leading in Detroit check out his spotlight video!
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