{"id":18306,"date":"2016-11-28T19:54:43","date_gmt":"2016-11-28T19:54:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/?post_type=blogpost&p=18306"},"modified":"2016-11-28T19:54:43","modified_gmt":"2016-11-28T19:54:43","slug":"fellow-spotlight-peter-walle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/fellow-spotlight-peter-walle\/","title":{"rendered":"Fellow Spotlight: Peter Walle"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"My

My pup hanging out with a friend in front of the Warehouse<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u2019ve lived before, in a great way. I love my location, as I\u2019m 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.<\/p>\n

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

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\u2019ve always valued viewing problems, solutions, and everything in between from a holistic perspective, and Challenge Detroit offers avenues to do just that. My \u201cjob\u201d as a Fellow is to poke, prod, and engage with the oftentimes downright discomforting questions surrounding Detroit\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\"Life

Life size Tonka Trucks courtesy of Edward C. Levy<\/p><\/div>\n

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

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\u2019s Performance Improvement Department – a group that supports sites with auditing, employee and customer surveys, training options, and more.<\/p>\n

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

I hope to facilitate Levy\u2019s continued involvement in the city. I\u2019m 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\u2019s involvement in infrastructure based projects in the future. I\u2019m 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\u2019ll have gained enough knowledge to begin envisioning an impact of my own.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Sure,

Sure, I knew about Belle Isle before Challenge Detroit, but still – somehow, the view seems better this year.<\/p><\/div>\n

What challenge project are you currently working on and why is the topic relevant to Detroit?<\/strong><\/div>\n

Fellows and I have most recently begun working with Forgotten Harvest, a food rescue and distribution nonprofit whose mission is to end Food distress in Detroit. Teams have been tasked with providing recommendations on how to best mitigate food waste, implement new marketing tools, increase communication efficiency, and more. My team has begun discussions on how FH can improve its communication with its distribution network – food agencies. Ultimately, Forgotten Harvest addresses an oft-forgot issue – food distress, not to be confused with outright impoverishment. Detroit\u2019s success has been accompanied by a harsh critique of divested and underinvested neighborhoods. Forgotten Harvest has and continues to be a support mechanism for those still experiencing the effects of Detroit\u2019s downed economy.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
What are you most looking forward to as you continue your fellowship year?<\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I look forward to a year that I can look back on and say \u201cThat — that was a great period in my life\u201d. Great in both my actions and the people I\u2019m surrounded with. So far I\u2019m anything but disappointed.<\/div>\n
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To learn more about Peter’s experience thus far in his spotlight video!<\/div>\n
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