{"id":30669,"date":"2025-12-18T19:11:43","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T19:11:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/?post_type=blogpost&amp;p=30669"},"modified":"2025-12-18T19:11:43","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T19:11:43","slug":"project-spotlight-urban-alliance-detroit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/project-spotlight-urban-alliance-detroit\/","title":{"rendered":"Project Spotlight: Urban Alliance Detroit"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>To kick-off the fellowship year, we partnered with <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.urbanalliance.org\/location\/detroit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Urban Alliance Detroit<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, the local arm of Urban Alliance (UA), &#8220;a national nonprofit creating pathways for young people to achieve economic independence through skills training, mentorship, and meaningful paid work experiences.&#8221; Our project focused on capturing and elevating UA Detroit\u2019s impact through storytelling, with the goal of expanding local awareness, and opportunity for Detroit youth. From our earliest conversations, it was clear that the UA Detroit team was transforming students\u2019 lives. We saw an opportunity to build on this strong foundation by helping amplify how these powerful stories of impact are captured and shared.<\/p>\n<p>Using a design thinking approach, four teams of Fellows partnered closely with the UA Detroit team and engaged key stakeholders, including current students, alumni, and community partners. UA Detroit was actively involved throughout the entire process, providing ongoing feedback to ensure the work stayed aligned with their goals and resulted in deliverables that were relevant, accessible, and actionable. Here&#8217;s what our partners had to share about the experience:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><strong><span style=\"color: 237e99;\"><em>\u201cI\u2019m inspired by how the Challenge Detroit Fellows are helping us reimagine our story. Their fresh perspectives and creative energy are fueling a marketing strategy that not only amplifies Urban Alliance Detroit\u2019s impact but also strengthens how we engage corporate and philanthropic partners across the city.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">-Alphonso Amos, Executive Director, Urban Alliance Detroit<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30753\" style=\"width: 679px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30753\" class=\"wp-image-30753 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_2017-scaled-e1766159796353-1024x356.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"669\" height=\"233\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_2017-scaled-e1766159796353-1024x356.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_2017-scaled-e1766159796353-300x104.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_2017-scaled-e1766159796353-768x267.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 669px) 100vw, 669px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-30753\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Welcome and overview from our partner, UA Detroit Executive Director, Alphonso Amos.<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><strong><em><br \/>\n\u201cAs someone who has dedicated my career to uplifting Detroit\u2019s youth and communities, this project with the Challenge Detroit Fellows has been especially meaningful. Their passion and insight have strengthened our work and opened new pathways for innovation. I\u2019m inspired by their dedication and look forward to seeing how this collaboration will continue to support and empower the young people we serve. Their thoughtfulness, curiosity, and commitment to understanding the inner workings of Urban Alliance and Detroit\u2019s youth workforce ecosystem have already strengthened our program in meaningful ways. This partnership is helping us build tools and insights that will directly support our efforts to expand opportunities for young people across the city.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">&#8211; Victor Robinson, Senior Director of Programs and Partnerships, Urban Alliance Detroit<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30767\" style=\"width: 679px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30767\" class=\"wp-image-30767 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_4924-3-e1766160971391-1024x567.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"669\" height=\"370\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_4924-3-e1766160971391-1024x567.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_4924-3-e1766160971391-300x166.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_4924-3-e1766160971391-768x425.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_4924-3-e1766160971391.jpeg 1734w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 669px) 100vw, 669px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-30767\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Victor Robinson, UA Detroit&#8217;s Senior Director of External Partnerships, checking out the Partner Engagement team&#8217;s ideas.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>To learn more about the project from the Fellow perspective check out the team blogs below:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/blog\/project-spotlight-urban-alliance-detroit-storytelling\">Storytelling Team<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/?post_type=blogpost&#038;p=30609&#038;preview=true\">Partner Engagement Team<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/?post_type=blogpost&#038;p=30681&#038;preview=true\">Social Media Team<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/?post_type=blogpost&#038;p=30733&#038;preview=true\">Branding Team<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Thanks to the entire UA Detroit Team<\/strong> \u2014 <em><strong>Alphonso Amos, Victor Robinson, Keisha Powell-Young, Tamia Cooper, Jazmine Banks, McKenzie Reed, Andrei Nichols, and Rashad Dudley<\/strong><\/em> \u2013 for partnering with us on this project! Your trust, guidance, generosity, passion for your students, and willingness to collaborate openly made this project that much more special.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-30772 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Y14-C1-Urban-Alliance-Presentation-Slides-Final-1-e1766161607343-1024x478.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"669\" height=\"312\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Y14-C1-Urban-Alliance-Presentation-Slides-Final-1-e1766161607343-1024x478.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Y14-C1-Urban-Alliance-Presentation-Slides-Final-1-e1766161607343-300x140.png 300w, https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Y14-C1-Urban-Alliance-Presentation-Slides-Final-1-e1766161607343-768x358.png 768w, https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Y14-C1-Urban-Alliance-Presentation-Slides-Final-1-e1766161607343.png 1226w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 669px) 100vw, 669px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"mceTemp\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_30760\" style=\"width: 679px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30760\" class=\"wp-image-30760 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FullSizeRender-1-scaled-e1766159517840-1024x468.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"669\" height=\"306\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FullSizeRender-1-scaled-e1766159517840-1024x468.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FullSizeRender-1-scaled-e1766159517840-300x137.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FullSizeRender-1-scaled-e1766159517840-768x351.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 669px) 100vw, 669px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-30760\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kick-off day &#8211; UA Detroit Team Panel<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_30751\" style=\"width: 679px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30751\" class=\"wp-image-30751 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_2075-scaled-e1766159621538-1024x432.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"669\" height=\"282\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_2075-scaled-e1766159621538-1024x432.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_2075-scaled-e1766159621538-300x127.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_2075-scaled-e1766159621538-768x324.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 669px) 100vw, 669px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-30751\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Part of the Immersion Activity with Program Director, Tamia Cooper.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_30756\" style=\"width: 679px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30756\" class=\"wp-image-30756 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FullSizeRender-29-scaled-e1766160390821-1024x351.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"669\" height=\"229\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FullSizeRender-29-scaled-e1766160390821-1024x351.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FullSizeRender-29-scaled-e1766160390821-300x103.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FullSizeRender-29-scaled-e1766160390821-768x264.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 669px) 100vw, 669px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-30756\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">UA Detroit Advisory Board Panel<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_30766\" style=\"width: 679px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30766\" class=\"wp-image-30766 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_4625-scaled-e1766160491550-1024x620.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"669\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_4625-scaled-e1766160491550-1024x620.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_4625-scaled-e1766160491550-300x182.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_4625-scaled-e1766160491550-768x465.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 669px) 100vw, 669px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-30766\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Partner Engagement and Social Media teams interviewing Jasmine Banks, UA Detroit&#8217;s Engagement Specialist.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_30769\" style=\"width: 679px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30769\" class=\"wp-image-30769 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_5172-3-2-scaled-e1766161112201-1024x481.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"669\" height=\"314\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_5172-3-2-scaled-e1766161112201-1024x481.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_5172-3-2-scaled-e1766161112201-300x141.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_5172-3-2-scaled-e1766161112201-768x361.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 669px) 100vw, 669px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-30769\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Keisha Powell-Young, UA Detroit&#8217;s Director of College &amp; Career Services, sharing her feedback for the Branding Team&#8217;s deliverables.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_30763\" style=\"width: 679px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30763\" class=\"wp-image-30763 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_3492-scaled-e1766160176965-1024x546.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"669\" height=\"357\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_3492-scaled-e1766160176965-1024x546.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_3492-scaled-e1766160176965-300x160.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_3492-scaled-e1766160176965-768x409.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 669px) 100vw, 669px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-30763\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Presentation Day at UA Detroit.<\/p><\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Special shoutout to Challenge Detroit alumna Eboni Thomas, who connected us with UA Detroit and was a part of the initial conversations and project scoping back in late summer and early fall 2025. Eboni was a part of the UA Detroit team for a number of years but has since pursued another role. We wanted to acknowledge her because all of our projects this year will involve alumni.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"mceTemp\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To kick-off the fellowship year, we partnered with Urban Alliance Detroit, the local arm of Urban Alliance (UA), &#8220;a national nonprofit creating pathways for young people to achieve economic independence through skills training, mentorship, and meaningful paid work experiences.&#8221; Our project focused on capturing and elevating UA Detroit\u2019s impact through storytelling, with the goal of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":286,"featured_media":30670,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,15,17,18,27,60,37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-givedetroit","category-leaddetroit","category-livedetroit","category-workdetroit","category-education","category-y14-projects","category-youth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/286"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30669"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30669\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}