Challenge Detroit

03/26/2026

TBT to our most recent Leadership Friday where we spent the day . After touring and learning about Kintsugi Village from co-founders Hamsa Yaqo and Paul Spiegelman, we dove right into a full day of reflection, creativity learning, and connection. 🤔🎨📝🧠🤝🌱

We had specials guests join us throughout the day:

• Alumni Fellows Annie Hakim (co-owner/grower .garden 🌸) and Detroit City Council member Gabriella Santiago-Romero 💜 came by to share about their journeys and their current work in the city of Detroit.

• We were also joined by Edward Lynch, Director of Research 🏡 and Tracy Priska of 🥣

We ended the day with an alumni mixer in KV’s maker space which will be a space for future artists 🎨 in residence.

We are so grateful to for hosting us and to all of our guests and alumni who spent time with us.

And last but not least—big shout out to and for providing us with tasty treats and beverages for our mixer. 🍉🍇🥂🍪

03/24/2026

Last Friday, we kicked off our spring Challenge Project with the 🏘️ Detroit Land Bank Authority (). We’re especially excited to partner with three alumni Fellows (JoCharta Rogers, Justina Jeffers and Serena Brewer) who have been at the Land Bank since their fellowship year!

We’ll work to answer “How might we support the DLBA’s Affordable Housing Pipeline Initiative (AHPI) to restore underutilized multi-family buildings across Detroit?”

Teams will focus on:
1. contractor and developer capacity building, 🛠️
2. community engagement and disposition, and 🤝
3. design, affordability and long-term sustainability 🏡

During this day we heard from multiple DLBA departments to better understand their work and how they do it. We also heard from partners to build more context.

For the immersion part of the day, alumni Fellows, Serena Brewer and Justina Jeffers, created a game called “Rehab Rumble” by using the design thinking process to answer “how might we create an immersive experience that allows Fellows to understand DLBA’s complex processes?” This game allowed Fellows to step into the experience of what it’s like for the DLBA to rehab a property—decisions about budgets, funding, materials, timelines, design, repairs, permits, insurance and much more. It was a very eye-opening experience!

Next, we’ll interview more stakeholders to gain even more insights to inform how we moved forward. Tap in to learn more!

03/18/2026

Aren’t these so cute? 🌸🍳♥️ We spent the day for our recent Leadership Friday and were joined by Tracey Priska of “a globally recognized and food initiative that brings people together to raise funds and awareness around ” that started here in Metro Detroit.

While we weren’t able to create the ceramic bowls ourselves, we were able to use our creativity to glaze our own designs on bowls that were thrown/handmade by Tracey’s students, to support their event this Friday, March 27 at the Shed 3. You can buy tickets and all proceeds from ticket sales go to With each ticket you can select your own handmade bowl and two different servings of soup from culinary talent across 5 continents!

And, if you’re into ceramics, we also learned about the upcoming conference which is coming to Detroit!

11/21/2025

ICYMI: Check out this blog written by current Fellow Drue Bender.

By Drue Bender As Challenge Detroit, a prestigious placement program for community-minded professionals, enters its final year, it’s an important time to reflect on the difference that the program and its graduates have made on Detroit. We can trace that impact to the Regional Transit Authority of...

11/19/2025

We are nearing the finish line for our project with Urban Alliance Detroit. Here’s what our partners had to say about the experience so far.

“I’m 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’s impact but also strengthens how we engage corporate and philanthropic partners across the city.”

-Alphonso Amos, Executive Director, Urban Alliance Detroit

“As someone who has dedicated my career to uplifting Detroit’s 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’m 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’s 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.”

- Victor Robinson, Senior Director of Programs and Partnerships, Urban Alliance Detroit

We are grateful to the UA Detroit team for trusting us with supporting their work, and for their guidance and collaboration throughout this process.

10/29/2025

We’re thrilled to announce our fall 🍁 challenge project 🤝 partner—, the local arm of the national nonprofit !

UA “exposes young adults to early career opportunities through paid internships, mentorship, and professional development. By partnering with schools, communities, and employers, UA is strengthening tomorrow’s workforce by expanding economic mobility for youth and bridging the gaps between education, exposure, and experience.”

We kicked off the project on October 17 with a deep dive into UA Detroit’s mission—building context for our project focused on storytelling.

More to come! 👀

10/23/2025

Orientation/October photo dump.

We’ve been really busy over here! Here’s a glimpse of our last two orientation days for the year 14 cohort.

Thanks to our alumni Fellows who supported orientation in different capacities:
Elizabeth Henson, Jessica Aho, Nia Goins, Jacob Diroff, Lynne Abelgas, Charnae Sanders, Zahra Basha, Ana Alvarez, Claudia Flores Berumen and Maya Morse.

Thanks to our previous challenge project partners (), and for taking the time to share their insights with the new fellows.

And last but not least, thanks to and for hosting us in their spaces!

10/02/2025

Another alumni venture we got to visit last week was .farms, co-founded by Year 7 alum Parker Jean ().

Sanctuary Farms turns food waste into compost to feed living soil throughout Detroit, grows nutritious food, builds community and supports Detroit’s natural ecosystem. Learn more about them at sanctuaryfarming.com.

10/01/2025

Have you been to ? ☕️ It’s our favorite place to start our learning journeys… not just because we can get caffeinated, but also because we get to see alumni Fellow and Cafe owner .2!

: The idea for Morningside Cafe was sparked during a visit to / which was a stop on the City Institute learning journey during fellowship orientation.

Bonus: Can you find Jeff in the 2016-2017 cohort photo at Artist Village (last pic)?

09/29/2025

Do you know where this mural of is located?

We

09/28/2025

is “making sure that edible, surplus food gets eaten by people (not landfills) and is laying the groundwork for lasting, long-term solutions to food waste—because preventing food from going to waste protects our air, water, and soil.”

In the U.S., around 60 million tons of food (about $218 billions worth) is wasted annually. MFNW rescues food before their “best by” date by having their chefs make ready-to-eat delicious dishes they’d feed their own family and friends. They work with local community pantries, shelters, youth and senior programs, farms, city governments, etc. to realize their mission.

*****
We spent the morning of our second day of orientation doing hands-on service with MFNW— we learned about the work they do, how they engage with the community and how we can all do our part to decrease food waste.

Thank you for having us!