Category Archives: eDetroiter

When children are healthy they perform better in school and are more likely to succeed. Making the investment in early childhood development is key to sustaining the workforce of the future. The session “Increasing the Bottom Line: Why Michigan Businesses are Investing in Early Childhood Development” captured this message with an insightful and dynamic conversation on why focusing on the pre-kindergarten population is so important.

Pipes and jobs – these are the two main objective Flint leaders are focusing on both in the short and long-term to address the water crisis and help the city rise. Gathering on Michigan’s Center Stage, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, Flint Mayor Karen Weaver and Charles Stewart (C.S.) Mott Foundation President Ridgway White discussed the ways in which they are partnering together to build trust and a better future for Flint’s residents.

Drawing on best practices from programs across the country, education experts Kati Haycock, CEO of The Education Trust; and Michael Sentance, education reform consultant and a former education secretary for Massachusetts, issued a stern warning that Michigan’s students are falling behind and major reform is needed.

Technical job training and college readiness programs are viable solutions to help Detroit’s young talent excel after graduation and increase opportunity throughout the city.

As the 50th anniversary of Detroit’s 1967 civil unrest approaches, business and community leaders must be willing to have tough conversations in order to better understand that moment in time and the underlying issues of opportunity in order to move forward inclusively.

The third day of the Mackinac Policy Conference kicked off bright and early at a “Coffee and Conversation” discussion between former U.S. Representative Harold Ford, Jr. and National Journal Senior Political Columnist Ron Fournier led by Detroit Regional Chamber President and CEO Sandy Baruah.

To Conference keynote speaker, nationally renowned journalist and Detroit native, Ron Fournier, the upcoming 2016 presidential election is much larger than Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders or any other candidate in the race. It’s a watershed moment, the culmination of the rapid economic and technological change society is facing – and more importantly, the defining attributes millennials take into shaping the institutions around them.

With help from “Shark-Tank” co-host and FUBU founder Daymond John, the 2016 Mackinac Policy Conference hosted its first-ever “Pitch Mackinac” competition, announcing Grand Rapids-based Fathom the winner of a grand prize of $5,000 and professional services from several Chamber memebers.

Michigan may be the state that put the world on wheels, but it is also leading the way in the nation’s security as the “Arsenal of Innovation.” Protecting and growing those world-class defense assets, however, will require greater access to …

Daymond John, co-host of ABC’s hit show “Shark Tank” knows “The Power of Broke” and says entrepreneurs cannot be afraid to fail.