The 2018 Conference will be held May 29 – June 1, 2018. Registration will open November 29, 2017.
The 2017 Mackinac Policy Conference Executive Summary, with recaps from all main stage sessions is now available. View or download the Executive Summary.
Continue ReadingCheck out photos from the 2017 Conference, including keynote speakers and the attendee experience.
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The 2018 Conference will be held May 29 – June 1, 2018. Registration will open November 29, 2017.
We are inspired and encouraged that restoring civility in American politics was one of the three pillars at this year’s Detroit Regional Chamber Mackinac Policy Conference. Daily, if not hourly, our airwaves and computer news feeds are filled with cringe-worthy words, images and actions. Insulting commentary is reported and repeated. Hurtful words and deeds are liked, promoted and shared.
Continue ReadingCheck out three captivating and engaging Mackinac Moments from the 2017 Mackinac Policy Conference, featuring Anya Babbitt, Harold Ford Jr. and Mark Schlissel.
Continue ReadingMACKINAC ISLAND, June 2, 2017 – Today, the Detroit Regional Chamber unveiled its 2017 Mackinac Policy Conference To-Do List following three days of discussions featuring top state, regional and national thought leaders. Conference Chair Stephen Polk, president and CEO of Highgate LLC, and Chamber President and CEO Sandy Baruah announced the list at the conclusion of the annual Conference.
Continue ReadingThis year’s Mackinac Policy Conference closed out with a brand new series of fast-paced, off-the-cuff sessions featuring 21 thought leaders from across the state sharing their unbridled opinions on everything from the Michigan governor’s race to term limits in the state Legislature and President Trump’s progress on moving America forward. Morning View: Mackinac Uncensored was emceed by Dennis Archer Jr., president of Archer Corporate Services and chair of the Detroit Regional Chamber Board of Directors, and Tammy Carnrike, the Chamber’s chief operating officer.
Continue ReadingReturning to the Mackinac Policy Conference, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan delivered a powerful keynote about the often-forgotten truths of Detroit’s racially charged history along with ideas of how to sustain America’s great manufacturing city by learning from its past.
As a preeminent biographer for figures like Albert Einstein, Ben Franklin and Steve Jobs, Conference keynote and Aspen Institute President and CEO Walter Isaacson has watched and studied some of the world’s most celebrated thinkers and inventors. He is keenly aware of the factors that foster ground-breaking innovation.
Continue ReadingDetroit has several Foundation’s and leaders that are willing to do what needs to get done. Among these influential people and at the center of community development for more than two decades is Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation. In a moderated discussion with Devin Scillian, anchor for WDIV-TV 4 on NBC, Walker expounded on the Ford Foundation’s commitment to Detroit through housing, community development, restoring funding to civic organizations and the issues of blight removal and putting Detroiters back to work.
Continue ReadingFrom George Washington’s foreign diplomacy, to Abraham Lincoln’s willingness to reach across the aisle to pass the Emancipation Proclamation and Lyndon Johnson’s Civil Rights Act of 1964, time and time again effective leaders have understood the need to set aside …
Continue ReadingWith a critical eye on Michigan’s future, the chairs of Gov. Rick Snyder’s 21st Century Commissions doubled down on an urgent call for state leaders to consciously invest in education, infrastructure and the economy. Joining the Governor on Michigan’s Center …
Continue Reading2017 Conference News Coverage
Crain’s Detroit Business: Talent, infrastructure lead recommendations of Snyder economy commission
Detroit Free Press: Duggan outlines plans for a ‘city for everyone’
MI Blues Perspectives: Bloggers offer unique perspective at Mackinac Policy Conference
The Detroit News: Returning citizens can fill skilled trades gap
The Detroit News: Detroit unemployment rate hits 16-year low
Hometownlife: Livonia chamber president looks to tout Livonia at Mackinac conference
Crain’s Detroit Business: Macomb County, state lobby for F-35A fighter jets at Selfridge
Automotive News: Ford Foundation to open Detroit office after 64-year hiatus
The Detroit News: Winning the race in connected technology
Detroit Free Press: Mackinac Policy Conference 2017, Five things to watch
The Detroit News: Can Mackinac confab make political civility cool again?
The Detroit News: We’re off to Mackinac
The Detroit News: Mackinac is Mich.’s management seminar
MLive: 2017 Mackinac Policy Conference to lead discussion on ‘number of critical issues’