Crain's Detroit Business, May 1, 2017 issue by Crain's Detroit Business

MAY 1 - 7, 2017

Backers take 1st QLine ride

Creating alternatives to the trap of payday loans Programs aim for employer help. Page 3

Page 3

Mentorship

Work-study program puts students on college path

Chad Livengood clivengood@crain.com

Once a week, students at Cristo Rey High School in Detroit’s Mexicantown check into class and then jump into a van to be driven to a job in the city or a far-flung suburb. The businesses and work settings vary from the engineering labs of General Motors Corp.’s Tech Center in Warren to a birthing center at St. Mary Mercy Hospital in Livonia. The private Catholic school’s 300 students are working not just to gain future employment skills. Their enrollment is contingent upon working to support the school’s bottom line in lieu of a five-figure tuition bill that would be out of reach for the school’s low-income Hispanic and African American families. Officials at the 75 employers in the program see it as a pipeline to talent that should be replicated elsewhere in Michigan’s education system to expose teenagers to potential career paths. “If I take a 14-year-old kid from Detroit and sit them next to a kid who graduated from MIT, it makes them believe, ‘Well, if this guy can do it, I can do it,’” said Joaquin Nuno-Whelan, GM’s chief engineer for the next generation of full-size SUVs. Cristo Rey High School, which has grown from 72 students since opening in 2008, acts as a contract worker agency for employers, collecting $2.1 million in wages for its students' labor to support a $4 million annual operating budget, said Michael Khoury, president and CEO of the school. “We tell the kids, ‘If you don’t do a good job, they will fire you, not renew with us and then we won’t have money to pay the teachers and we won’t have a school. So this is real

IN THEIR

20S T

hey’re solving mobility challenges, doing development differently and making philanthropy more accessible. They’re growing companies, giving back and guiding change. They’re making moves. They’re making chocolate. Meet our industrious Twenty in their 20s, photographed among the industrial colors, patterns and textures of Detroit’s Eastern Market. Learn more on Page 9, or at crainsdetroit.com/20s, where this year’s class shares thoughts about mentorship and professional growth.

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C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 1 , 2 0 1 7

MICHIGAN BRIEFS

INSIDE

House panel passes brownfield bills A package of bills that would authorize companies leading brownfield redevelopment projects to collect taxes on the development’s revenue was approved by a Michigan House committee. The Senate approved the bills in February after the Dan Gilbert-backed proposal died in the House last December. In a series of votes, the House Tax Policy Committee voted 10-3 to send the package to the House floor. The tax increment financing policy is expected to generate $5 billion in new developments on costly brownfield sites that supporters argue would not happen without the subsidy. All subsidies would have to be approved by local and state governments. If the expected revenue is generated, companies would be allowed to capture state sales and income taxes from on-site construction activity, and up to 50 percent of the state income taxes generated from new jobs within the completed development for up to 20 years. If the expected revenue is not met, the developer will lose out on the tax break, the release said.

BANKRUPTCIES

CALENDAR

CLASSIFIED ADS

KEITH CRAIN

OPINION

OTHER VOICES

PEOPLE RON FOURNIER

16 6

RUMBLINGS

WEEK ON THE WEB

COMPANY INDEX: SEE PAGE 18

KIRK PINHO/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Dan Gilbert’s involvement in a series of brownfield bills last year led to speculation that the incentive could help a number of his proposed projects, such as the redevelopment of the former J.L. Hudson’s department store site on Woodward Avenue.

Report: State needs to boost middle class Michigan needs to reorganize its economic policies around a central goal — building up the middle class by making sure all residents have rising household income, a new report suggests. That’s the conclusion of a set of policy goals released by Ann Arbor-based think tank Michigan Future Inc. It highlights among its priorities increasing education attainment, crafting placemaking

policies that attract young talent to vibrant cities and expanding the social safety net to help people who aren’t sharing in Michigan’s new high-wage prosperity enter or return to the workforce. It’s all part of a strategy to boost household income in Michigan — and in turn, the state’s prosperity — by turning the state’s reliance on its traditional manufacturing legacy on its head, said Lou Glazer, Michigan Future’s president. The goal instead should be to use state policy to develop an

economy where all residents have an improving standard of living as the Michigan economy transitions to high-wage, knowledge-based jobs.

2 MI health systems rank among nation’s best Two Michigan health systems — Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids and Lakeland Health in St. Joseph — were recognized as being best in their fields, according to Ann Arbor-based Truven Health Analytics

in its 15 Top Health Systems Study for 2017. Spectrum was named among the top five large health systems, or those with operating expenses of $1.75 billion or more. Lakeland was among the top five small health systems, which operate at $750 million or less. “Spectrum Health is honored to be recognized as one of the top five large health systems in the country,” Richard C. Breon, company president and CEO, said in a written statement. “To receive this commendation six times is quite an achievement.” The study included 337 health systems with 2,415 hospitals that are members of health systems, Truven said in its report.

Not all heroes wear capes. Crain’s Health Care Heroes recognizes today’s industry professionals who are dedicated to helping save lives and improving access to care.

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C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 1 , 2 0 1 7

Finance

Programs would offer alternative to payday loans “It was like I was just wasting $60 every two weeks for nothing.”

By Sherri Welch swelch@crain.com

Last year, when her car needed repairs, Tameka Massengale borrowed $300 from a Detroit payday lender to fix it. Two weeks later, when the loan came due, she couldn’t spare the full $300 and $60 fee. So she borrowed the money right back and paid another $60 fee. That was in May. The same scene played out twice a month for four months until Massengale, a full-time

Trade

Tameka Massengale

employee at a Detroit call center, could save

up the money to pay the full loan back. By that point, she’d paid $480 in fees to borrow the original $300. “It was like I was just wasting $60 every two weeks for nothing,” said Massengale, 29. Low- and moderate-income people like Massengale who fall into payday loan “debt traps” could soon have more lower-cost options in Michigan when they need emergency cash and can’t get traditional credit to fall back on. The nonprofit Michigan Community Action

association is looking to bring a Texas-based loan program that links employers, nonprofits and lenders to Michigan. It’s recruiting its members and nonprofits to get licensed to loan up to $1,000 through a program charging 18-percent interest, a far cry from the nearly 400 percent annual rates for-profit payday lenders can charge in Michigan. At the same time, similar employer-led programs that popped up in Michigan in 2012 are now expanding. SEE LOANS, PAGE 18

Transportation

Canadian tariff spat over wood already hitting Mich. builders

QLine cues up

By Dustin Walsh dwalsh@crain.com

As the U.S. and Canada spar over lumber imports, Southeast Michigan home builders and buyers are taking a two-by-four to the wallet. If the tariffs stick, they are likely to exacerbate rising prices for wood used in home construction, costing builders profits and pricing potential buyers out of the market for new homes. But it’s good news for Michigan’s lumber industry. The Trump administration announced last week that it will impose a 20 percent tariff on imported softwood lumber from Canada after expiration of an agreement between the two nations. The U.S. claims Canada is subsidizing its lumber industry by dumping excess production in to the U.S., which allows the U.S. to trigger the tariffs, called countervailing duties. Under the duties, enacted via the U.S. Department of Commerce, five major Canadian lumber producers will pay between 3 percent and 24 percent levies, while the remaining Canadian producers will pay a 19.88 percent tariff, retroactive to Jan. 25. Canadian lumber is big business in the U.S. Imports of softwood lumber from Canada, which includes the pine typically used to build houses, were valued at an estimated $5.66 billion in 2016, according to the Commerce Department. In Michigan, roughly 30 percent of all softwood lumber used in residential construction is imported from Canada, according to the Home Builders Association of Michigan. SEE WOOD, PAGE 16

PHOTOS BY KURT NAGL/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Roger Penske, chairman and CEO of Penske Automotive Group Inc., looks out at the passing downtown Detroit streets Thursday during a private ride on the QLine for funders and supporters. Penske put $7 million toward project. Inset, the QLine from the outside.

Funders, other backers see their leap of faith near fruition By Dustin Walsh dwalsh@crain.com

Wayne County Executive Warren Evans (left) and Gov. Rick Snyder chat Thursday during a private ride on the M-1 Rail QLine for funders and supporters ahead of the public opening May 12.

After nearly 11 years of planning, countless setbacks and finally solving a $187 million funding puzzle, Detroit’s new QLine streetcar system on Thursday ferried many of its biggest boosters down Woodward Avenue for the first time. Kresge Foundation President Rip Rapson, who led the funding effort with $50 million from Kresge, said Thursday morning’s ride marked the culmination of years of effort that started when he met with Roger Penske, chairman and CEO of Penske Automotive Group Inc., in 2006 to begin early discussions of the line. “This shows everyone that the city

MUST READS OF THE WEEK

Tax credit deal

Shortsighted cuts

Mobility move

Ron Fournier: Some of the proposed state budget reductions will only be a cost in the long run. Page 6

North American International Auto Show will open mobility showcase to public in talent bid. Page 5

MEDC deal set that preserves contentious tax credit for AK Steel worth millions. Page 4

can take on a project with enormous complexity and succeed,” Rapson said. Pulling out of the Penske Tech Center at Woodward and Bethune in New Center, Penske called the QLine a catalyst for investment. Penske himself put $7 million toward the project. “It’s not that we just built a rail line; it’s that we re-engineered Woodward Avenue,” Penske said. “We knew we could build value. It’s going to take a few years for people to understand what we’ve done here, but we’re going to see a whole new round of investments in these neighborhoods. That’s what America needs.” The QLine opens to the public May 12.

C R A I N â&#x20AC;&#x2122; S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 1 , 2 0 1 7

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SEVERSTAL NORTH AMERICA

Ohio-based AK Steel Corp. bought this Dearborn steel plant in 2014 from Russian steelmaker OAO Severstal.

State agrees to transfer MEGA tax credits to AK Steel By Lindsay VanHulle

Crainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Detroit Business/Bridge Magazine

LANSING â&#x20AC;&#x201D; The state has agreed to transfer tax credits to an Ohio steelmaker that the company believes it inherited when it bought the former Rouge steel plant in Dearborn close to three years ago, a controversial decision that will allow the steelmaker to file its business taxes under an old tax code. The Michigan Strategic Fund board, a unit of the Michigan Economic Development Corp., approved the transfer of job-retention tax credits under the defunct Michigan Economic Growth Authority program and brownfield tax credits to West Chester, Ohio-based AK Steel Corp. AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) agreed to cap the value of the remaining MEGA tax credits at $20.4 million and shave six years off the time the company can claim the credits â&#x20AC;&#x201D; reducing the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s liability by about $23 million, according to the MEDC. The decision worked out by state economic development leaders and AK Steel is unprecedented, in part because Michiganâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tax code prohibits companies that pay the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new 6 percent corporate income tax, as AK Steel does, from claiming tax credits that were awarded under the old Michigan Business Tax. AK Steel bought the Dearborn operations of Russian steelmaker OAO Severstal in 2014 for $707 million. It believed the tax credits originally awarded to Severstal would transfer as an asset purchased during the acquisition of Severstal. The steelmaker will be allowed to file its business taxes under the Michigan Business Tax, Renee Filiatraut, the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s external affairs vice president, said. Gov. Rick Snyderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s administration replaced the Michigan Business Tax with the flat corporate income tax shortly after taking office in 2011, though companies that were awarded tax credits under the old tax code can continue to file business taxes under the old system until the credits expire.

To claim the credit, the company will have to retain at least 500 jobs at its Dearborn plant and at least 1,000 full-time jobs in Michigan, and pay an average weekly wage of $820, the MEDC said. It also will need to be in good standing with the state, including with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality on environmental regulations and corrective actions.

Opposition to deal Lawmakers from both parties and environmental groups, including the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, oppose the deal over AK Steelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s environmental violations, the lack of transparency surrounding negotiations and the fact that the transfer extends the unpopular MEGA tax credit program after it was ended several years ago. State obligations under the MEGA program swelled to more than $9 billion as the program expanded to allow companies to receive credits for

retaining jobs during the recession. That has led to budget stress in recent years amid volatility in when companies redeemed the credits. Republican state Reps. Martin Howrylak, of Troy, and Peter Lucido, of Shelby Township, and Democratic state Rep. Stephanie Chang, of Detroit, urged the strategic fund board to delay a decision until May until the proposal could be fully vetted in public. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We remain concerned that this agreement with AK Steel will set a dangerous precedent by allowing a specific company to acquire a tax loophole without going through the legislative process to amend the tax code,â&#x20AC;? the lawmakers wrote. Lawmakers in the House and Senate last year tried to change the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tax laws to allow a company to claim a credit that had been awarded to a company it acquired, but the measures didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pass by the end of the legislative term in December. Lindsay VanHulle: (517) 657-2204 Twitter: @LindsayVanHulle

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DUSTIN WALSH/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

The inaugural Automobili-D event tied to the auto show focused on mobility and ran during media and industry days.

Auto show to open mobility showcase to the public By Dustin Walsh dwalsh@crain.com

The North American International Auto Show plans to expand its mobility and technology showcase, Automobili-D, to the public next year with a focus on talent recruitment. The showcase, which included advanced mobility technology displays, reveals and keynote presentations, was limited to media and industry representatives in its first year at NAIAS in January. In 2018, Automobili-D will remain open through the first weekend of the public show, Jan. 20-21, in an event called the Future Automotive Career Exposition. During the event, participating AutoMobili-D companies will host qualified candidates in hopes of filling open positions. While plans are still being formulated, organizers intend to launch a dedicated website with job postings where interested candidates can apply for positions before coming to Cobo. However, those who just show up to the event are not expected to be turned away, said Max Muncey, public relations manager for the show. “We are continually looking for ways to connect with more people, put a face behind our exciting industry and make NAIAS bigger and better each year,” Ryan LaFontaine, 2018 NAIAS chairman, said in a press release. “With over 200,000 attendees on the first weekend of public show, we saw a real opportunity to collaborate with MEDC and connect job-seekers directly with innovative companies eager to address their respective talent shortages.” More information about the event will be announced in the coming months, the show’s organizers said in a press release. Last year’s Automobili-D event drew nearly 40,000 from the industry, and featured John Krafcik, CEO of Google’s car endeavor Waymo, Chris Thomas, founder and partner of Detroit-based venture capital firm Fontinalis Partners LLC, and many others. The event also included a startup competition hosted by Techstars Mobility.

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OPINION

Budget cuts: Poor ROI, and a human cost

can of Red Bull, a Thermos of coffee, and a mug of water sit on Roba Hrisseh’s desk, between her laptop and telephone, at the Autism Alliance of Michigan offices in Southfield. The phone rings. “Autism Alliance,” she answers. A woman with a thick accent replies. “Am I calling the Autism Alli- RON FOURNIER ance?” Publisher and Editor “Yes, you are,” the 25-year-old Hrisseh says. “My name is Roba.” Ron Fournier is publisher and editor “Can you spell that?” the woman of Crain’s Detroit Business. Catch his asks. take on business news at 6:10 a.m. “R-O-B-A.” Mondays on the Paul W. Smith Then the woman spills out her show on WJR AM 760. heart: She is in the process of adopting a 3-year-old boy from Cameroon. He was just diagnosed with au- the alliance itself, pays for the navitism. She can’t get the boy on her gator program. health insurance because he’s not While I have a son with autism legally hers yet. She’s been paying and I’m on the Autism Alliance out of pocket for an autism therapist, board, this issue is bigger than my who isn’t working out. The boy is personal biases. According to Lt. floundering. She’s scared. “I don’t Gov. Brian Calley, a Republican who know what to do,” the woman sniffs. has a daughter on the autism specHrisseh says, “I do.” trum, the GOP legislation would Hrisseh is what the Autism Alli- jeopardize a variety of autism proance of Michigan calls a “navigator” grams, as well as state services that — part of a team of trained general- improve mental health, combat ists who answer the calls of people child lead poisoning, give disabled with autism and their caretakers, people opportunities to live indemostly people who have nowhere pendently and that would provide else to turn. Navigators consult in- caretakers a small raise. house specialists in autism educaCalley likes tax cuts and smaller tion, clinical treatbudgets as much ment, insurance “If we get it right as the next Reand adult serpublican, but he vices. They refer early, the longconsiders these callers to the cor- term outcomes proposals to be nucopia of unshort-sighted and even services are better and fiscally foolish. It available to peo- more efficient. In costs the state far ple on the specless to give people other words, trum. Their notes with disabilities go into a data- cheaper.” the tools they base, and they fol- Lt. Gov. Brian Calley need to seek low up on the some measure of callers for weeks, months or years — independence, Calley said, than it whatever is necessary. does to provide for them for life. “Ma’am,” Roba tells the woman as “If we get it right early, the longthe calls ends, “I will be your naviga- term outcomes are better and more tor for life.” efficient. In other words, cheaper,” I’m sharing this scene with you Calley told me in a telephone interbecause something like it happens view. dozens of times each day at the AuThis should not be a partisan istism Alliance of Michigan, a non- sue, said the conservative who led profit that seeks to improve the qual- the push a few years ago to require ity of life of people with autism insurance companies to cover authrough education, access to ser- tism treatments. “Whether you apvices, political advocacy, and in- proach it from the point of having a creasingly, employment. big heart or you just want to make And it may soon lose its state smart investments and be strong in funding. the longer term, you come to the House and Senate bills would cut same conclusion.” about $270 million from Sen. Rick Every day, people approach CalSnyder’s human services budget, ley and call his office with desperate making room for income tax cuts questions about autism. He directs sought by GOP lawmakers. them to Hrisseh and her handful of The Senate bill would eliminate fellow navigators, because, Calley the $500,000 in state money that, said, “I know they’re going to be takalong with $100,000 or so raised by en care of.”

Immigrant Brigitte Harris defined what it is to be an American

ost Americans have immigrant relatives, distant or near, and grew up around family gatherings listening to fascinating stories about risky choices and perilous journeys. These family tales often reflected the hopes and dreams that led previous generations to settle in this country. Listening to the stories helped us appreciate how the immigrant experiences shaped our extended families, neighborhoods — indeed, America. Those tales of journeys, fraught with danger, loss of home, and fear of the unknown, also raised issues. Did the relatives run away to find safe harbor anywhere, or were they also drawn to what America offered? A document recently discovered holds a hint of one such journey as well as advice for new waves of immigrants coming to America. Brigitte Harris, a Detroit philanthropist and lover of the arts, died in 2016 as a naturalized U.S. citizen. As a 10-year-old, she was a World War II refugee fleeing Russians sweeping into Germany. Her mother sent her two daughters on a desperate effort to get to the American lines hundreds of miles to the west. At a railroad station, Brigitte and her 8-year-old sister were instructed how to jump on a train and to sit in the coal piles with their backs to the front of cars while keeping their heads down because of low tunnels. After hopping multiple trains they got to a train yard near Frankfurt, Germany, and were pointed toward their first American encounter. Climbing under a railcar they were confronted by six American soldiers, all African-Americans. Without hesitation, the Americans gave the two starving, coal-dusted girls all their C-rations and water. That incident was Brigitte’s introduction to America. This act of charity shaped the rest of her life. Later as a widow with three children, she immigrated to America to marry a native Detroiter. From Brigitte’s arrival, just being in our coun-

OTHER VOICES J Ferron

Ferron is director of strategic development at Crain’s sister publication Automotive News. HENRY FORD HEALTH SYSTEM

try was not enough, “I wanted to share America’s ideas and values. I wanted to identify with America and its people. I felt that this is the right country for me.” These words are from a document discovered after her death — notes for a talk Brigitte was asked to give to other immigrants in the late 1980s at the request of U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn, who had naturalized her months earlier. Her messages are simple but relevant. She was born in Germany. She had to learn about and study her adopted country. That formed the crux of her advice to the immigrant group assembled in the judge’s courtroom. To speak to them, she had to “gather her thoughts together and concentrate on my feelings for this country.” Her text is a grouping of key points from her own immigrant journey. She packaged her lesson into discrete sections like a teacher. Her advice in each subject area illuminates: J On freedom: “Real personal and political freedoms are the most outstanding qualities of America. ... (They) make a democracy such as we have here. At times it seems messy and confusing but as Winston Churchill said, ‘it is still the best form of government known to man.’” J On language: “Learn it thoroughly. My English teacher … used to say ‘cuddle the dictionary.’ Learn five new words every day. We are so fortunate

Mort Harris and his late wife, Brigitte Harris.

that English is the language of our chosen country. English has in fact become the Lingua Franca of the world.” J On being accepted: “Most cultures seal themselves off and no matter how hard one tries one will remain an outsider. (Millions of) immigrants have settled this country since it was founded and that constitutes a population shift unique in the history of the planet. This immigration has also put a tremendous strain on the country. But solving the conflict between ideology of immigration and how it actually takes place is the way America works. The saga of immigration is never over, making America continually unsettled.” J On generosity and charity: “Americans give more to charity than any other people, and that is not only to causes inside the country but to foreign disasters. But I sometimes wonder, will (other countries) help us when we (need it)?” J On volunteerism: “(This quality) makes life so rich and varied in America, and also helps the poor and needy. But besides that it is a way that like-minded people get together, socialize and become proficient at what they like doing. It is an excellent way … to feel useful, to feel part of life and to have fun.” SEE HARRIS, PAGE 7

Maybe we should change our name Every now and then, someone comes along with a great idea for our city. At the same time that we are unveiling our new trolley, we are also unveiling an exciting project at the opposite end of the spectrum. As more folks are moving into Detroit, particularly downtown, they all can’t use the trolley, which goes back and forth from downtown to New Center. I am sure in the beginning, we are going to have folks get on it without any destination, just for the fun of riding. Meanwhile, as our city develops more bike trails all over the huge amount of land that is Detroit, some bright folks have created MoGo, a service with hundreds of bicycles that are going to be available for rental. What a great idea.

KEITH CRAIN Editor-in-chief

Although we might think rental cars more appropriate, I can think of nothing more exciting than hundreds of bicycles running around Detroit with happy customers pedaling away, enjoying the sunshine and burning off the calories. It is a simple, though not inexpensive, investment, to improve the motor capital of the world. With even modest amount of success we

might have to change our name to the MoGo capital of the world. The history books link the birth of the automobile industry here with the bicycle industry. Who knows, now we might become known as the bicycle capital, because we are manufacturing bikes once again, and a capital for riders as well. Our city is blossoming again, and clever folks are every day coming up with bright new ideas. It is a time for creative thinking and entrepreneurs. Add a little money, and we’ll have lots of new businesses. It won’t be long before you’ll be able to rent your bicycle and head to your next business appointment or simply go out on a cruise. It is nice to know we are heading back to our roots.

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR Heritage tourism links culture and history of area, creates $410 million in economic impact To the Editor: We are writing in response to April 9 column by Keith Crain, “Time to the get off drugs.” For nearly 20 years, MotorCities National Heritage Area has managed a grant process that provides seed funds from the National Park Service to leverage private dollars for the purpose of telling the overarching story of how this region put the world on wheels. Our partnership tells a story that cannot be told anywhere else — how our tinkerers became titans,

how the area helped establish and expand the United States as an industrial power, and how the industry helped create the middle class. We embody the administration’s budget goal of leveraging taxpayer dollars to improve the economy. Take a look at the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit’s Milwaukee Junction, the birthplace of the Model T. With the assistance of the MotorCities National Heritage Area, the Piquette Avenue Plant has been transformed from a semi-abandoned eyesore to a cele-

brated National Historic Landmark hosting more than 18,000 visitors last year. Continued cleanup and restoration at Piquette has led to adaptive reuse and new construction — a classic example of the trickle-down economic impact that should be the goal when investing taxpayer dollars. In fact, 92.4 percent of each dollar we receive goes back into programming, which is an above-average ratio for nonprofits. Far from being on the “dole” or receiving “easy” dollars, we return an investment of $5 to $1 into local communities throughout Southeast and central Michigan. You state in your column, “We'll have to hitch up our pants and raise

these funds on our own without government help.” The people and programs in the heritage area contributed more than $630,000 as inkind donations last year compared to the government’s $506,000. This represents substantial support and exceeds the dollar-for-dollar match required of us by the government. Without this designation as a place of national importance empowered by our affiliation with the National Park Service, Michigan’s rich automotive heritage would return to being a disjointed assortment of roads, attractions and auto collections. We would lose the ability to leverage the cultural and historic linkages that contribute to a sense

of pride in this region. We would imperil the effect of heritage tourism, which creates more than $410 million in economic impact, including $35 million in tax revenue. Shawn Pomaville-Size Executive Director MotorCities National Heritage Area Detroit Send your letters: Crain’s Detroit Business will consider for publication all signed letters to the editor that do not defame individuals or organizations. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Email: rfournier@crain.com

HARRIS FROM PAGE 6

J On opportunities: “One has to come to America to get a sense of life’s possibilities. You have so many options and you do not even have to be young. But here I need to express some caution. The choices that confront you can be bewildering. You must know yourself, gauge your abilities and exercise prudent judgment.” J On the privilege and responsibility of voting: “Work at being a citizen by exercising your right to vote. Your behavior will determine whether you are a real or in name only American. Since you now have the right to a trial by jury, you also have the responsibility of serving as a juror in one of those trials. And since you have the right to freedom you nave the responsibility to defend it.” Brigitte closed her advice with this admonition: “America is exceptional because the experiment is still going on. Nothing is finished here, there is still a 'Men Working' sign next to the manhole. Love this country. Enjoy this country. Work to improve (this country).” If one believes that people truly come into our lives, indeed, come into our country, for a reason, then I am certain that Brigitte came here to be an example. She defined the difference between coming to America and becoming an American. Brigitte’s America started with six soldiers sharing their food. This act showed America’s greatness is more about giving and sharing than taking. Immigrant Brigitte’s speech highlights how Americans and aspirant Americans can enjoy and enrich our country and people. Her advice is that we all need to be ready to give, learn and share the beauty of the global human experience. Americans show mercy, love others, and enjoy art and natural beauty in all its forms. For Brigitte, now eternally a grateful, starving 10-year-old who was saved by six charitable GIs, the opportunity presented to immigrants by America’s freedoms is that they are joining a society where we all can keep learning and improving this country because “nothing is finished here.” (Brigitte’s husband, philanthropist and American Axle & Manufacturing co-founder Mort Harris, is working with Henry Ford Hospital to build The Brigitte Harris Cancer Pavilion at the Henry Ford Cancer Institute in Detroit. Groundbreaking is set for May.)

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C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 1 , 2 0 1 7

CALENDAR

One Of The World’s Top Sandler Training Companies

TUESDAY, MAY 2

Learn how to create an ELITE team to take your company to the next level! Murray Feldman

WWJ Business Editor

Featuring Gerry Weinberg

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If you’re a CEO, President or Business Owner, who is: • frustrated with unpaid consulting and how long it takes to close business? • unsure your existing salespeople have what it takes to grow your company? • disappointed that your vision isn’t met?

Wednesday, May 17th 11:30 AM – 2:00 PM Andiamo Bloomfield Twp. Investment: Sponsored by Gerry Weinberg & Associates and WWJ Newsradio

To Register or For More Information, Visit: www.gerryweinberg.sandler.com or Call (248) 353-4030 | RSVP Required Registration must be confirmed by a team member from Gerry Weinberg & Associates, Inc.

Corporate Responsibility Summit. 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Automotive Industry Action Group. Global business issues today require companies to manage myriad topics ranging from worker rights and environmental management to innovation, and the growth of legislative and customer mandates is anticipated to increase. Suburban Collection Showplace, Novi. $720 member, $920 nonmember. Contact: Greg Creason, phone: (248) 358-9775; email: gcreason@aiag.org; website: http://bit.ly/aiagCRsummit2017

WEDNESDAY, MAY 3 Small Business Workshop on Business Sustainability. 7:30 a.m.-1 p.m. The Lee Group. A panel will talk about what it takes to become a sustainable enterprise. Breakout sessions will focus on: knowing customers and potential customers, leadership and skills required to get to the next level, managing numbers and understanding a business model, and effectively amplifying messages in a cost-efficient manner. David Zilko, president and CEO, Fuel Leadership, will provide the opening keynote comments while Carla Walker-Miller, president and CEO, Walker-Miller Energy Services LLC, will provide closing comments. TechTown, Detroit. $75. Contact: Mark Lee, phone: (734) 507-0866; email: msl60@comcast.net; website: http:// leegroupinnovation.com/ small-business-workshop/

Creating a Sales-Centric Organization. 8-10 a.m. Inforum. Find out how to use every customer touchpoint — from the receptionist to the CEO — to enhance customer engagement with a company. Create tools that attract, gain, retain, and influence customers’ behavior. Presented by Cynthia Barnes, sales performance coach. Michigan.com, Detroit. $60 members; $85 nonmembers. Website: inforummichigan.org

FRIDAY-SUNDAY, MAY 5-7 Hacking Health Windsor-Detroit III. 5 p.m. May 5 to 4 p.m. May 7. WEtech Alliance and TechTown Detroit. A weekend-long cross-border hackathon for healthcare innovation with IT and healthcare professionals across the US-Canada border to collaborate, dream up and design apps for patient-centric care. TechTown, Detroit. $35 Canadian. Website: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/hacking-health-windsor-detroit-iii-tickets-32057192927

UPCOMING EVENTS Automotive Roundtable: Staying Relevant in a Time of Revolutionary Industry Transformation. 5-8 p.m. May 17. Marketing and Sales Executives of Detroit. Panelists include: Julie Martin, vice president sales, Hella; Jim Seta, global vice president, automotive bearing sales, SKF USA - Automotive. Moderator: Glenn Stevens, vice presi-

dent, MICHauto, Detroit Regional Chamber. Marriott, Southfield. $50 member; $65 nonmember. Website: www.msedetroit.org Tech Takeover: Ransonware Rescue Manual. 8:30-10:30 a.m. May 24. Automation Alley. A cybersecurity presentation will define the different ransomware that exists and address how to avoid an attack, what to do if hit and how to protect a business. Speaker: Godfrey Nolan, president, RIIS LLC, a mobile and web development firm based in Troy. Automation Alley, Troy. Free for members; $20 nonmembers. Phone: (800) 427-5100; website: automationalley.com Inforum 55th Annual Meeting Featuring Mae Jemison. 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. May 25. Astronaut Mae Jemison, a scientist, doctor and crew member on Space Shuttle Endeavour, is the speaker. The Henry, Dearborn. $50 members; $75 guests. Website: inforummichigan. org.

Calendar guidelines. Visit crainsdetroit.com and click “Events” near the top of the home page. Then, click “Submit Your Events” from the drop-down menu that will appear. Fill out the submission form, then click “Submit event” at the bottom of the page. More Calendar items can be found at crainsdetroit.com/events.

Jessica Korda • Tickets • Corporate Hospitality • Pro-Am • Sponsorship Opportunities

Visit volviklpga.com or call 734.707.0789

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 1 , 2 0 1 7

<< 20 IN THEIR 20S >> Grit, grace and drive define these 20 outstanding young leaders

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Lauren Bealore Corporate Relations and Events Manager, Michigan League of Conservation Voters

auren Bealore didn’t see herself working in environmental politics, but now that she works at the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, she has found plenty of opportunities to do what she loves. “I tend to take the same passions to everything I do,” Bealore said. As it turns out, those passions — politics, relationship building and creating diversity pipelines — dovetail perfectly with MLCV’s mission. “I like breaking barriers,” Bealore said. She is the only African American in her role across the entire national League of Conservation Voters. “I’m used to being the first one or the only one.” Bealore is using her role at MLCV to not only elevate fundraising and branding, but also to improve the league’s diversity. She has made it her mission to bridge the gap between environmental politics and urban communities. To do so, she attracted millennials and people of color to MLCV’s Detroit gala, selected the first honorees of color for the league’s annual Christine Green Awards and named the first honoree of color for the league’s Grand Rapids breakfast. Bealore also puts her passions to work at a nonprofit called Y.A.B. Bealore and two of her peers from Michigan State University founded Y.A.B., which stands for Young, Ambitious, and Beautiful, in 2012. Y.A.B. is a venture conglomerate that houses and supports startups owned by millennial women of color. Y.A.B. now serves 30 businesses nationally including in New York, Texas, Washington, D.C., Georgia, and New Jersey. Bealore, who lives in Southfield and serves on the city’s Total Living Commission, has also channeled her passion into an innovative community outreach program called Southfield Ambassadors. The program recruited a collective of Southfield residents to connect with fellow residents, promote Southfield’s events, projects and activities and stimulate progress. “Northland had just closed and there was no social or civic engagement,” Bealore said of the program. “This brings together different ages, ethnic groups, work backgrounds — 14 fresh voices — to represent and promote our community.” Laura Cassar, Special to Crain’s Detroit Business PHOTOGRAPHS BY JACOB LEWKOW

David Alade

Co-founder and Managing Partner, Century Partners

wo years ago, David Alade was building a comfortable career in New York City as an investment banker at Credit Suisse Securities LLC. The 29-year-old Brooklyn native was managing asset transactions in the automotive, equipment, student loan and credit card sectors. Now, he’s managing the rehabilitation of historic and dilapidated homes in Detroit.

ful” than Manhattan corporate suites. “We think this is a place where we could do neighborhood development differently … in a way that honors the folks who made that neighborhood special in the first place," Alade said. Alade and his business partner, Mississippi native Andrew Colom, have raised $3 million largely from friends and family and invested the money into buy“We think this is a place where ing and rehabbing over 60 we could do neighborhood homes across the development differently.” greater Boston Edison, North — David Alade End, East English It’s a complete change in life and Village and Morning Side neighbormission for Alade, who said he was hoods. The investment fund is also drawn to Detroit to be “part of some- accessible to neighborhood resithing big, something more meaning- dents, who can invest and economi-

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cally benefit from rising property values in the neighborhood. Colom is five years older than Alade and was his mentor at the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity at Columbia University. Alade majored in economics and urban studies, with the intent to make money on Wall Street for a few years and then branch out into urban housing development, Colom said. “We’ve been thinking about this and plotting it for years,” said Colom, who also moved to Detroit but maintains a real estate portfolio in Mississippi. Century Partners has invested in homes on streets where the housing stock had been teetering on the edge of rapid decline, which has plagued many Detroit neighborhoods with blight and crime, Alade said. On Atkinson Street in Virginia Park, Alade’s firm rehabbed 17 units

of early 20th-century homes on a street south of the historic Boston Edison neighborhood. Alade said he and Colom strategically picked the neighborhood to buy up multiple homes because the area has been “traditionally overlooked by the larger investors.” Colom and Alade’s firm was recently selected by the city of Detroit to rehabilitate 115 homes as part of the $4 million redevelopment of the Fitzgerald neighborhood. Alade admits his pitch to friendly investors initially elicited “a lot of blank stares.” “While there was some skepticism at first from some folks, I was surprised by the amount of support,” Alade said. “They realize this place is special.” Chad Livengood, clivengood@crain.com

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 1 , 2 0 1 7

<< 20 IN THEIR 20S >>

Darrin Camilleri

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State Representative, Michigan House of Representatives, 23rd District

n Jan. 3, Darrin Camilleri opened the door bearing his name and sat at his desk in the Anderson House Office Building for the first time. Then he heard a thunderous boom. “I’m wondering, ‘What is going on, is there something that’s dangerous?’” he said. “I turn around and it was just the window washer who is slapping some suction cups.” It was a reminder, the Brownstown Township-native said, that it was time for him to get to work. His two years as a teacher at Consortium College Preparatory High School in southwest Detroit compelled him to run for the vacant seat in the 23rd district. “Seeing what my students go through on a daily basis was really motivating for me to want to make a bigger change,” Camilleri said. Camilleri, 25, defeated Republican candidate Bob Howey by a little more than 300 votes in

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the November election. While he is the first Maltese-American and youngest Latino to serve in the legislature, he said that is not what made his election unique. “Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in my district by 14 percentage points and I was the only Democrat to flip a seat,” he said. “We won in a year in Michigan where not a lot of Democrats won, so it was really inspiring to be in a position and privilege to have done that.” Though he works alongside other lawmakers with more experience, Camilleri said he is unintimidated. “It’s about your attitude and the way that you want to approach your job,” he said. “I’m ready to do the hard work of being a legislator and serve the folks in my district as well as Michigan.”

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Tyler Clifford, tclifford@crain.com

Amanda Lewan

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manda Lewan nurtured Detroit’s first fledgling co-working space from its inception to its recent expansion, which she expects will quadruple the company’s revenue by the end of 2017. “A lot of times when you’re a business, things get stuck and you have to make a decision to grow,” said Lewan, 28, “She’s an co-founder, majority owner and CEO of incredible community Bamboo Detroit. Bamboo moved in builder. January from its 2,500 Probably square feet on Brush Street in Detroit to a the best 6,000 square foot space one I’ve in the Julian C. Madiever met.” son Building at 1420 Washington Blvd. — Etrit Demaj, As Bamboo adds Rocket Fiber three to five members per week and approaches full capacity, Lewan said she and her current partner Mike Ferlito hope to lease and build out another floor soon — and expand to other cities in Michigan and across the Midwest. Bamboo offers more than just a place to work and an address downtown, and that’s why it has grown so quickly, Lewan said. Testing and customer feedback showed the owners what startups in Detroit really needed: A community. “I kind of feel like my purpose in life is to unite people,” said Lewan, who has a bachelor’s degree in professional writing from Michigan

Alexandra Clark Founding Chocolatier, Bon Bon Bon

Co-founder, Majority Owner and CEO, Bamboo Detroit

State University and a master’s degree in English from Wayne State University. “And if you’re an entrepreneur or creative it’s very hard to get started on your own.” So Lewan built a schedule of educational programming, events and private consulting sessions in an effort to infuse business-to-business support into the foundation of Bamboo. “Bamboo is Amanda … She kinda took it over and kept on building and kept on building,” Rocket Fiber LLC COO Etrit Demaj said. “She’s an incredible community builder. Probably the best one I’ve ever met.” Demaj’s fiber-optic internet startup based in downtown Detroit rented space regularly at Bamboo in 2013 and 2014, and they’ve kept in touch since. “There’s been times … when Amanda will call, text, email and say, ‘Hey guys, there’s this kid from somewhere in Detroit … This kid is incredible, very entrepreneurial, I think you just need to meet him or her,’” he said. “That doesn’t really pay her anything. Her love and passion for helping Detroiters is beyond control.” Annalise Frank, afrank@crain.com

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lexandra Clark’s first memory of chocolate is a competitive one: As a child, she learned to read the decorative finishes on the See’s Chocolates her grandfather brought to family gatherings. With five to 10 family members peering into the chocolate box like “predators,” she needed speed to score her favorite coconut chocolate — or risk getting stuck with a dud. These days, there are plenty of chocolates to go around at Clark’s Bon Bon Bon shop in Hamtramck, which is moving into a new 3,000-square-foot headquarters at 11360 Joseph Campau Ave. this month. After graduating from Michigan State University in 2010, Clark spent years working in chocolate shops, learning as much as she could about the chocolate business. “The more I learned, the more questions I

had,” about ingredients, fair labor practices and what consumers know about their chocolates, she said. As she developed her company, she planned to use quality ingredients, pay workers good wages and create excellent chocolates — “good goodies.” Bon Bon Bon employs 14, and Clark loves the camaraderie among her workers — almost all women — who stay to split a chocolate or share a drink or meal after hours. “My proudest moment is always when my employees buy cars,” she said, which has happened three times in three years. It shows they have a good livelihood. They also have plenty of chocolate. Each worker eats an average of six pieces a day, and receives $50 a month in chocolates to take home or give as gifts. Vickie Elmer, Special to Crain’s Detroit Business

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<< 20 IN THEIR 20S >>

ollege took Kevin Heard away from Detroit, but his post-college public relations work in Atlanta lacked the fulfillment Heard needed. He decided to move back to Detroit in 2012 to make a difference. “I received a city survey call within the first 12 hours of returning to the city. I took this call as a sign that the city I know and love wants my opinion,” Heard said. “The Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce is my opinion come to life.” Heard founded the Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce in October 2013. It continues to grow and attract corporate partners, including Kroger, Henry Ford Health Systems, and most recently PNC Bank, which signed on in April. Heard became board president in September 2015 and since then has increased paid membership by 400 percent, creating an operating budget close to $20,000. “The success of the chamber shows that Detroit is inclusive,” Heard said. “Detroit lets people be themselves. We respect people.” Long-term goals for the chamber include creating an LGBT business district within the city of Detroit, which Heard believes could help attract LGBT tourism dollars. According to a study by Out Now Business Class, a travel networking association, the market is now valued at more than $200 billion in annual spending. Heard works full time as an account executive at Michigan.com. He recently became the lead for USA Today Network’s LGBTQA employee resource group, which fosters a diverse, inclusive workplace aligned with the company's mission, values, goals and business practices. “Nonprofit work is hard, especially when you are not generating income for yourself,” Heard said. “I continue to focus on generating opportunities for my community — that is my reward.”

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Founder and CEO, Fresh Share LLC

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C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 1 , 2 0 1 7

Laura Cassar, Special to Crain’s Detroit Business PHOTOGRAPHS BY JACOB LEWKOW

Emily Morris

Co-owner and Clinical Director, Spark Center for Autism

n 2013, the Michigan Legislature approved a mandate that insurers offer autism coverage to children 18 years and younger. Emily Morris, co-founder and clinical director of the Spark Center for Autism LLC, saw opportunity in the new legislation and moved back to Michigan the following year. Morris, who grew up in Farmington Hills on the same street as her co-founder and fellow clinical director Reena Naami, said her two and a half years as a clinician and businesswoman have been challenging and rewarding. “One of our biggest challenges the first year was a lack of education about what (applied behavioral analysis) is and what can be used to teach skills for children on the autism spectrum,” said Morris, who graduated in

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2012 with a psychology degree with ABA specialty from Western Michigan University and a master’s degree in 2012 from West Virginia Universi-

ty. (Her co-founder Naami is also a psychologist in ABA therapy.) But demand from parents was strong immediately.

“We had a small wait list even before we opened our doors” in a 1,000-square-foot office in Livonia, Morris said. Now, with 23 employees and office locations in Livonia and Ann Arbor, Spark Center still has a waiting list but provides more than 470 hours of treatment per week. In January, the Spark Center became the first ABA clinic in Michigan to be recognized as a Behavioral Health Center of Excellence. And in November 2016, Spark opened the Spark Center for Autism GmbH with a third partner, Elizabeth Speer, in Korntal, Germany. This clinic provides services to American military families in the area and is working to educate the local community on autism and effective treatment. Jay Greene, jgreene@crain.com

n 2015, as a master’s student at the University of Michigan, Stacey Matlen founded Fresh Share LLC, which does business under the name Cart. After completing her degree in public health last year, she moved the company to Detroit and began running it full time as a for-profit business with a social-benefit objective. Through “countless” interviews, Matlen learned that lack of transportation was a common reason for food insecurity, particularly for young parents getting food stamps. Cart gets grocery stores to subsidize rides for those who don’t have readily available transportation, particularly those who live in big-city food deserts. Cart did a one-month pilot at the Meijer store at Eight Mile and Woodward in Detroit in 2015, then in March wrapped up two 10week pilot programs at that Meijer and at the Meijer at Grand River and McNichols. In both pilots, clients paid $10 for round-trip rides and Meijer paid $10. Cart partnered with Lyft to provide the transportation. Matlen hopes that after the numbers are crunched, her ride-share program will be picked up on a permanent basis and expanded to other Meijers, as well as other regional chains. Cart has won more than $100,000 through grants and business-plan competitions, including first place of $15,000 at last year’s Go Detroit mobility innovation event sponsored by Ford. In 2015, Cart won first place in the student division of the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. “This has been a huge learning curve, especially learning to deal with the ups and downs of starting a business. My favorite part is dealing directly with the people we’re serving,” said Matlen. Matlen is a board member of the MOTION Coalition, which fights childhood obesity in Southeast Michigan, and is a member of the Boost Social Entrepreneur program at the University of Detroit Mercy. Tom Henderson, thenderson@crain.com

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C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 1 , 2 0 1 7

<< 20 IN THEIR 20S >>

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Adham Kassem

Agency Account Lead, iProspect

dham Kassem is keen on details. An arbiter of finely-tailored suits and analytics, Kassem has found a way to do both. Kassem, 27, is the agency account lead for Chevrolet at digital marketing firm iProspect in Detroit. There, he manages a budget of more than $100 million to execute when, where and to whom Chevy’s marketing campaign is targeted. Before his promotion to Chevy, he led digital marketing for General Motors’ Buick brand. He planned and launched Buick’s rebranding campaign, “That’s a Buick,” across the paid search and social media spectrum. The result was a 61 percent increase in Buick’s online search volume. “Buick was going through a transformation, just like Detroit,” Kassem said. Working in Detroit inspired his second passion: outfitting underprivileged youth with suits. Kassem launched the nonprofit Stitched earlier this year, which gives gently used, custom-tailored suits to Detroit high school students, and provides mentorship and coaching, too. He’s donated 150 suits so far and has applied for 501(c)3 nonprofit status to begin fundraising for the program, which he hopes will reach 300 students in eight schools in September. “I do believe that a fitted suit can change a life, empowering young men to not only look good, but be better,” Kassem said. “A suit is more than fabric; it can truly create opportunity.” Dustin Walsh, dwalsh@crain.com

His passion: outfitting underprivileged youth with suits.

Aramis Jones

Executive Chef, Michael Symon’s Roast

t 26, Jones is the executive chef at Michael Symon’s Roast. But at 16, Jones was starting a four-year youth home/prison sentence. In prison, his cellmate was in for life. Conversations with his fellow inmate — who had grown up in the same neighborhood as Jones, but would never see it again — made Jones determined to not go down that same path. “I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to be the same person I was at 16,” Jones said. “I didn’t want to be a product of my environment.” After he was released from prison, it took Jones seven months to find a job. He walked, bused or biked to what felt like a million interviews before he was hired as a dishwasher at Blufin Sushi. The kitchen fascinated him, and he started coming in on his off days to shadow the chefs and learn. “It was a lot of time spent — unpaid — learning,” Jones said. “It was determination.” Jones said he had never been more nervous in his life than when he interviewed and staged for a job at Michael Symon’s Roast. The interview and stage lasted from 1 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. At the end of the night, Andy Hollyday, now owner of Selden Standard, offered Jones the job.

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2 Less than three years later, in 2015, he was named executive chef. Jones is proud of his relationships with local urban farmers and ranchers in the Detroit area. He’s actively involved in the community, including with Youth for Christ, which helped his family when Jones was growing up. He’s not sure what the future holds, but he’s grateful for today. “I own a home, I’m getting married in September. I have a daughter. I never imagined this was possible when I was 16.” Laura Cassar, Special to Crain’s Detroit Business

“What is different about Ellie is she has a real vision for the future.”

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— Stephen McGee, filmmaker

Ellie Schneider

Director of Advocacy and Operations, Detroit Creative Corridor Center

llie Schneider spent six hectic weeks in 2015 secretly hustling to complete an application to name Detroit a UNESCO City of Design. No one knew whether Detroit would win the designation on its first attempt. When it did, it was history-making: Detroit is the first City of Design in the U.S. Shortly after submitting the application, Schneider learned that DC3 director Matt Clayson was leaving. Then she was asked to serve as interim director. “My education and career have always gone much faster than I had planned — and much bigger opportunities come to me,” she said. Schneider led DC3 through six

months of growth and managed a smooth transition for incoming executive director Olga Stella. Schneider sees the City of Design title as a starting point for creating "a more equitable and sustainable future for Detroit," she said. One of her favorite work projects was a video she made with filmmaker Stephen McGee to capture Detroit’s legacy of design. It has been viewed almost 60,000 times. “What is different about Ellie is she has a real vision for the future,” so the film will last a long time, McGee said. “One goal she had: Get the voices of Detroit out to the world.” Vickie Elmer, Special to Crain’s Detroit Business

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 1 , 2 0 1 7

<< 20 IN THEIR 20S >>

Celena Mancina

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Director of Operations, Grand Circus Detroit

ighteen months into her first job after college, Celena Mancina started thinking she wanted to work at a startup — someplace that would provide purpose along with a paycheck. She landed at Grand Circus, a nonprofit “learning institute” in downtown Detroit offering coding bootcamps, entrepreneurship resources and a co-working space. Mancina was

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ara Mahmood thought metro Detroit’s annual advertising conference for young marketers needed to evolve. For many years, the Adcraft Club of Detroit’s AdCon Career Conference was a traditional networking and job fair that attracted about a hundred attendees. So in 2013, at age 23, Mahmood got herself elected chairman of the conference, and she went to work. She still fulfills the role today while

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Mancina also leads diversity initiatives at Grand Circus, including the DEVELOP(her) scholarship program for women seeking careers in software development. Last year, DEVELOP(her) graduated 19 women from Grand Circus programs in Detroit and Flint. “I’m able to wear many hats and do many things while still being efficient and creative,” she said.

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hired in May 2014 as operations manager to manage the space. She was one of five employees. Less than a year later, she was promoted to director of operations. Now, she works with nearly 20 fulltime people, plus interns and contractors. “I’ve been a part of the hiring process for every single person here,” said Mancina. She has also played a direct role in

helping Grand Circus graduates find jobs. Many employers are used to hiring workers with bachelor’s or advanced degrees in IT and need coaxing to try the career changers who come through Grand Circus, she said. Mancina builds relationships with employers large and small, including Ford Motor Company, which employs eight Grand Circus grads. Ninety percent of Grand Circus graduates land developer jobs, Mancina said.

She led the successful effort to recraft the one-day networking event by taking a more holistic approach to the conference’s audience. working as a senior analyst at Dearborn-based GTB, the global ad agency of record for Ford Motor Co. In her words, AdCon “needed a heavy face-lift to stay relevant.” She led the successful effort to recraft the one-day networking event by taking a more holistic approach to the conference's audience. Mahmood worked with Facebook.com's local office to develop a social media strategy for targeting potential attendees, especially people outside of traditional marketing.

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The conference now attracts young people who want to study marketing to aid their entrepreneurial efforts, such as app developers and urban planners who want to tell their stories. “There are all these people who want to do things for the city and want to stay local, but aren’t sure how to get their voice out on a larger scale,” Mahmood said. AdCon has helped them learn marketing skills and make valuable connections with their peers. “Somebody told me they found a business partner at AdCon,” she said. The social media campaign helped increase attendance to more than 400 and nearly doubled the event profits that are used to fund student scholarships through the Adcraft Foundation, she said. She also worked to move the event from the College for Creative Studies to a larger space at Wayne State University, where Mahmood earned degrees in marketing and in global supply chain management in 2013. The conference was held at WSU in November 2016 and will be held there again this November. Bill Shea, bshea@crain.com

Rick Shounia

Chief Financial Officer, Austin Benefits Group

ick Shounia was given a daunting task during his first year in 2015 as CFO of Austin Benefits Group: leading the financial integration of a competing health benefit company, Hantz Benefit Services. “It was an interesting challenge because of the number of people impacted and the new faces (who came into) the organization,” said Shounia. At the time of the acquisition, Austin had about 18 employees and absorbed 10 from Hantz. After two years of further growth, Austin now

has 35 employees and is still growing, said Shounia, the son of two Iraqi immigrants and the first college graduate among 22 first cousins. He earned his bachelor’s from Michigan State University and his master’s in accounting from Oakland University. “We really are focused on customer service and are always looking to add account managers and servicers,” Shounia said. “We focus on (the) underwriting team. They are running the numbers, talking with insurance carriers, looking to optimize work for our clients.”

“Never make a decision when emotional, tired or hungry.”

Last year, Shounia led the effort to restructure Austin’s business banking, including operating and credit accounts, from a national bank to Detroit-based Level One Bank, working also with the Michigan Economic Development Corp. The move was intended to help improve Austin and the local economy. He has also been working on an information technology improvement program that is integrating Microsoft-based software with other

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JACOB LEWKOW

vendor programs. “We are investing in IT because we want to make sure we can accurately estimate return on investment,” Shounia said. “Moving away from paper is a big investment. We are creating efficiencies for our clients” that range from 100 to more than 1,000 employees. Day to day, Shounia oversees financial operations, controllership, treasury, financial planning and analysis and financial administrative duties. His general philosophy: “Never make a decision when emotional, tired or hungry.” Jay Greene, jgreene@crain.com

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Surabhi Pandit

<< 20 IN THEIR 20S >>

Senior Program Officer, Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan

hile many of her fellow high school students were out socializing, Surabhi Pandit was getting hooked on philanthropy. As a member of the Youth Advisory Committee of the Southfield Community Foundation, she and her peer members spent hours each week deliberating which local youth organizations would share in $25,000 in grants. “I felt like I had a voice and that I could make a difference,” Pandit said. Today, she works at the Com-

munity Foundation for Southeast Michigan, where she has directed over $6.9 million in grants through programs including the Hope Fund, which supports the LGBT community, and the Detroit Auto Dealers Association Charitable Foundation Fund, which supports children’s charities with a portion of the proceeds from the charity preview of the North American International Auto Show. She also spearheads the Catapult program, which gives grassroots

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nonprofits access to grants, higher visibility and mentorship. Catapult represents a small fraction of Pandit’s portfolio, but she’s especially proud of it. “It opens doors for emerging nonprofits who would not otherwise have access to the resources CFSEM provides,” Pandit said. What keeps her hooked? “Knowing that philanthropy is a vehicle for social change and that I am part of that change in my community,” Pandit said. Sherri Welch, swelch@crain.com

Chase 29 Lee AGE

Ashley Hennen Executive Director, The Scarab Club

shley Hennen is taking The Scarab Club, a Detroit fixture for 110 years, to the next level. The arts club has a great history, Hennen said. “The problem is, no one knows who we are.” To change that, Hennen is reconnecting with longtime supporters while ensuring its programs are relevant to the contemporary art community. Since joining the club as executive director in October, she’s increased membership by 18 percent to 450 paid members, its highest-ever level. She’s Revenue is up 35 percent above forecasts, increased thanks to increases in both program and membership rental revenue. to 450 paid Hennen has also launched new programs, including “The Regulars’ Table,” a fo- members, its rum for critical dialogue about art, and “Live highest-ever at the Scarab Club,” which debuts this month level. and celebrates Detroit’s musical history. A younger demographic is showing a new interest in the club’s history and architecture, Hennen said. But her efforts are enticing artists, art lovers, historians and architectural fans of all ages, she said. In the midst of it all, she’s launched a strategic planning process with the club’s board. “One of the central questions The Scarab Club faces is one of identity,” Hennen said. A strategic plan will give the club a road map for its next 100 years, she said. Sherri Welch, swelch@crain.com

Chief Technology Officer, Ambassador

oyal Oak-based Ambassador makes referral marketing software, which helps businesses set up rewards programs for customers who refer their friends. Appropriately, its CTO, Chase Lee, joined the company through a kind of referral. In 2012, Jonathon Triest, who runs Detroit-based Ludlow Ventures LLC, told Lee he thought he and Ambassador CEO Jeff Epstein would be a good fit at the fledgling tech company. Lee joined Ambassador in January 2013. They were, indeed, a good fit. Lee overhauled Ambassador’s web presence and search engine optimization and brought product development in-house. “I also began the work of hiring and building a world-class team of engineers and product designers,” he said, and put in place processes that would allow us to attract and retain higher quality customers,” he said. In April 2015, the company closed on a first investment round of $2.35 million and has raised a total of $3.5 million in equity capital. It has about 50 employees and expects to make more than $5 million in revenue this year. Customers include PayPal, Spotify, HughesNet, Progresso and the American Marketing Association. Outside of Ambassador, Lee has fundraised and volunteered for Kids’ Food Basket, an organization to help feed hungry kids, in Grand Rapids. He is active in food access, housing and LGBT causes. Tom Henderson, thenderson@crain.com

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY JACOB LEWKOW

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<< 20 IN THEIR 20S >>

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Amber Lewis Digital and Social Media Manager, Mayor's Office, City of Detroit

n Valentine’s Day, Amber Lewis used Detroit’s municipal government Twitter account to write an unusual 109-character dispatch from City Hall: Roses are red. Violets are blue. Detroit's got the sauce, & some good food too. #DetroitLoveLetter #valentines Lewis’ tweet set off an outpouring of Detroit love letters from businesses and residents — surprising one of her bosses in Mayor Mike Duggan’s office, where she serves as the mayor’s digital and social media manager. “I said ‘Why are we spending time on love letters to Detroit?’ And then it took off,” Duggan Chief of Staff Alexis Wiley said. “I’m not always right.” Wiley hired Lewis straight out of college after the 2015 Michigan State University graduate participated in a social media branding pitch competition with other students. Lewis, 25, attends Duggan’s weekly house meetings, posts video on Twitter and Facebook from community events and keeps the city’s social media accounts refreshed with information about city government programs, philanthropic initiatives and special events. In her efforts to make the city’s social feeds relevant, Lewis is most proud of the feedback she gets from residents who feel more engaged with City Hall. “I think that is the most rewarding part — hearing that this actually reaches Detroiters that need it,” she said.

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Jeff Sorensen Founder, optiMize

eff Sorensen, 27, believes his program optiMize will soon be known simply as college. The University of Michigan — Sorensen’s alma mater — seemed to agree when they incorporated his entrepreneurship program into the college of Literature, Science and Arts and appointed him director of the university’s first department for social innovation. Success of the program, as well as its main function, hinges on three words: why not me? “We created an incubator,” Sorensen said, “where we turn big

“All I wanted to do was meaningful work that helped me grow.”

section of what drew Lewis to Detroit in the first place, as old buildings get new life. "Participating in it, rebuilding it, redefining it," he said.

ideas into tangible, implementable projects without an end date.” Sorensen, who has a bachelor’s degree in political science and philosophy, founded the program during his senior year in 2012 with co-founder Tim Pituch. Following graduation and a demoralizing string of strikeouts on the job hunt, Sorensen began to feel he may have been duped. Why had college not prepared him for this? He wondered. “All I wanted to do was meaningful work that helped me grow,” he said. “What better way to grow than to help others do so?” OptiMize has so far worked with 1,500 students to launch more than 300 projects that take on everything from climate change to fresh food access. Tyson Gersh, whose urban farming initiative earned him a spot on Crain's Twenty in their 20s in 2016, launched that project with the help of optiMize. Wayne State University recently launched a pilot program based on optiMize’s model and there are plans to do the same at Michigan State University. “These are people building a world I want to live in,” said Ken Ludwig, a professor at UM and mentor to Sorensen. “He’s a special guy, Jeff. Always acts from his heart, supported by an excellent mind.”

Kirk Pinho, kpinho@crain.com

Kurt Nagl, knagl@crain.com

Chad Livengood, clivengood@crain.com

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Clarke Lewis

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Development Manager, The Platform

larke Lewis grew up in Pittsburgh, so he is no stranger to struggling post-industrial cities. But when he came to Ann Arbor to attend graduate school at the University of Michigan, he had no idea he would be springboarded into a career in urban real estate development. Today, at 26, he manages more than $160 million worth of Detroit projects as development manager for Detroit-based The Platform LLC. It started as a simple class project at Woodward Avenue and Baltimore Street in developer and professor Peter Allen's real estate course at UM. Lewis, plus classmates Dang Duong and Myles Hamby, proposed

a redevelopment of the small Woodward building into retail and residential space. After graduation, Lewis was hired to make the project real, working with Peter Cummings and Dietrich Knoer as they launched The Platform, which has more than $250 million in primarily residential mixed-use development projects in the pipeline on and around Grand Boulevard. (His classmates Duong and Hamby are also employees of The Platform.) As The Platform's development manager, Lewis is overseeing several of them: Third and Grand, with 231 apartments; the Albert Kahn Building, with 162 apartments; the East Grand

Boulevard building in Milwaukee Junction known for the colorful mural on its side; and the Woodward/Baltimore project, now called Baltimore Station, with 175 apartments. Those projects all sit at the inter-

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 1 , 2 0 1 7

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Wollack will continue to improve and expand the services and programs offered by Wolverine Human Services and foster new business partnerships to serve the needs of Michigan youth and families. He also is spearheading the Core Orchards Detroit development plan and has led the creation of The Den, Detroit’s first non-profit accelerator and co-working space. Previously he served as senior director of marketing and development.

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WOOD

SPOTLIGHT

FROM PAGE 3

The U.S. and Canada have battled over wood imports for decades, and the latest move comes as the two nations prepare to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. The most recent softwood lumber agreement between the U.S. and Canada expired on Oct. 12, 2015, but a cooling period was worked into the agreement, which expired on Nov. 25, 2016. With the two parties unable to reach a new trade deal on the products, the Trump administration triggered the countervailing duties. Experts predict additional cost increases due to the tariffs. The lack of an agreement has already increased lumber costs 22 percent in Michigan since the beginning of the year, said Bob Filka, CEO of Lansing-based Home Builders Association of Michigan. The average single-family home requires 15,000 board feet of softwood lumber and the recent spike in prices has added $3,600 to the price of a new home, Filka said. “These price hikes have negative repercussions for millions of Americans,” Filka said. “We expect to see an increase in the cost of American-produced softwood lumber as well.” Lynne Pratt, president of Huntington Woodsbased Pratt Building Co., said that 2,400 potential home buyers in the metro Detroit market are priced out of a new home for every $1,000 increase in the price of a home. This translates to nearly 9,000 potential buyers exiting the new home market in the region since the start of the year. “Housing creates jobs and supports communities,” Pratt said. “Michigan’s economy will surely be negatively affected in wide-ranging ways as a result.”The National Home Builders Association and other trade groups reliant in lumber are urging the U.S. and Canada to come to a long-term agreement as well as asking the U.S. to increase domestic logging.

The logging viewpoint There’s a flip side in Michigan’s logging industry. Scott Robbins, director of the sustainable forest initiative and public affairs for the Michigan Forest Products Council trade association, said Canadian imports have harmed Michigan’s lumber industry, particularly sawmills. Stumpage, the price a firm pays for harvesting trees from land, is controlled by the Canadian government as it owns most forest land in the country. In the U.S., stumpage is dictated by negotiations with private land owners. Roughly 64 percent of Michigan’s forest is owned by private owners, and only 11 percent by commercial operations. “This allows (Canada) to keep prices way down,” Robbins said. “When the price of softwood lumber is low, homes are cheap. But there are winners and losers, and our mills are suffering right now.” Michigan’s largest sawmills are operated by Spokane, Wash.-based Potlatch Corp. in Gwinn and John A. Biewer Co. Inc. in Lake City and McBain.

Trade sticking points While the U.S. and Canada have long enjoyed a less contentious trade relationship, positioning from the Trump administration has soured in recent months. Last week, President Donald Trump railed against a Canadian policy change on its domestic milk, which will lead to lower prices. Trump said the move was a manipulation to harm U.S. producers in dairy states like Wisconsin. “It has been a bad week for U.S.-Canada trade relations,” said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in a statement. “This is not our idea of a properly functioning Free Trade Agreement.” Canada immediately lambasted the tariffs, calling them “unfair.” The duties are currently provisional, as the administration must prove that Canada provides subsidies to its lumber industry — which Canada strongly denies. The U.S. Trade Commission will make that determination at a later date. Dustin Walsh: (313) 446-6042 Twitter: @dustinpwalsh

Quicken Loans names chief marketing officer Quicken Loans Inc. has hired former Fiat advertising executive Casey Hurbis as its new chief marketing officer. Hurbis started his new position at the Detroit-based mortgage lending company on Monday, said John Perich, senior public relations manager for Quicken Loans. Hurbis succeeds Jay Farner, who was promoted in February Casey Hurbis from CMO to CEO of Quicken Loans. As part of the leadership changes, longtime CEO Bill Emerson transitioned to vice chairman of Rock Holdings Inc., the parent company of Quicken Loans. Bob Walters, the company's chief economist, now serves in the dual capacity of president and COO, overseeing day-today operations and focusing on strategic planning.

Chelsea State Bank promotes execs Chelsea State Bank has made some changes at the top, promoting CFO David Schaible to president and Jessica Stubbs to replace him. John Mann, who had led the Chelsea-based bank as both CEO and president for more than two decades, will remain CEO. Schaible, 59, is a Chelsea native and became CFO in 2011 David Schaible after starting at the bank in 1985. He was elected to the board of directors in 2005 and has held various roles at the institution inJessica Stubbs cluding security officer, personal loan officer, investment officer and head of retail banking. Stubbs, 37, joined Chelsea State Bank as assistant vice president and compliance officer with the bank in 2011 before being promoted to vice president in 2014. She brings nearly two decades of banking experience and experience as an audit manager for a business consulting firm.

Page 2

Detroit Cristo Rey student John Williams works in the General Motors Climatic Wind Tunnel.

JOBS FROM PAGE 1

work you’re doing — and you’ve got to treat it like that,’” Khoury said. “That’s a lot to put on a 14-year-old or 15-year-old, but it’s true.” The seriousness of Cristo Rey’s student work-study program has resonated with the businesses and nonprofits in metro Detroit that employ the students throughout the school year. Cristo Rey touts a 95 percent renewal rate among businesses employing its students. “I think every child would benefit from a program like this. It enriches them. It enriches you,” said Deborah Ainsworth, who supervises four female Cristo Rey students at the highrisk pregnancy clinic at St. Mary Mercy Hospital in Livonia. Ainsworth recently hired a 2015 Cristo Rey graduate who spent all four years of high school working in the birthing center, assisting nurses and tending to the needs of mothers. Dallas Longorio is now an obstetrics technician, working at least three 12-hour shifts each week and attending Oakland University, Ainsworth said. “When she was here for those four years, she was a go-getter, she took initiative without being asked,” Ainsworth said. “Now, when there’s an emergency C-section, she’s the one running back there and opening up that (operating room) and having that blade ready for the doctor.”

Chicago start Cristo Rey is located in the former Holy Redeemer High School on Junction Street in Mexicantown. The student work-study emphasis of Cristo Rey’s curriculum began at a Catholic school in Chicago and has spread to 32 schools across the country with 3,000 corporate partners providing jobs for students, according to the Cristo Rey Network, which recently hosted a national meeting of its members in Detroit. The school’s mission is devoted to

May 1, 2017 17

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being a collegiate pathway for students from families living at or below the poverty line. For the sixth year, 100 percent of the school’s graduating class of 60 seniors have been accepted into college. The annual tuition for each student ranges from $500 to $700, depending on the family’s ability to pay. Some of the parents volunteer to drive the students to work each day as far away from southwest Detroit as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ headquarters in Auburn Hills. Every August, the new freshman class of 14-year-olds begins school a month before the rest of the students for training in office etiquette. The students learn how to answer phones, address superiors and other mannerisms for working in a corporate office atmosphere. The school already has a business casual dress code that the students adhere to off campus when they go to work. The U.S. Department of Labor has granted the school a child labor law exemption for the 14- and 15-yearold students to work because it’s considered part of their education, Khoury said. Employers pay the school between $7,000 and $7,500 for each student worker, Khoury said. “Our whole premise is challenging the effects of poverty one kid at a time. And there’s nothing like education and a good job that can break that cycle,” assistant principal Joellyn Valgoi said. “It’s probably the single most unifying factor in their success in college.”

Student interest Businesses in the program hire varying numbers of Cristo Rey students. Some hire four or five so they get a different student each workday. Cristo Rey senior Maria Salcido-Hernandez transfered into a job at Hylant Insurance Group’s office in Troy after not enjoying her previous job at GM. At Hylant, she works on audits of employer insurance

JACOB LEWKOW

plans, checking records of clients to ensure they are accurate. “I really enjoy the work,” Salcido-Hernandez said. “It taught me how to work differently in a different environment.” Salcido-Hernandez says she’s gained self confidence working Hylant that she didn’t have before as she had to comprehend complicated insurance records. “I used to be really bad at that,” she said. “I wasn't open to asking questions.” After graduation, Hylant has hired her to continue working part-time at the office starting this summer while she attends Henry Ford College, where she plans to study nutrition. “This is not something we normally do, but we felt like she was so good, we wanted to bring her back,” said Pat McDaniel, who runs Toledo-based Hylant Insurance's three Michigan offices. “We hope when she graduates, she’ll want to join Hylant permanently.” Salcido-Hernandez is going to college to become a nutritionist. When she arrived at Hylant, she expressed an interest in personal health care. The insurance brokerage found work for her to do in their employee wellness programs, McDaniel said. “We’re trying some level of interest with some of the stuff we do,” McDaniel said. “Insurance isn’t always sexy, especially to high school kids.”

Hands-on work

Most of the students participated in the FIRST Robotics team at Holy Redeemer Grade School, a K-8 feeder school next door to Cristo Rey. “I see the way Cristo Rey is doing education and their intern program and FIRST Robotics as game changers in the future of education,” Nuno-Whelan said. Nuno-Whelan said he puts his Cristo Rey students to work in hands-on projects. Some work on manufacturing processes, while others work on thermal development in a climatic wind tunnel, he said. “I have a rule: if I see them only doing spreadsheet or clerical work, then their supervisor has to come talk to me,” said Nuno-Whelan, a 20-

year veteran of GM. Nuno-Whelan and other supervisors said the students build confidence in their skills and ambitions by being exposed to professionals and a work environment. Recent graduates of Cristo Rey who worked at GM during high school are in the middle of college engineering programs and will be pursued by automakers when they graduate, Nuno-Whelan said. “I see those students as our main recruiting targets two or three years from now when they graduate,” he said. “They will dominate when they enter the job market.”

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General Motors is the school’s largest employer with 50 Cristo Rey students working at the Renaissance Center, the Tech Center in Warren and a facility in Pontiac, Khoury said. GM’s Nuno-Whelan oversees eight student workers who have a keen interest in robotics. The automaker routinely employs college interns, but the Cristo Rey students are GM’s only paid high school student workers, he said. “This is unique,” he said.

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C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 1 , 2 0 1 7

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FROM PAGE 3

Made through members of Michigan ERN, which organizes workforce assistance groups known as employer resource networks, with backing from credit unions and community banks, the programs loan up to $1,000 at interest rates of 5.9-11.9 percent. They are offered through all 12 ERN agencies in Michigan — including the Livingston ERN and Greater Detroit ERN, which mainly serves Wayne County employers — and are expected to be offered through new affiliates forming in Oakland and Washtenaw counties and in other parts of the state. Beyond the lower interest rates, the employer- and nonprofit-led models provide up to a year to pay back loans, financial literacy and budgeting assistance and credit reporting to help borrowers build credit. A key part of the programs is that the loans are paid back through payroll deduction, an important difference from payday loans that makes employer participation crucial. That helps make them the cheapest alternative to payday loans, said Nick Bourke, director of the consumer finance project for The Pew Charitable Trusts. Banks and credit unions have the greatest ability to reach people with lower-interest, small-dollar installment loans, given that they already administer the checking accounts payday lenders require of borrowers, Bourke said. And they could originate small-dollar loans through their overdraft systems with lessstrict regulation on that front. Under current regulations, however, banks can’t make money or cover costs on the high-risk loans. Federal regulators have termed the combination of interest rates they’d charge for the loans and fees as “abusive,” said John Llewellyn, executive vice president of the Lansing-based Michigan BankJohn Llewellyn: ers Association. Rules keep banks Until the govfrom profiting ernment allows banks to charge higher interest rates with riskier loans and charge an additional fee to cover costs and make the loans profitable, “...we’d rather have them go to a highly regulated payday lender,” he said.

The lay of the (payday) land Federal rules proposed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau last summer to help the issue have stalled since the comment period ended last October. There are no current proposals to amend Michigan law which allows payday lenders to charge annualized interest rates of up to 391 percent for loans of up to 31 days without protections against a cycle of loans when people can’t pay off the original debt.

Twelve million Americans take out payday loans each year, spending $9 billion on loan fees, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts. Of those, nearly 70 percent take out a second payday loan within a month, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a federal agency created after the 2008 financial crisis to protect consumers. And one in five new borrowers ends up taking out at least ten or more loans, paying more fees and interest on the same debt with each loan. In Michigan, payday lending is a $339 million industry. The state limits payday loans to $600 and only allows a person to have two active loans at a time, but unscrupulous payday lenders — both brickand-mortar and virtual — have made multiple loans at far greater amounts, preying on the people who can least afford it and in some cases, resorting to unethical and illegal collection tactics including automatic withdrawals from bank accounts without authorization. Consumers take on one payday loan then another and another when they are short covering expenses during subsequent months because they are paying off the first loan, said Mia Cupp, chief development and communications officer for Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency. “Before you know it, they are so far under water, there’s no way they can pay this back.”

About the programs Both the employer-led and Michigan Community Action-led loan programs use proof of employment and employer participation in payroll deductions to pay loans back rather than credit scores in qualifying borrowers. The Affordable Small Dollar Loan Program that MCA is bringing to Michigan was developed by Rio Grande Valley Multibank Corp., a community development bank in Brownsville, Texas, in 2011. The nonprofit financial organization Texas Community Capital, which does business as Community Loan Center of America, has expanded the program beyond Texas to Indiana and Maryland and now is moving into Missouri and Michigan. Nonprofits that want to serve as lenders in the program are required to get licensed, raise a pool of loan funds and find employers to agree to administer payroll deductions. Nonprofits pay $2,500 annually for access to software and technical assistance from Community Loan Center. Through the nonprofit lender’s website, would-be borrowers apply for loans of up to $1,000 at 18 percent interest and pay the loan back via payroll deduction over a year. The nonprofit turns applications and loans around within 48 hours. Nonprofit lenders are asked to report loan payments to at least one credit bureau, said Howard Porter, program manager for the Community Loan Center. “It costs the lenders a little bit to do that, which is why payday lenders aren’t doing it,” Porter said. “We

want to help our borrowers to build their credit.” Over the past 5 1/2 years, more than $16 million in loans have been made through the program, saving borrowers more than $10 million in fees and interest they would have otherwise paid to high-cost lenders, Porter said. About 120 employers are participating in the program, ranging from a Dallas company with about 13,000 employees to a nonprofit with 10, he said, noting employers see the program as an employee benefit. The loans have seen a 4.5 percent default rate, with nearly all of those coming as a result of people losing their jobs and joining a new employer that didn’t offer the payroll deduction. In many of those cases, the applicants arranged to pay the rest of their loans from their checking accounts, Porter said. For its part, Michigan Community Action is now attempting to raise money to help nonprofits that agree to serve as community loan centers get licensed. It plans to offer its first training for interested nonprofits during the Building Kate White: Michigan ComLooking for munities Connonprofits. ference in Lansing May 1-3, said Executive Director Kate White. “We are looking for nonprofits that have the ability to manage and raise capital,” she said. The hope is to get at least two nonprofits lending by the end of the year, White said.

ance purchases, debt and family emergencies. The overarching goal of the program is employee retention. Michigan ERN is talking with Oakland County employers and Zingerman’s Deli in Washtenaw County about creating new ERN groups in those areas, as well as in Lapeer and Shiawassee counties. And it’s expanding on the state’s west side through the existing employer resource network there, said James Vander Hulst, president and CEO of Michigan ERN. Currently, affiliate groups offer the loans at interest rates of 5.9 percent to 11.9 percent, Vander Hulst said. Employees of participating employers meet with a “success coach” contracted by the ERN to help resolve issues. If it’s determined there is no nonprofit assistance available to help with their emergency and their budget has room to pay back a loan, they can borrow up to $500 and pay it back in six months or up to $1,000 and pay it back over a year through payroll deduction. Employers pay to join the resource network, but there is no additional cost to offer this program. A borrower is required to pay an additional $10 a week into a savings account and can access it only after the debt is fully paid. That serves both as insurance for the employer and an emergency fund for the employee. Over the past five years, the program has provided over $1 million in loans, with a default rate of less than 2.5 percent, Vander Hulst said. And it’s helped people get in the habit of saving. “We’ve had employees who’ve gone to needing a loan for a car repair to over two or three years buying a house,” Vander Hulst said. Sherri Welch: (313) 446-1694 Twitter: @SherriWelch

Expanding the network The 12 employer resource network agencies of the Michigan ERN offer an employer-led loan program with backing from local financial institutions that take the risk with the loans. Launched in 2012, the ERN Hardship Loan and Savings Program is one of the core programs the consortia of small to mid-size employers offer their employees when there is no nonprofit assistance available to help with hardships that affect their life and work, including car repairs, credit repair, payday lending, appli-

BANKRUPTCIES The following business filed for bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit April 21-27. Chapter 7 involves total liquidation. J Ideation Inc., dba Daysprings Gifts, Crown & Carriage, All Things Made in America, Jones Gifts, Ann Arbor Surroundings, 2008 Hogback Road, Suite 7, Ann Arbor, involuntary Chapter 7 petitioned by creditors LSC Consulting LLC, HBOC LLC, N-Focus Consulting LLC. Assets and liabilities are not available.

INDEX TO COMPANIES These companies have significant mention in this week’s Crain’s Detroit Business: Adcraft Club of Detroit AK Steel

Hylant Insurance

Austin Benefits Group

iProspect

Bamboo Detroit

LGBT Chamber of Commerce

Bon Bon Bon

Michael Symon’s Roast

Century Partners

Home Builders Association of Michigan

Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan

Detroit Creative Corridor Center

Fresh Share LLC

General Motors Co.

Grand Circus Detroit

GTB

Michigan League of Conservation Voters

optiMize

Pratt Building Co.

St. Mary Mercy Hospital

Spark Center for Autism

The Platform

The Scarab Club

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // M A Y 1 , 2 0 1 7

THE WEEK ON THE WEB

RUMBLINGS

APRIL 22-28 | For more, visit crainsdetroit.com

‘MoGo’ bicycles to hit Detroit streets in May

Founders Brewing to open taproom in Cass Corridor

$4 million project to renovate a vacant 14,000-square-foot building in Detroit’s Cass Corridor for Founders Brewing Co. is expected to begin this summer. About 100 people attended an event last week to announce the Grand Rapids-based brewery's planned taproom at 456 Charlotte St. at Cass Avenue. “It’s always a good day when you can crack a beer before noon,” Founders Brewing co-founder Mike Stevens, standing next to fellow co-founder Dave Engbers, said to cheers last Tuesday morning at the Charlotte Street site. It will be Founders’ first taproom outside of its original in Grand Rapids. Engbers said some of the beers served in the Detroit taproom will be exclusive to the region. “The goal is to shift some of the main beers from Grand Rapids, but we’ll be brewing our own styles down here, too, that will only be sold here at the facility in Detroit,” Stevens said. There are expected to be about two dozen taps. Food will also be served. The taproom, expected to open in the winter, will employ about 100 in the building that was most recently the home of the Cass Corridor Food Co-op. Sue Mosey, executive director of Midtown Detroit Inc., said it was built in 1937.

KIRK PINHO

Founders Brewing plans to renovate this building at 456 Charlotte St. in Detroit into its first taproom outside of its hometown of Grand Rapids.

Detroit digits A numbers-focused look at last week’s headlines:

100 years

The length of time Eastern Market's Busy Bee Hardware served customers before deciding to close this summer.

$77 million

The amount developers will spend to bring more than 335 new residential units, 8,000 square feet of retail space and a 1 acre of public open space to the vacant site of the former Wigle Recreation Center in Detroit.

COMPANY NEWS Canada-based women’s retailer Kit and Ace closed its store on Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit, as it announced closures of all of its stores in the U.S., Australia and the U.K. J Ann Arbor-based Genomenon Inc. has received a $1.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to fund the Ann Arbor-based company’s genomic analysis. J Seating and electronics supplier Lear Corp. reported a 23 percent leap in 2017 first-quarter net income and stronger profit margin but may again face doubts from investors despite proven performance, Automotive News reported. J The Zell Early Stage Fund, launched in the fall of 2015 by the Zell Lurie Institute at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, has made its first investment: $150,000 in Admetsys, a Boston-based startup that has developed an artificial pancreas to control glucose levels. J A new report on physician compensation shows that the average female doctor in metro Detroit earns $242,890 per year — about $90,000 less than the average male physician, according to San Francisco-based Doximity.

7 minutes, 58 seconds

The average ambulance response time in Detroit when it recently dipped below the national EMS average of 8 minutes for the first time in at least a decade. Vivid golf balls and a field including 17 of the top 25 LPGA players in the world are returning to Ann Arbor May 22-28 for the Volvik Championship. J

Little Caesars Arena will host a college basketball doubleheader in December, Olympia Entertainment President and CEO Tom Wilson announced at an event outside the under-construction arena. J Automotive parts manufacturer Flex-N-Gate ceremoniously broke ground on a $95 million plant on Detroit’s east side that Mayor Mike Duggan touted as the largest auto supplier investment in the city in more than two decades. J Shinola/Detroit LLC planned to open a third metro Detroit location last week on the second floor of Somerset Collection South in Troy. J Thirteen Detroit businesses, including 10 owned by women, are the winners of a total of $500,000 in Motor City Match grants for the program’s seventh round. J

The Michigan Strategic Fund board approved an additional $15 million for the construction of the American Center for Mobility at Willow Run in Ypsilanti Township. J Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Agency selected as its new leader Michelle Beebe, director of Utah’s Unemployment Insurance Division, as the organization undergoes a top-to-bottom restructuring. J The Michigan Strategic Fund board approved nearly $3 million in grants for two projects expected to create 273 jobs in Auburn Hills and Port Huron by Auburn Hills-based automotive parts manufacturer US Farathane LLC. J The Birmingham City Commission approved bistro licenses for a sushi restaurant in the old Peabody Mansion and a cafe in a new Whole Foods Market after restaurant development company Union Joints LLC withdrew from the vetting process. J

Robert Awrey, a leader of longtime metro Detroit family business Awrey Bakeries LLC, died last week at 92. He led Livonia-based Awrey Bakeries as CEO and president for nearly 40 years. J

Shinola/Detroit plans last week planed to open another local store, at Somerset Collection in Troy.

since April 2012, generating $2 million in corporate sponsorships and government grants to fund the purchase of the bikes, docking stations and launching the system. MoGo Detroit Bike Share, which launched its website Wednesday, is budgeting for $1 million in annual operating costs, half of which will come from corporate sponsors and half from user fees, Nuszkowski said. By late May, the city’s bike-share program will have 43 solar-powered stations across downtown, Midtown and eight surrounding neighborhoods where the Canadian-built bicycles will be available for rent. Quebec-based PBSC Urban Solutions built the bicycles at its factory near Montreal. The bikes, which cost $1,200 each, have adjustable seats, three speeds, disc brakes, front and rear lights and an internal cable system that is designed to prevent vandalism. Shift Transit, the bikemaker’s operating arm, will run the MoGo Detroit Bike Share system, maintain and repair the bikes and kiosks. “It’s quite a task to maintain 430 bikes that are regularly used,” Nuszkowski said.

OTHER NEWS

OBITUARY CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

ntroducing MoGo. Detroit Bike Share has added those four letters to its name ahead of the long-awaited roll out of 430 bicycles for rent hitting the streets of downtown, Midtown and nearby neighborhoods. MoGo Detroit Bike Share showed off red-orange three-speed bikes Wednesday to the media at its warehouse in Milwaukee Junction, where the nonprofit is staging its operation for a formal launch before Memorial Day. The new moniker is a play on Detroit’s auto-centric nicknames. Other cities have adopted trendy names for their bike-sharing programs. Chicago has Divvy Bikes. Boston has Hubway. “We’re known as the birthplace of Motown, as the Motor City, but increasingly we’re thinking about Detroit being about mobility and motion and movement,” said Lisa Nuszkowski, founder and executive director of Detroit Bike Share. “So the letters M O just kept coming back to us and really resonating with the story of the city and what people know us as and what we’re trying to be.” Nuszkowski has been working to launch the bike-sharing program

CHAD LIVINGOOD

Hundreds of red-orange three-speed bikes are stored in MoGo’s warehouse in Milwaukee Junction before their debut on city streets before Memorial Day.

Journalist Leslie Stahl to headline fundraiser

mmy-award-winning journalist Lesley Stahl of CBS News’ “60 Minutes” will be in town this week to speak at the the Lois Linden Nelson Woman’s World fundraiser hosted by the Sisterhood of Congregation Shaarey Zedek. Stahl will talk about her role as one of America’s most prominent journalists and what her career reporting around the world has taught her about life, the world today and being a grandmother. Before “60 Minutes,” Stahl was a White House correspondent for CBS News during the Carter and Reagan presidencies and part of the George H.W. Bush presidency. She also served as moderator of “Face the Nation,” CBS News’ Sunday public-affairs broadcast, interviewing news-

m a k e r s including: Margaret Thatcher, Boris Yeltsin, Yasir Arafat and virtually every top U.S. official, including George H. W. Stahl: To talk about Bush and Vice her role as a President Dan journalist. Quayle. Over 500 people have bought tickets to the event, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and takes place at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield. Tickets begin at $36 for the speaker’s address alone and $54 for the luncheon and speaker event.

The Detroit Regional Chamber Mackinac Policy Conference, MAY 30 – JUNE 2, 2017

No one covers the Detroit Regional Chamber Mackinac Policy Conference like Crain’s Detroit Business. This annual power feature is distributed at Mackinac, May 30 – June 2. Reach an audience of over 26,000 of the area’s most influential business, civic and government leaders at the conference and in the regular print distribution of Crain’s on June 5.

FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE:

• Michigan Change Makers: The power players and business leaders in the state • What’s Your Superpower? Feature on local business and leadership heroes • Lists: Private 200 and Graduate Degree Programs A comprehensive list of the biggest and best in each category

Crain’s Annual Mackinac Edition | ISSUE DATE: June 5 | EARLY CLOSE: May 8 For advertising opportunities, contact Lisa Rudy at lrudy@crain.com or (313) 446.6032.