BWL: The Black Women Lead Podcast

Amber Chandler is on the Catalytic Projects Team  of the Detroit based, nation serving nonprofit Community Solutions. Community Solutions believes that we as a community can create a sustaining end to homelessness that leaves no one behind. The Built for Zero movement, led by Community Solutions, is a network of 80+ national communities changing how they each directly impact homelessness and strive for its end.

Currently, Amber is leading the work around policy and equity for multiple projects on the Catalytic Projects Team portfolio. Prior to her work in Built for Zero, Amber was the Housing Director for the North Hartford Partnership where she worked to dismantle systematic impediments that create the precursors to homelessness. She collaborated with organizations to bring forth agency to residents in hopes they would create a neighborhood of their choosing. In her tenure as the Housing Director, Amber spearheaded and developed the first ever community land trust in Connecticut.

Before becoming an agent of change within Community Solutions Amber worked for: the Detroit Land Bank Authority, LISC , ArtSpace Projects Inc., and the City of Detroit. Amber is a graduate of Howard University and University of Michigan Law.

Ashley Ballard presents her passion for  Education and Community Behavioral Health through Detroit nonprofit, Black Family Development Inc.

There Ashley, a Detroit resident by way of Los Angeles, provides prevention and intervention services to the K-8 students of an area charter school while overseeing parent engagement. By ushering parents back into the school room [and their child’s education] she can deliver evidence base, structured treatment to Wayne County parents and ultimately the community as a whole.

Ballard is a ministry leader at Straight Gate International church; an advisory board member for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference Detroit (SCLC- Detroit); and the founding Chair for the Detroit Chapter of the And Campaign. She is professionally trained in Restorative Justice and Practices, and is certified in Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS),  Transforming Research into Action to Improve the Lives of Students(TRAILS) and Parenting Through Change (PTC).

Ballard earned a B.S. in Psychology, from Regent University in Virginia, and M.S. in Performance Psychology, from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, completing a dissertation topic which has been published and internationally presented.

Deirdre Roberson is a Detroiter, born and raised, passionate about community involvement. An avid community supporter, Deirdre has advocated for increased funding of urban arts & science programs and has volunteered with Karmanos Cancer Institute, Alternatives For Girls, Developing K.I.D.S. while mentoring local youth for over 10 years. She & Co Founder Dr. Alecia Gabriel created Motorcity S.T.E.A.M to introduce urban youth to concepts in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Math, expanding the reach of future generations through Ed-Tech such as The Lab Drawer.

Deirdre is also the Founder of EUMELANIN a fashion brand designed to celebrate and empower black and brown people around the world by infusing the chemical structure or Melanin in every design. Growing up in Southwest Detroit she witnessed firsthand how her skin tone and the shades of her neighborhood were used to separate and invalidate the residents.

 EUMELANIN is a brand designed to combat the negativity associated with black and brown people around the world because of their skin tone while celebrating holistic self-love.

Caryn Reed-Hendon, Ph.D. is the Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Lawrence Technological University. At LTU, she is responsible for the daily operations of the Office for Diversity & Inclusion, in support of the President’s office, the Dean of Students office, and University Human Resources.

Prior to her role at Lawrence Technological University, she was employed at the University of Michigan-Dearborn where she served as Assistant Director for Orientation Programs for over five years and for ten years as Director of Diversity & Inclusion at the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine (OUWB) where she aided in creating STEM pipeline programs, fostered community partnerships, and mentored students interested in careers in medicine and research.

She has over fifteen years of higher education experience, has served on a number of professional educational committees, and has worked collaboratively to present materials at regional and national conferences. Dr. Reed-Hendon’s memberships include: Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., National Association of Minority Medical Educators, National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, King Chavez Parks Future Faculty Fellows, and NASPA: Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education.

Monique is Co-Founder of Mona Lisa Development, a socially responsible real estate development firm with property management, consulting and general contracting capabilities. A Detroit-Based and Women-Owned business, Mona Lisa Development is committed to extending opportunities to other Detroiters and disadvantaged businesses. 

MLD is proud to work with over 90% minority-owned companies to rehabilitate homes and provide quality affordable housing to residents, who are creatives, community builders and entrepreneurs. Monique leads development management and overall strategy to ensure preservation of place and people in the creation of neighborhood masterpieces. 

Monique is the Manager of Program Implementation for Building Community Value (BCV) where she supports real estate development training for Detroiters. BCV just completed its 11th cohort and has reached over 300 Detroiters. Alongside community members in the Virginia Park neighborhood, Monique helps to lead the Black Detroiters Rebuild: Virginia Park Community (BDR) initiative. BDR is a diverse coalition of neighbors, businesses, activists and non-profits who believe that property ownership by Detroit’s Black residents is the first step in rejuvenating our neighborhoods. BDR works in collaboration with other organizations to develop equitable solutions for neighborhood rebuilding that prioritizes generational wealth building opportunities for Black Detroiters.

Monique graduated from the University of Michigan Literature, Science and the Arts Honors College with a dual degree in International Studies and Spanish.

Donna Givens Davidson has over 35 years’ nonprofit leadership experience in areas of youth and family development, community economic development, community partnerships, and community education. Over the years, she has developed and implemented demonstration programs and worked in partnership with a number of community-based organizations with the consistent goal of increasing opportunity, building capacity, and fostering growth.

Now serving as President and CEO of Eastside Community Network as well as Lecturer at Columbia University School of Professional Studies, Ms. Givens Davidson formerly served as President of the Youth Development Commission, CEO of Visions Education Development Consortium, LLC, Executive Director of Vanguard CDC, Vice President Programs, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Detroit and in leadership positions at several other nonprofit organizations.  She serves as Vice Chair for Pewabic Pottery; board member of New Detroit, Inc., Michigan College Access Network, and Urban Research Centers; member of the Bridge Detroit Magazine Advisory Council and the Charles H. Wright Community Advisory and Action Council; and Steering Committee Member for the Lower Eastside Action Plan, Building the Engine for Community Development in Detroit and the Detroit Resident’s First Fund.  Ms. Givens Davidson co-hosts a weekly podcast, Authentically Detroit with Orlando Bailey.

Ms. Givens  Davidson has earned a Masters of Ed Leadership from Wayne State University, Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Michigan and a Certificate of Completion from the Harvard University Summer Leadership Institute.

Lisa A. Smith is a serial entrepreneur, health and wellness subject matter expert, practitioner and speaker. 

From living rooms to exhibition halls, Lisa is known for her provocative delivery and depth of knowledge. With her first company, Professionally Fit, she has coached dozens of people to a whole foods plant based diet helping them to reverse everything from obesity to autoimmune diseases. 

Lisa has been interviewed on multiple radio and podcast segments including Dr. Boyce Watkins podcast, Intellectual Chocolate. She is the executive director of The Plant-Based Nutrition Support Group and creator of the plant-based nutrition course, P.H.A.R.M. TO TABLE. Her mission with The Black Health Academy is to ensure our community has access to a health and wellness platform built on integrity, reliability and most of all has our best interests in mind.

Ms. Y. Elaine Rasmussen is Founder/CEO of Social Impact Strategies Group (SISG) a Black/Native-led certified B-corp social enterprise. 

SISG provides consultation on operationalizing social impact and racial equity in financial service organizations for clients such as Allianz. Rasmussen also founded ConnectUP! Institute a social finance and enterprise development innovation center. The Institute offers education workshops for investors & underestimated entrepreneurs, and produces the annual ConnectUP! MN Summit which promotes and grows inclusive and equitable entrepreneur ecosystems that drive positive, sustainable impact grounded in economic justice. 

Rasmussen was named 2020 Finance and Commerce’s Top Women in Finance, AARP/Pollen’s 50 Over 50, and is currently a Boston Impact Initiative (BII) Fund-Building fellow. Rasmussen’s board service includes Minnesota Diversified Industries (MDI) and serves on the investment committees of Nexus Community Partners and Swift Foundation. Her overarching goal? To move billions of investment dollars in Black/Brown and rural communities. #MovingBillions #MoneyMoves

Isabelle Moses is Director of Talent Development with Faith in Action National Network, the nation’s largest multi-racial faith-based grassroots community organizing network committed to racial and economic justice and building Beloved communities.

She is an experienced executive coach, facilitator, trainer, and consultant with two decades of experience working across the nonprofit, for-profit, and government sectors. For the last ten years, she has focused on partnering with visionary social justice leaders.

Phyllis J. Edwards is the Executive Director for Bridging Communities, a non-profit organization in Southwest Detroit whose primary focus is eldercare and community development. She is the board chair for Aging Services Consortium for Detroit, treasurer for the Southeast Michigan Senior Regional Collaborative, member of the advisory board for the Detroit Area Agency on Aging 1A, and board chair for Community Development Advocates of Detroit (CDAD).

Nationally, she is a board member for Self Development of People, National Association of Nonprofit Organizations and Executives, and previous member-at-large with National Association of Social Worker (NASW) Board of Directors.