Mentor Michigan Fireside Chats

The Mentor Michigan Fireside Chats five-part series featured a range of accomplished professionals from the art, business, education, financial and non-profit sectors. Presenters shared their best practices, experiences, successes, and challenges with the intent of supporting organizations operating in or close to Michigan's mentoring space.

The conversations fostered a discussion about each presenter's lived experience and how they got where they are today by managing challenges that ultimately led to their impact being enhanced and improved through the years. View the full playlist here or click the individual links below: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWnZHsbSrtT-dK9O_9tykyRSvf4PwRv62 

Featured professionals included: 

La Shaun Phoenix Moore is a Detroit-based vocalist, spoken word artist, activist, culture creator and wife. Moore’s interdisciplinary work is infused with her love for the city of Detroit, hip-hop, God, social justice and her black momma. She is currently working on her first memoir exploring the complexities of the Mother Wound and how it is rooted in her immediate family. Moore is the coach of the Youth Performance Troupe for InsideOut Literary Arts. She is the recipient of the 2020 and 2021 Creators of Culture Award by CultureSource.

https://youtu.be/QNXp2zRxwJs 

Malik Kenyatta Yakini is co-founder and Executive Director of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network (DBCFSN). DBCFSN operates the seven-acre D-Town Farm and is spearheading the opening of, the Detroit Food Commons, in Detroit’s North End that will house the Detroit People’s Food Co-op. He serves as a board member of the co-op. Yakini views the work of DBCFSN as part of the larger movement for building power, self-determination, and justice. He is adamantly opposed to the systems of white supremacy, capitalism and patriarchy. He has an intense interest in contributing to the development of an international food sovereignty movement that embraces Black communities in the Americas, the Caribbean and Africa. He is a co-founder of the National Black Food and Justice Alliance.

https://youtu.be/k6FMn-z1III 

Dwan Dandridge is a husband, father, and Co-Founder and CEO of Black Leaders Detroit (BLD). As a lifelong Detroiter, his leadership skills have been shaped by a wide range of experiences, including grassroots activism, running a small business, and serving as a union rep with the UAW. He is the former VP of Life Remodeled. Dwan is passionate about creating blueprints to share power. He has a unique ability to define and quantify the value of people that come to the table with nontraditional skills. Dwan views the disparities in the access to capital from many angles, and is focused on creating equitable solutions. Since launching in 2019, he has led BLD in providing financial support to over 150 Black-owned businesses and nonprofits, totaling over $500,000.

https://youtu.be/uX-B76PTf1o

Brandi Haggins is a lifetime Detroiter who received her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in 2007. She’s always had a passion for helping others and serving in communities in which she can identify with. She spent 10 years in dental management working in Detroit neighborhood offices helping to provide quality dental care to those who would possibly otherwise be underserved. She then went on to serve 5 years as a manager for a nonprofit organization that serviced homeless veterans providing transitional housing and recovery services. In early 2018 she was introduced to the Durfee Innovation Society & immediately knew that she had to be a part of a mission that served with such great purpose. Now serving as the Director of the Durfee Innovation Society, Brandi holds the ultimate responsibility of running the DIS and assuring smooth day to day operations of the 176,000 SF former school building. Brandi has played a significant role in creating the amazing opportunity hub that now has nearly 40 fantastic organizations with a mission to serve Detroit Children and Families. 

https://youtu.be/gDHMqUm_IcE

Kuhu Saha has been a part of the Merit Team since its inception, involved in all aspects of the company's development and growth. The part of the job that is most personally meaningful is her role furthering the organization’s community impact through Merit's nonprofit arm, Give Merit. As Founder/Executive Director, Kuhu, and co-founder, David Merritt, have developed the FATE Program, an educational enrichment program for Detroit-area high school students. Working closely with community partners, donors, and families, Kuhu leads the effort in creating and implementing high quality, innovative, and interactive youth development programming for young people ages 14-24. Before coming to Merit full-time, Kuhu spent four years at the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation and worked with high-school youth on civic engagement and philanthropy projects as part of Americorps VISTA. She holds a BA from the University of Michigan in American Culture and Sociology, with a focus on social inequality. 

https://youtu.be/gDHMqUm_IcE

Kirk Mayes is the CEO of Forgotten Harvest, one of Michigan’s top nonprofit organizations and one of the nation’s premiere food rescue organizations. Each year Forgotten Harvest collaborates with more than 800 food donors to rescue more than 50 million pounds of nutritious food and distribute it through its partner agencies in metro Detroit. Through Kirk’s leadership, Forgotten Harvest was able to develop a new strategic plan and bring focus to Forgotten Harvest around the idea of providing the right food to the right place in the right quantity at the right time. Vital to achieving these goals, the organization is currently preparing to open a new Forgotten Harvest Campus that will be the cornerstone of its bold transformation.

https://youtu.be/CBpNjFb1cCs

Caryn Reed-Hendon, Ph.D. is the Founding Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Lawrence Technological University. She has twenty years of higher education experience specifically in the area of Student Affairs with a focus on mentorship, pipeline programs and JEDI professional development. She has served in leadership for a number of professional and educational committees and has worked collaboratively to present materials at regional, national, and international 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, Queens Collective, International Leaderships Association, King Chavez Parks Future Faculty Fellows, and NASPA: Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education.

https://youtu.be/CBpNjFb1cCs