Everyone has a story

Everyone has a story
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By Deirdre Groves

Everyone has a story.

My story starts in a rural community outside of Detroit where I grew up on my family’s horse farm. I mucked stalls, baled hay, and rode the beautiful winding and wooded trails.

Despite my rural roots, Detroit is a place that, from a young age, I craved to know more about. My parents gave me a unique experience in the city, not of the typical trip in to see baseball games or plays at the theaters, but of an immersion in the built environment. We toured historic homes and explored the neighborhoods, and my interest in both Detroit and its architecture grew. It was no surprise that I decided to pursue a career in architecture and construction, but I didn't anticipate that Detroit would not only inspire, but also fuel my passion and my career.

When I graduated from college, after summers interning in Chicago and Detroit, I joined a construction firm that built some of the Detroit area’s most sophisticated residential and commercial buildings. I was ready to put my degree into practice, or so I thought.

The firm was founded by Doyle Mosher, a lifelong entrepreneur. Doyle and I quickly hit it off. Like so many of my friends, his daughter, who is about my age, was planning a move across the country. Doyle and I shared sob stories about the younger generation leaving Michigan for a better job, and a better lifestyle.

Doyle’s vision was to energize a corps of top talent to stay in and move to Detroit by providing them amazing living and employment experiences, and the ability to collaborate and socialize. My vision was to give those talented individuals an opportunity to make an impact.

These two ideas would come together to form Challenge Detroit: a program that challenged leaders to learn by doing through a year of meaningful employment at top companies as well as intellectual work with area nonprofits designed to positively impact Detroit. In 2007, we set out with our vision to make this program a reality.

But the reality is never that easy. Or that quick. 2007 came and went, and so did several more years. During those years, Detroit (and our country) went through a tumultuous time – especially for those of us working in the built environment. Doyle’s construction firm suffered and our little side project, Challenge Detroit, became our only hope.

In the fall of 2011, Doyle and I sat in a conference room at his office. The idea of Challenge Detroit had given us something to believe in. Despite the mountains of objections and perhaps the worst job market in Detroit since the Depression, we believed that Challenge Detroit was a game-changing idea.

So, on good faith, a little wishful thinking, and the support of the community, we launched Challenge Detroit in January 2012. By the close of the application in March, hundreds of people had applied. That fall, we brought together our inaugural class of fellows who would spend one year with us living, working, playing, giving and leading in Detroit.

Today, Challenge Detroit is in its fifth year. Thousands of people have applied from Detroit and across the country, hundreds of companies and nonprofits have participated, and millions of dollars have gone back into the city.

Each year, we bring approximately 30 new fellows together to work for top companies and give back through social impact challenge projects where they use their brainpower to help the city move forward. Through our program, our fellows are making Detroit their home while learning and making an impact here.

Along the way, I realized a couple of things:

  1. I couldn’t do this in any other city, and I wouldn’t want to.
  2. Although my career path has evolved – I don’t design buildings or wear a hardhat every day – my passion hasn’t veered all that much.

Those historic buildings in the city drew me here and the city’s bigger story is keeping me here.

Pioneers for Change is a seed-bed for innovative thought. An activator of personal potential. A catalyst for collective energy. A community to drive social change. Pioneers for Change is an initiative of Adessy Associates.

Adessy Associates believes social and business objectives are mutually reinforcing. We equip organisations with sustainability / social responsibility strategy, management and communications. We focus on benefit for people, planet and profit, with bespoke services that harness sustainability, innovation, consciousness and purpose. We are proudly B Corp certified.

Do you have a story of positive change or social impact to share? Email us at info@pioneers-for-change.com to discuss being featured on the blog.

About Deirdre Groves

Deirdre Groves brings a diverse background in urban planning, community development, and nonprofit management to her role as founding executive director of Challenge Detroit. Deirdre’s work has garnered the recognition and support of government, business and community leaders. She has received many awards and honors, and has served multiple organizations as a board member and trustee. She holds a Bachelor of Construction Management from Michigan State University and a Masters of Urban Planning & Real Estate Development from the University of Michigan. When Deirdre isn’t focused on Challenge Detroit, she enjoys spending time with her daughter, Otelia, and husband, Matt.

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