Blogs

Attorney Deborah Groban Olson will discuss efforts to combine local talent with intellectual property resources to create green businesses. Deborah is the executive director of Detroit's Center for Community-Based Enterprise, whose goal is to turn the city into a national model for locally-owned sustainable businesses. She also enjoys making maple syrup.

The recent arrest of an individual for pelting the ice with an octopus during the Red Wings playoffs clashes with Detroit's joie de vivre but doesn't mean time-out. It's Stanley Cup week, and entrepreneur-attorney-philanthropist Denise Ilitch delivers the sports talk.

Dennis King is our guest blogger this week. Dennis is President of American Institute of Architects, Michigan and Chairman and CEO of Harley Ellis Devereaux, an award-winning, full-service archittecture firm. Check back here each weekday to read Dennis' thoughts on National Architecture Week and how design and architecture have a profound impact on quality of life. 

National hoopla centers on Detroit this weekend, as it hosts the NCAA Final Four championship. Derek Mehraban, CEO of Ingenex Digital Marketing (and MSU basketball buff!) will be playing up the region's home court advantage, starting with how companies can adopt MSU's winning game plan.

With nearly half a million residents of Arab descent, Metro Detroit has the second largest share of Arab American residents in the country. And fittingly, Dearborn is home to the nation's first museum devoted to this population's rich history and culture. This week Devon Akmon, deputy director of the Arab American National Museum, blogs about building community through multicultural programming.

And the winner is... Diane Durance, executive director of Great Lakes Entrepreneur's Quest, is here this week to discuss the GLEQ business plan competition for aspiring entrepreneurs. In June, one start-up will win the $100K SmartZone award. In a time when there's talk of taking the nickel out of nickels, a few Gs can mean the difference between boom or bust.

A filmmaker by training, web project manager/producer (and blogger)Diane Geiger TenHoopen worked for Detroit-based companies such as The Collective, and BrainGain Marketing. Diane wants you to consider your relationship with the metro Detroit area, and invites you to kindle/rekindle a more romantic approach.

Metromode's guest blogger this week is Doug Rothwell, president of Detroit Renaissance. Here's what he has to say about transforming the region's economy.

It's not just Occupy Wall Street protesters that are concerned about the top 1%. Eleanore Eveleth, community development project manager for D3 (Data Driven Detroit) writes on how equity before wealth makes for more perfect, sustainable economic community outcomes.

Eric Bruneau is the executive vice president and creative director of Armstrong White. An Academy Award nominated computer animator, Eric is also an entrepreneur and award winning digital creative director. He'll be writing about why Metro Detroit is full of opportunities for people in his field.

Eric Cedo is our guest blogger this week. Eric is the founder of BrainGain Marketing and the former executive director of CreateDetroit. He blogs frequently on BrainGain's Michigan-focused milifemitimes.com, a site dedicated to the local creative community.Check back here each week day to read Eric's thoughts on attracting and keeping young talent and building up Southeast Michigan's creative community.

Erik Tungate is our guest blogger this week. Erik is the Director of Community & Economic Development for the city of Hamtramck and Executive Director of the Hamtramck Downtown Development Authority (HDDA). He'll be writing on two issues near and dear to his heart: fixed mass transit and re-focused economic development in the central city area.

Check back here every weekday for Erik's thoughts.

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Erika-Marie Geiss is the editor-in-chief and publisher of theWAHMmagazine , a digital magazine for work-at-home parents. A 'mompreneur,' she is a freelance writer, professional blogger, editor and published non-fiction author. Erika will be writing about the personal, professional and economic issues of being a work-at-home professional.

Detroit Public Schools' high school graduation rate was an abysmal 38 percent in 2005, ranking it 48th out of the nation's 50 largest school systems, says a recent America's Promise Alliance study. Others have pegged it as low as 25 percent. Frank Nardelli, principal of Detroit's Dove Academy, a K-7 charter public school, is waging a turnaround one campus at a time. His lesson plan? Parental involvement, a club that goes beyond the usual extracurriculars, and visions of the Big Ten dancing in children's heads.

Whether you think the weather outside is frightful or a winter wonderland, 'tis the season to spend time with family, drink egg nog and watch reruns of It's A Wonderful Life (or Die Hard, depending on your taste). Either way, we here at metromode intend to spend the next two weeks hitting the after-holiday sales and getting into snowball fights. But we'll back JAN 10 to kick off the year with more news about SE Michigan's growth and transformation. Happy New Year!