2025 Detroit Policy Conference Speakers

Dennis W. Archer Jr.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Sixteen42 Ventures

sandy baruah

Sandy K. Baruah

President and Chief Executive Officer, Detroit Regional Chamber

Scott Benson

Member, Detroit City Council, District 3

Kofi Bonner

Kofi Bonner

Chief Executive Officer, Bedrock LLC

Nia Batts

Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, Union Heritage

Carol Cain

Senior Producer and Host, Michigan Matters, CBS Detroit; Columnist, Detroit Free Press

David Coulter

David Coulter

Executive, Oakland County

Mary Culler

President, Ford Philanthropy; Chair, Michigan Central

Ebony JJ Curry

Senior Reporter, Michigan Chronicle

Mike Duggan

Mayor, City of Detroit

Fred Durhal III

Councilmember, Detroit City Council, District 7

Abass El-Hage

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Red E Charge

Dr. Kimberly Andrews Espy

President, Wayne State University

Warren Evans

Executive, Wayne County

Jared Fleisher

Vice President, Government Affairs and Economic Development, Rock Family of Companies

Richard Florida

Founder, Creative Class Group

Guy Gordon

Guy Gordon

Host, JR Morning, WJR NewsTalk 760 AM

Lorne Groe

Chief Executive Officer, BlueConduit

Dr. Kevin M. Guskiewicz

President, Michigan State University

Mark Hackel

Mark Hackel

Executive, Macomb County

Michael Healander

Chief Executive Officer, President, and Co-founder, Airspace Link

Daniel Howes

Senior Editor/Business & Columnist, The Detroit News

Lloyd Jackson

Senior News Analyst, WJR NewsTalk 760 AM

Kevin Johnson

President and Chief Executive Officer, Detroit Economic Growth Corporation

Tricia A. Keith

President and Chief Executive Officer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan

Lisa Lunsford

Lisa Lunsford

Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Global Strategic Supply Solutions (GS3)

Ben Marchionna

Chief Innovation Officer, Michigan Economic Development Corporation

David Massaron

Vice President, Infrastructure and Corporate Citizenship, General Motors

Christy McDonald

Chief Executive Officer, Sammac Communications Inc.

Alicia McKay

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, No Fear Café

John McLaughlin

Global ESG Leader and Ann Arbor Site Lead, KLA

Lisa McLaughlin

Co-founder, Workit Health

Rishi Moudgil

Executive Director, Michigan Founders Fund

Santa Ono

Dr. Santa J. Ono

President, University of Michigan

Devon O'Reilly Leadership Detroit

Devon O’Reilly

Senior Director, Community Engagement and Leadership Development, Detroit Regional Chamber

Carolina Pluszczynski

Chief Operating Officer, Michigan Central

Tony Pistagnesi

Executive Director, Innovation and Strategic Business Development, AAM

John Paul Rea

Deputy County Executive, Macomb County

Darren Riley

Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, JustAir

Bob Riney

Robert G. Riney

President and Chief Executive Officer, Henry Ford Health

Chris Rizik

Managing Partner, Renaissance Venture Capital

Jessica Robinson

Co-founder and Partner, Assembly Ventures

Travis Sheetz

President and Chief Executive Officer, Sheetz

Mary Sheffield

President, Detroit City Council, District 5

Ivan Shefrin

Executive Director, Cybersecurity Services, Comcast Business

Josh Sirefman

Chief Executive Officer, Michigan Central       

Paul Smith

Paul W. Smith

Host, WJR NewsTalk 760 AM

Rick Snyder

Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder, SensCy; Former Governor, State of Michigan

Dug Song

Dug Song

Co-founder and President, Song Foundation

Ned Staebler

Vice President, Economic Development, Wayne State University; President and Chief Executive Officer, TechTown

Glenn Stevens Jr.

Glenn Stevens Jr.

Executive Director, MichAuto; Vice President, Automotive and Mobility Initiatives, Detroit Regional Chamber

James Tate

President Pro Tem, Detroit City Council, District 1

Alexa Turnage

Founder, Black Tech Saturdays

Johnnie Turnage

Founders, Black Tech Saturdays

Bartel Welch

Founder and Executive Director, CODE313; Chief Executive Officer, Red Diamond Digital

Brad Williams

Vice President, Political Affairs, Detroit Regional Chamber

Coleman A. Young II

Member-at-Large, Detroit City Council

Investing in Innovation Panelists DPC25

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