Former Auto Show Director Sam Klemet Lands New VP Role With Kelley Cawthorne’s Catalyst Venture
Just weeks after stepping away from leadership of the Detroit Auto Show and the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, Sam Klemet has landed in a new role that keeps him closely connected to the world of advocacy, communications and association leadership that has defined much of his career. Kelley Cawthorne announced Wednesday, May 20, that Klemet is joining the Lansing-based lobbying firm’s newly launched association management company Catalyst as vice president of operations. In addition to helping lead Catalyst, Klemet will also support Kelley Cawthorne’s continued growth efforts in
Once a Detroit teacher, world renowned environmental activist sounds alarm for communities of color
The students lucky enough to attend Renaissance High School in the years just before and after the new millennium were witnessing a genius in the making without knowing it. To be sure, it is Renaissance after all, and that sentiment could apply to just about any student at any time in history at Detroit’s leading magnet high school. In this instance, the would-be history maker was one of the school’s history teachers. Back in 1999, Renaissance teacher Catherine Coleman Flowers – Miss or Mrs. Flowers to those of a
OHM Advisors names Kelly Jackson VP of Human Resources
Architecture, engineering and planning firm OHM Advisors has promoted longtime Human Resources Director Kelly Jackson as the company’s first vice president of human resources. “People are the foundation of any successful business, and over the last three decades, Kelly has been crucial in building and expanding that foundation,” said OHM President Jon Kramer. “Since the firm’s inception, we have grown from fewer than 100 people working in one building to nearly 1,000 employees across eight states. Over the past 30+ years, Kelly has been instrumental in shaping and supporting the continuity of our
Retiring ESPN Exec. David Roberts Reflects on 50-Year Career, Detroit Roots, and the Importance of Opening Doors
After having spent the past 22 years of his career at ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports, the Southwestern High School and Wayne State University alum is retiring at the end of August 2026. The rhythm of Detroit has always sounded a little like a game clock. It never quite stops and it always demands something from whomever is bold enough to step onto its floor. For David Roberts, a kid growing up on the city’s southwest side, that rhythm stretched across five decades – a 50-year career that
First Independence Bank taps Caroline Chambers to lead new community investment foundation
A bank with a long history of serving communities too often locked out of mainstream financial opportunity is preparing to widen that work through a new foundation, and it is placing that effort in the hands of a leader whose career has centered philanthropy, inclusion, and community partnership. First Independence Bank announced the appointment of Caroline Chambers as Director of Community Investments, a new leadership role that puts her at the center of building the bank’s charitable foundation. That foundation, expected to officially launch later this year, is
Detroit Artist Jamea Richmond-Edwards Brings Her Largest Exhibition to Wellin Museum of Art
Detroit artist Jamea Richmond-Edwards is the subject of the largest exhibition of her career at the Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College, where Another World and Yet the Same remains on view through June 14, 2026. The exhibition features a new body of large-scale work alongside collage-based paintings from the last seven years. Together, the pieces explore race, class, identity, family, style, memory, and the political and emotional weight of imagining a different world while standing inside this one. For Richmond-Edwards, that vision began taking shape after a return home. “I
After 25 Years of Telling Detroit’s Story to the World, Rochelle Riley is Heading to South Carolina
For a quarter-century, Rochelle Riley has built an address book of contacts across Michigan that, if compiled in print, would probably rival that of the old Yellow Pages that used to drop on our doorsteps annually. Through these connections, Riley has been able to find the right person for the right job at every level, be it for correcting a bank error at her preferred financial institution or assembling a mass tribute to victims of the COVID-19 epidemic on Belle Isle. In the days leading up to
Clarinda Barnett-Harrison Becomes First Woman CEO of Detroit Wayne Joint Building Authority
Detroit Wayne Joint Building Authority has a new leader — and a first. Board commissioners have appointed Clarinda Barnett-Harrison as chief executive officer, making her the first woman to hold the top job at the Detroit Wayne Joint Building Authority, the public body responsible for stewardship of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center. In the role, Barnett-Harrison will work with the Authority’s Board of Commissioners and oversee facilities management and capital improvement programs tied to the municipal center. The building houses major public functions for Detroiters and Wayne County
From Jail to Judge, From Screen to Stage: Judge Greg Mathis Brings His Life Story Home to Detroit
When famed and critically acclaimed judge Greg Mathis steps onto the stage at Detroit’s historic Music Hall on January 16 and 17, it will represent the culmination of a life journey that many once believed would end behind prison walls. For more than 26 years, Mathis has been a familiar face to millions through his groundbreaking television courtroom show, becoming the longest-running African American host in television history. Yet the man Detroit knows as “Judge Mathis” says the upcoming stage production, Don’t Judge Me, reveals layers of his story that audiences have never fully
Christa Stephens Expands Global ‘Amazon of Business Solutions’ for Entrepreneurs, Small Businesses and Nonprofits
TymFlo, a fast-growing, minority and woman-owned global business solutions company, is soon marking six years of helping entrepreneurs simplify operations, scale smarter, and save time with an all-in-one ecosystem of tech-powered services. Founded in 2020 at the height of the pandemic by Christa Stephens, TymFlo has rapidly become a go-to resource for entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and small businesses seeking streamlined, affordable, and innovative support. Designed as an “Amazon of Business Solutions,” TymFlo (“Tym” = Your time back. “Flo” = Systems that move without friction.) provides a comprehensive suite of services, ncluding