Meet one of our conference panelists!

Melia Howard is the District 5 Manager and community liaison.  She’s meeting with and talking to all the businesses and residents in the district to promote unity and harmony.   She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Geography from Wayne State University. She is also affiliated with the following civic organizations, non-profits, and unions: Member for 30+ years of Trumbull Ave. Presbyterian Church; Board Treasurer and Development Director for Physically Fit 4 Hoops; Precinct Delegate-192; Member of the Michigan Democratic Party;Founder and Chairwoman of the Northeast Detroit Democratic Club; Member of the Detroit Branch – NAACP; Member of the League of Women Voters; Member of the Center for Progressive Leadership; Former Teamster member with UPS (United Parcel Service); Former CWA (Communication Workers of America) member Local 4004 with AT&T.

District 5 stretches across both the historic west and east sides of Detroit. The district is home to the Renaissance Center, Eastern Market, the Fisher Building, Ford Field, the Packard Plant, Greektown, the Herman Kiefer Complex, Henry Ford Hospital, Blessed Sacrament Cathedral, General Motors, the DMC, The DIA, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the East Riverwalk, Pewabic Pottery, and The Dequindre Cut.  While all of District 5’s neighborhoods are dynamic in their own right, several of the most well-known include Midtown, downtown, Brush Park, Indian Village, Boston Edison, West Village, New Center, the North End and Arden Park.

Meet one of our conference panelists!

Dr. Andreas Görgen has served as director general for culture and communication with the Federal Foreign Office, Germany in Berlin since April 1, 2014. From 2009, he held senior positions with Siemens Energy Sector in Paris, including regional head for southwest Europe, country sector head for France, and division head for fossil power.

Prior to this, Dr. Görgen fulfilled a number of government positions, including assistant to Frank-Walter Steinmeier in his role as federal foreign minister between 2005 and 2009, and desk officer in the directorate general for European affairs at the Federal Chancellery from 2002 to 2005. He was also commissioner for culture and the media and desk officer for the minister of state between 2001 and 2002.

Prior to embarking on his career in the public sector, Dr. Görgen worked as a freelance mediation trainer and film financing specialist at Essec Business School in Paris, as well as at European law firm Beiten Burkhard in Berlin. Previously, he received a scholarship to attend the École nationale d’administration in Paris and Strasbourg, and worked at the renowned Berliner Ensemble theater. While preparing for state law examinations, he also worked at the Higher Regional Court in Berlin as an assistant to the administrative director.

Dr. Görgen received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Bonn, and was awarded his Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Tübingen. He also speaks fluent English and French.

Meet Detroit’s Night Economy Ambassador and one of our panelists!
Adrian Tonon, a dynamic entrepreneur and humanitarian, has developed exceptional skills in the key areas of leadership, management, organization, finances, public policy, social service and detailed customer service.
Adrian has trained and mentored numerous individuals and corporations in the art of customer relations and attaining company and/or personal goals.
After serving on the then Detroit Mayoral Candidate, Michael E. Duggan’s Executive Campaign Team to help promote world-class customer service in the public sector and raise awareness of Mike’s ability to lead the City of Detroit, Adrian is now the City of Detroit’s first Director of Customer Service and an appointee of Mayor Michael E. Duggan’s Administration.

Meet one of our conference panelists!

Ingrid LaFleur is a curator, pleasure activist and Afrofuturist. Her mission is to ensure equal distribution of the future, exploring the frontiers of social justice through new technologies, economies and modes of government.

As a recent Detroit Mayoral candidate and founder and director of AFROTOPIA, LaFleur implements Afrofuturist strategies to empower Black bodies and oppressed communities through frameworks such as blockchain and universal basic income. Ingrid LaFleur is currently the co-founder and Chief Community Officer of EOS Detroit, Director of Detroit Bank Job, and Curator of the upcoming Afrofuturist exhibition, Manifest Destiny at the Library Street Collective.

As a thought leader, social justice technologist, public speaker, teacher and cultural advisor she has led conversations and workshops at Centre Pompidou (Paris), TEDxBrooklyn, TEDxDetroit, Ideas City, New Museum (New York), AfroTech Conference, Harvard University and Oxford University, among others. LaFleur serves on the board of JustSpace Alliance, Powerhouse Productions, and the Cooley ReUse Project.

LaFleur is based in Detroit, Michigan.