13 inspirational women that are shaking up Detroit

Melissa Butler, entrepreneur and owner of The Lip Bar

“Identify your passion and reflect on your strengths." Melissa Butler tells Metro Times. "Don’t become an entrepreneur just to escape the 9-5 or because you want to be your own boss. It’s a misconception. I’m a boss and I still answer to all of my customers, my investors, my team, etc. I work much harder than I did while on Wall Street. But the difference is, I believe in it.

"So, you gotta approach entrepreneurship with passion," she says. "You need to know the purpose and the unique value proposition of whatever it is that you’re offering. What problem are you solving for people and what are the strengths you can bring to the table. And have people who can offset your weaknesses."

"So forget the title, and focus on the customer and make the leap from corporate to full-time entrepreneur when you know you can afford the risk, when you know you have the passion, when you have the vision, and when you have proven that there is a market for what you are offering," Butler shares. "The glitz and the glamour is one percent of the daily routine. That’s why passion is so important. You’ll burn out if you’re not truly excited about what you’re doing.”

Photo courtesy of the Lip Bar

Terra Castro, founder of BeBoldCrew and Detroit Body Garage

“Being a bold woman and going after my passions hasn’t been as glamorous as you may think,” Terra says, “But I am thankful every day that I fought like hell and went after my dreams.”

“I have been told ‘I am intimidating,’ that I am ‘too much woman,’ that I should ‘look a certain way’ or “‘if you just had less muscle and dressed a bit more feminine’ – the best one was ‘Girls shouldn’t own gyms.’”

“God made me with a fierce fire, with a healthy strong body that has allowed me to be a professional athlete and now an ultra runner and adventure seeker,” Terra shared with Metro Times. “I am exactly who I am supposed to be. It’s enough and will be enough for the one man who sees me and gets my heart: A BOLD WOMAN.”

“So you just keep going after those bold dreams with a fire in your belly that you must let no one put out.”

Photo courtesy of Detroit Body Garage

Bevlove, singer-songwriter

"You have to surround yourself with people who think higher. Believe in you, believe in themselves, believe in something greater," she says. "It's about elevating your mind to the place where you want to be, and that's when all of your actions follow suit."

Photo by Mar Mnz

Joumana Kayrouz, personal injury lawyer

“I was a misfit because of my thinking as a girl. I didn’t fit into what society expected of a Lebanese Christian young girl,” Kayrouz told Metro Times. “I had grand ideas — grand plans! I wanted to exercise my unlimited potential.”

Kayrouz arrived in the United States from Lebanon with $1,000 in her pocket, half a college education and limited English language skills. Since then, she has built the second-largest personal injury law firm in Michigan, employing about 70 people, including a large team of lawyers.

Photo by Brian Rozman

Julia Putnam, principal of Boggs School

"...[I]t's clear that it's not just the projects — it's how you inspire people to do things,” Putnam says, referring to local businesses and projects coming to the Detroit community. “Even if we were to stop now, something really amazing is going to come out of these last five years. And if we keep going, who knows how that multiplies and ripples out? I mean, I can look around, I can see the next president. I can see the next mayor. I can see the next Oscar-winner and Pulitzer Prize-winner. They're all here. They're right in this building."

Photo by Noah Elliott Morrison

Taylor Bolleber, founder of Bird Bee and Urban Angelo

“I’ve gotten to this point because I was never scared to do what no one was doing yet. I’ve taken and will continue to take big risks, and I encourage other women to do the same.”

Photo courtesy of Taylor Bolleber

Erika Boyd, co-owner & chef of Detroit Vegan Soul

"That's what it's about — healing people through food, but also about healing a community,” Boyd said during her interview for the 2015 Metro Times’ People Issue. “So many places you go into in the city, you see either all black people or you see all white people. There are very few places that you come in in the city and you see all people."

Photo by Jacob Lewkow

Kacee Must, owner and co-founder of Citizen Yoga

"Success is not dependent on thinking about yourself. Success is aligning actions with something beyond yourself and working diligently in that direction. For us as women to succeed and feel empowered, it is most important to feel supported by other women. When you stand in support of other women's success, you are lifted by their dreams, inspirations and a higher value of service and sacrifice."

Photo courtesy of Citizen Yoga

Jerry Hebron, executive director of Oakland Avenue Farm

"Our work is embedded in what the community wants. We cannot do our work without making sure that we are meeting the community's needs, that the community owns this work, and is connected to this work," Hebron says. "The people who we hire, work here — they live in the community, they are our ambassadors ... and all of this is designed to bring people together and to provide a place where people feel welcomed and like they belong."

Photo by Noah Elliott Morrison

Karen Majewski, mayor of Hamtramck

"We’ve come a long way together — struggled and hoped together in bad times and good — and that shared path bonds us to each other, no matter who we are, where our families come from, what language we speak, who we love, or how or even whether we worship. We are family. We are neighbors. We are Hamtramckans."

Photo via Facebook/Karen Majewski

Kalimah Johnson, founder and executive director of SASHA Center

"Healing is a commitment we have to make to ourselves,” Johnson said during her interview for the 2018 Metro Times’ People Issue. “People recognize that they are not in it alone. Even if you can't talk to a creator, or talk to a god, maybe you can talk to an ancestor. They're still with you. How can you tap into that strength?"

Photo by Noah Elliott Morrison

Rashida Tlaib, first Muslim woman elected to U.S. Congress

"I will always embrace my roots and allow it to help me to serve with love and [an] unwavering fight for justice.”

Photo by Erik Paul Howard

Gretchen Whitmer, governor of Michigan

“The past few years have been groundbreaking for women in leadership. Here in Michigan, all of our statewide executive offices are held by women. Not to mention our Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, United States Senator, and a record number of women in Congress. All over the world, women are stepping up to and create change in our communities.

I just was to say: keep it up! Stay engaged, because our voices are important. Let’s get to work!”

Photo by Noah Elliott Morrison