17 people making major moves in Michigan

By Metro Times editorial staff on Thu, Jul 26, 2018 at 3:35 pm

It’s that time of year again. The Metro Times editorial staff gathered around our conference room table, shut the door, and came up with a fresh list of movers and shakers for our annual People Issue. Our only real requirement: The subjects had to be doing something cool in Michigan.

We searched high and low. Some are lifelong metro Detroiters, while some just moved here. Some you may have already read about in the national media, while others might be enjoying their first bit of ink. The list includes ambitious musicians, humble farmers, firebrand activists, refugees in search of a better life, art aficionados, and more. Some are larger than life, while others are content to toil behind the scenes. All are worthy of your attention.

All photos by Noah Elliott Morrison.

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The Upcycler

Ali Rose VanOverbeke, designer, Genusee Eyeware
"We were delivering semitrucks full of water to people every day; there would just be stacks and stacks of bottled water in front of people's houses," she says. "So now — not only is a water crisis happening, but there's this influx of plastic that's going to create environmental issues for the community."

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The Heart

Mike Flores, president of the Board of Directors, Affirmations
"When something does happen, everyone comes to Affirmations, because we really are a safe space," he says. "This truly is a community center, and it's the heart of the LGBT community in the metro region."

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The Wildcat

Jillian Graham, musician, Tiny Jag
"With a Jaguar, everything is very innate," Graham says. "She's not at all clouded by the things we're clouded by as a species. I can only aspire to be just as raw and have as much grit and grace as a jaguar. In a lot of ways, I am a tiny version of what I could be."

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The Refugees

Nadia Nijimbere and Mamba Hamissi, proprietors, Baobab Fare
"At Freedom House, we want to show other residents, 'Hey, you are home now. You can do this, you're not just immigrants but residents," Hamissi says. "The right place to do that is Detroit because you have the support of everyone here."

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The Homesteader

Greg Willerer, founder, Brother Nature Produce
"Farming in general is hard," Willerer says, "but farming on an acre when you're trying to supply people at Eastern Market, at the Wayne State Market, and a lot of restaurants... We want to get bigger and bigger every year. This is the first year we've kind of shrunk down our numbers as far as how many pounds of salad we're producing. It's been a rough year too, because it's been so frozen."

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The Healer

Kalimah Johnson, founder and executive director, SASHA Center
"We're not going to tell you how to feel about your rape," Johnson says. "You can feel how you want to feel. We're here for you. Some people are more cerebral, more internal. Others are very external. You get to decide how to heal. We just want to create a safe space for all of that. You need a Bible? We got that. You need a chicken foot? We got that, too."

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The Curators

Paulina Petkoski and Samantha Bankle Shefman, Playground Detroit
"The impact is not just dollars, it's also very community-driven by creating those connections between people," Petkoski says. "You just see growth in people, you see them achieve their own success, and that then is in turn to Playground's success, and the city's success. That's all we can ask for."

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The Mediator

Julia Putnam,, principal, the James & Grace Lee Boggs School
"Now you see Avalon Bakery, and Back Alley Bikes, and you see the Boggs School, and it's clear that it's not just the projects — it's how you inspire people to do things. 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."

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The Advocate

Michele Oberholtzer, activist, running for state representative
"That realization just completely shed any convenient notion in my mind that someone else was handling this — like, the safety net is under attack," she says. "I just had this thing in my head at the time that just said 'radicalize'" — she whispers the word — "and it echoed several times and I really feel like a button got pushed, or a lever got pulled ... and it stayed."

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The Showstopper

Harry Richmond, dressmaker, Harry Rich Clothier
"Some days are good, some days are bad," he says. "This morning I woke up like 'No,' but I had to remember I had a prom [send-off] today and this is really a great feeling. Proms and making dresses is so stressful, but seeing how happy they are at the end has to be one of the greatest feelings ever."

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The Organizer

Jerry Hebron, executive director, Oakland Avenue Farm "What I realized is people felt invisible, like they didn't have a voice," she says. "They felt like they were existing here, but felt like maybe they didn't belong. I thought I could be that vehicle to say, 'Hey, wait a minute. You're important. Let's do this together. Your input has meaning. ... Let's see how we can make this happen."

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The Catalyst

Anna Baghina, proprietor, the Forge
"It doesn't matter what skill level you are, where you're coming from or how you grew up, whatever," says Baghina. "You belong, and you're a part of the community once you step into the house." And the Forge is very much a home, located in Detroit's Grandmont Rosedale neighborhood, about 12 miles northwest of downtown. Baghina says this location was one of the most important things to her when the Forge was in its planning stages.

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The Facilitator

James Xacier Slade, proprietor, Xavier’s 20th Century
"I think of myself as a facilitator," he says. "I'm a purveryor of modern, and I'm after those things because there's a specific group of people who want modern. That's why I'm in here, so I can get my pieces to you."

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The Matriarch

Shahida Mausi, president and CEO, the Right Productions
"On a summer night to sit near the river and feel that breeze off the river is just a great feeling. On a hot summer night, it's a great place to be," Mausi says. But she thinks there's something else her venue has: a magic quality. "Rivers also have a spirit of the water, and it's calming. The artists love it, it takes them places," she says. "They do phenomenal shows at Chene Park and I think in part it's because of the venue itself."

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The Transplant

Stephen Trimboli, artist, Crash Lights
"When I came here," he says, "I saw the writing on the walls already. But what I like about Detroit is it was a city built for about 3 million people, and there's about half a million people here. And that means that there's a lot of available parking. And when you get forced out of where you're living, there's another 100-odd square miles of this city where I might still be able to find a rent that I can pay."

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