Born & raised in Detroit, Lauren Hood brings an authentic perspective to community engagement & development.
As Founding Director of Live6 Alliance, she helped launch a new nonprofit planning & development organization to enhance quality of life and economic opportunity in Northwest Detroit.
As Manager of Economic Development for the City of Highland Park, she directed the allocation of CDBG funds, housing rehab projects, demolition efforts and business attraction activities.
As Director of Community Engagement for Loveland Technologies, she built relationships nationally with social investors, real estate professionals and municipal governments to increase transparency, accountability and access to information for property ownership.
Passionate about the city's cultural heritage, Hood has spoken & written extensively on Preserving Black Space. She currently serves on the City of Detroit Planning Commission and as an advisor to Detroit Sound Conservancy and Urban Consulate. She has previously served as a mayoral appointee of the Detroit Historic District Commission and board member for Preservation Detroit.
Through her consultancy Deep Dive Detroit, Hood conducts workshops & designs curricula on community engagement, equitable development & racial justice for civic, philanthropic & institutional clients. She also hosts popular Dinner & Dialogues for national conferences, including Meeting of the Minds and the Congress for the New Urbanism.
Hood holds a Masters Degree in Community Development from the University of Detroit Mercy. A voracious traveler, she has studied cities around the world—from Cairo, Egypt to Reykjavik, Iceland.
Civic Fellowships
- Leadership Detroit
- Detroit Regional Chamber, XXXIX Class (2017-8)
- Harvard Business School
- Young American Leaders Program (June 2017)
- PlaceLab Chicago
- Ethical Redevelopment Salon Series (2016-7)
- Detroit Equity Action Lab
- Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights (2014-5)
Civic Boards & Councils
- City of Detroit Planning Commission (2017-present)
- Detroit Historic District Commission (2014-6)
- Preservation Detroit (2013-16)
- Detroit Sound Conservancy (2014-present)
- Urban Consulate (2015-present)
- BECDD (2017)
- NEIdeas Jury (2014)
Travel Study & Exchange
- Scandinavia Study Tour
- 880 Cities & Knight Foundation (2015)
- Aspen Institute
- Urban Innovation Lab (Nov 2016)
- Reimagining the Civic Commons
- Site visits to Chicago & Dallas (2016-7)
- Urban Consulate
- Detroit/New Orleans (May 2016)
Deep Dive Detroit Events
- Congress for the New Urbanism (June 2016)
- Legacy Cities: Dialogue in Detroit (Sept 2016)
- Meeting of the Minds (Oct 2014)
- Alter Gather (Feb 2014)
For more programs, click here.