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.