When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Tiara Blassingame, a 20-year educator, knew that all students were going to experience setbacks, but that Flint students were going to be hit even harder. So, in 2020 she launched Hand of Hope – FLM, a nonprofit whose mission is to help disadvantaged families and youth reach their full potential. Over the past few years, Blassingame and her team have been able to run […]

When Rootless Coffee Co. opened in September 2020, they set out to change how coffee was viewed by the masses.  “I had worked in coffee and there was a lot I didn’t like about it,” says Sean Murray, CEO of Rootless Coffee Co. “People were using plain paper bags with plain labels, the names felt […]

Ellen Patnaude has been self-employed for the past 18 years. After eight years working as a community organizer and later as the executive director of a metro organization in Greater Cleveland, Patnaude moved back to Michigan. She didn’t intend to launch a business but was inundated with requests.   “I have always had a reputation of […]

To Dr. Jawad Shah, Insight means a lot of things. Through work at his medical group of the same name, Dr. Shah uses insight to see what may be under the surface to help treat patients properly. However, according to Dr. Shah, just looking at a patient doesn’t provide enough information to find the root […]

Chicago native Angela Lots moved to Flint for her husband’s sake. After 15 years of being in Chicago, he wanted to move back to his hometown to be closer to family, and Lots conceded.   “A couple of weeks into living here, I asked if he could take me to a Jamaican restaurant and he said, […]

In 1996, Corinthian Carouthers was inspired to go to cosmetology school to save money. With a love for fashion and beauty, Carouthers realized she was spending too much on beauty services for her and her daughter, Corinthian II. “I had an ‘aha’ moment that I could go to beauty school and save money performing services […]