The Crew

Karisha Vanzant is the current Program Associate at Force Detroit, a project of Faith in Action Network. She provides administrative support to the Director, Alia Harvey-Quinn, the Communications/Media Arts, and the Live Free Coalition Department.

Karisha is a Michigan native and has worked in the non-profit community in the Metro Detroit area for the last four years. She received her Bachelor’s in Communications Media Arts from Wayne State University and Certificate in Digital Media Arts from Specs Howards School of Media Arts and Studies. With a focus on Film Making.

She developed her intense devotion to non-profit work from volunteering at her local community center. There she sat as an Administrative and Communications Assistant for three years. She found a love for community organizing, advertising, promotions, and event planning. This experience gave her a deep appreciation for how non-profits seek to improve the quality of life for so many individuals and families, one program at a time.

Also, she loves working with youth, spoken word poetry, traveling, and painting. She is happiest spending time with her husband and four children.

 

My name is Dujuan Zoe Kennedy, born and raised on the westside of Detroit, Michigan, by a working-class family with strong ties in the community. By the age of 11, I strayed from my upbringing and began to engage in a lifestyle of crime. Which lead to 14 years of incarceration. During those years, I experienced a gradual change for the better due to the conditions and men around me. They encouraged and reinforced my growth by acknowledging and supporting the path I’m traveling today. Which is the path of activism and unity. I was released on 5/19/2019; by the end of 6/2019, I was once again surrounded by a community of people active in the betterment of our people and humanity as a whole. This is who I am! One of the people! With the people! For the people! Of the people!

Kelly Brown is a proud native of Detroit and more specifically, a proud native of Detroit’s Joy Road community. Following 9 years of service as a Youth Coach with Vista Maria, and 8 years working in various capacities with Detroit Public Schools, Brown joins Force Detroit with over 14 years of experience working with undervalued and at risk youth and their families. She leads with the mantra: “It’s time to rise above and do for self.”

As an influencer and author, Brown focuses on the importance of mindset renewal, health, wealth, and financial literacy in the black community. Brown’s passion and mission is to uplift others and teach the importance of being a stakeholder in their community. Through her work and brand “I Make My Moves In Silence,” she encourages others to come from under the “white spell”, a term coined by Brown to describe the long-term mental effects of slavery, segregation and racial injustices in the United States, and to detach themselves from oppressive, euro-centric standard and values. Brown also founded and operated “S.O.L.O: Saving Our Lost Ones”, a non-profit geared toward youth programming and community development. She hopes to create a community of people who are centered, self-reliant and able to see their true value.

Brown holds a baccalaureate degree in Social Work from Marygrove College, and recently joined the May 2022 cohort for the Community Impact Incubator launched by Strategic Community Partners and the Marygrove Conservancy. For her community activism and other accomplishments, Brown was featured in the Wall Street Journal (10/2020, “Scarce Credit Holds Back Detroit Housing”), and Voyage Michigan Magazine in April 2022, as a “Hidden Gem” in the city of Detroit. She has also been named the Director of Youth Empowerment and Outreach at St. Stephen A.M.E. Church and has been recognized by the same for her development and educational initiatives.

What gave Brown the power to break free of conditioned thinking patterns and societal norms was a wake-up call from the Holy Spirit, ushering her to unlock her mind and move strategically. Now, with renewed perspective, Brown encourages others to experience that same growth.