Keynotes and workshops

 

Detroit is a complicated city that has a rich and diverse history and it has many lessons to share with the world.

Jeanette knows Detroit and has been telling its story for 18 years throughout the numerous changes and unprecedented international attention. If you need someone to give your group an overview of what’s going on in Detroit today, a deep dive historical context on where Detroit has come from, or an analysis of the lessons learned from the challenges Detroit has faced or anything in between, Jeanette Pierce is the one to do it.

Jeanette also knows and loves cities and has worked with dozens of them around the world. She can help your city or community learn how to tell their stories in order to attract and retain talent, engage and inspire residents, promote small businesses, and build thriving and equitable communities.

Bottom line: Jeanette helps people love where they live. She’s done it for Detroit, Akron, Las Vegas, Chicago and many others and she’d loved to help your city too.

An energetic storyteller who is a big on facts and data, Jeanette’s presentations and workshops are entertaining, informative and engaging.

Jeanette has spoken at more than 200 events across North America including:

  • Atlantic Magazine's CityLab Conference

  • Oregon Main Street Conference

  • Full Frame Initiative Summit - Charlotte

  • Las Vegas Downtown Alliance Annual Meeting

  • Baltimore Metropolitan Council's Chesapeake Connect Event

  • Michigan Governor's Economic Summit

  • Ontario Small Business Conference

 
“Jeanette inspired loads of people at our conference. Our work will absolutely be influenced by her information and infectious enthusiasm.”
— Kuri Gill, Oregon Heritage
 
 

Popular topics include:

  • Detroit in Context: Assets, History and Challenges

  • Why Detroit?

  • What’s Love Got to Do With It? Building Equitable & Thriving Cities

  • Sought-After City Workshop

  • Lessons Learned from Detroit

  • Bridging Divides in Changing Cities

 

About Jeanette Pierce

Founder and CEO of City Institute

 

Jeanette Pierce is a social entrepreneur and lifelong Detroit resident who grew up on the city's Eastside. She is a data nerd who loves cities and is an engaging storyteller with a passion for providing context around complex issues.

She founded the City Institute to help more people feel connected to where they live and work. Jeanette helps cities tell their story, so more residents not only care about where they live, but actually love where they live. When people love where they live they are more invested in supporting small businesses, volunteering at nonprofit organizations, collaborating with neighbors throughout the city, and building an equitable and thriving future.

Since 2005, Jeanette has used experiential learning and non-traditional tours to help more than 150,000 locals and newcomers in Detroit love where they live and work— by teaching them about Detroit’s assets, small businesses, historic neighborhoods, city planning & development policies, and innovative solutions to the challenges the city faces. By providing this deeper understanding,  residents and stakeholders are inspired to be a part of building an equitable and thriving city. 

Jeanette continues her work with companies in Detroit by helping their employees develop and maintain a deeper understanding and connection to Detroit. She combines observations of current conditions, historical facts, and recent statistics with powerful anecdotes and individual stories of Detroiters so they understand the complexity and dynamism of the city of Detroit. 
Jeanette believes that when more people are informed and engaged in shaping a place’s future, there is a much better chance of that city becoming an equitable and thriving place for all.

She has presented at more than 200 events, including Atlantic Magazine’s CityLab Conference, Governor’s Economic Summit, Downtown Las Vegas Annual Meeting, and the Oregon Main Street Conference. She was honored as one of the Top 50 Women Leaders of Michigan in 2022,  as one of the Top Forty under 40 by Crain’s Detroit Business, as a Thirty in their 30’s by DBusiness Magazine, and was awarded the prestigious Shining Light Award from the Detroit Free Press. She’s also received  many other recognitions and awards.

In addition to her work, Jeanette serves on the Boards of the Michigan Municipal League Foundation and Detroit Historical Society.

She has a bachelor’s of arts degree in communication from Aquinas College, and lives with her husband and toddler triplets on Detroit’s Eastside. 

She serves on the Boards of the Michigan Municipal League Foundation and Detroit Historical Society. She has a bachelor’s of arts degree in communication from Aquinas College, and is the mother of triplets.