On the Ground Dearborn is wrapping up its four-month-long program with a finale event on a continued topic of conversation revolved around entrepreneurship. This time around, the younger generation of business owners and talent makers will be voicing their opinion during the upcoming event The Future of Dearborn: The Voice of Millennials, which takes place next Wednesday, January 24 from 6-8pm at the University of Michigan-Dearborn College of Business.
The panel discussion will be focusing on young entrepreneurs and creative minds talking about what opportunities they see for Dearborn, and how to continue to attract and retain the next generation.
The following business professional will be featured on the panel:
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Julia Kapilango Julia Kapilango is an Art Space resident and a graphic designer who loves to develop, design and manage projects that increase community engagement. She implores leadership innovation using educational training and skillshare workshops. She has a dual MBA in digital marketing and transformational leadership as well as a BS in Health Service Administration.
Her work includes branding for local restaurants, consulting firms, art institutions, grassroots and political organizations. Kapilango led senior citizen advocacy programs to harness reach and goal attainment for over 5000 seniors in areas of technology education and instructional technology. Her project management diversifies through youth entrepreneurship, social justice programming, art and retail markets and health education within Dearborn and Detroit.
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Patrick Schweger Patrick Schwager is a partner in Aunt Nee's Salsa, a gluten free foods distributor located in Detroit’s Eastern Market. He is also a specialist in business strategy for the retail industry. He consults established companies and start ups on core systems, sales channels and new product development.
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Fares KsebatiFares Ksebati is the Co-Founder and CEO of MySwimPro, the #1 fitness platform for swimmers around the world. MySwimPro was named by Apple as the Best Watch App of the Year (2016) and the company's products have been featured in Sports Illustrated among other international publications. Before launching MySwimPro, Ksebati led digital marketing at multiple venture-backed startups.
Ksebati is a graduate of the Ilitch School of Business at Wayne State University where he was most recently recognized with the prestigious Emerging Leader Award for 2017. He is a Fellow with the American Swim Coaches Association and is also a U.S. Masters Swimming National Champion. Ksebati has been recognized by Arab America as one of 15 Arab Americans who stole the spotlight in 2017. He is passionate about helping founders succeed by mentoring entrepreneurs and giving back to the startup ecosystem.
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Jasmine RostkowskI Jasmine RostkowskI, the founder of Dinerol graduated from the University of Michigan – Dearborn with a business degree in digital marketing. During her time at UMD she learned a lot about entrepreneurship. She met fellow students who introduced her to the startup life. She loved it right away and pitched her first business idea, DineRoll, at UMD’S Eliot Business Pitch Competition. After winning she went to pitch DineRoll, a mobile food discovery app, at Detroit Startup Weekend and developed a beta version.
She worked with both engineering students and business students from UMD to help bring DineRoll to life. From her professor at UMD she learned about TechTown, a business accelerator in Detroit. Here she has now done four different accelerators including DTX Launch Detroit, Retail Boot Camp, Build Social, and SWOT City. Her latest startup was Detroit SOAR, a mission-driven café that served the food deserts of Detroit. Currently, she freelances and uses all her startup experiences in her everyday life, especially learning from failure. Each failure leads to a new path of finding your true passion, she says.
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Hassan Bazzi
Hassan Bazzi, Director of regional opportunities for ACCESS, will moderate the panel discussion:
Bazzi joined ACCESS in 2008, bringing with him nearly two decades of combined experience in leadership, project management and various business, economic and workforce development roles. Hassan began his tenure at ACCESS as a member of the Business Services Team in the Employment and Training Department, eventually managing a pilot project known as Earn + Learn.
This workforce development initiative served formerly incarcerated men of color in Detroit and included a collaboration with the then newly launched State of Michigan Community Ventures initiative. Most recently, Hassan oversaw ACCESS’ small business incubator and idea accelerator known as the Growth Center, which focuses on managing a business micro-loan portfolio and developing immigrant, refugee and minority-owned businesses in Detroit and its surrounding communities.
A first-generation immigrant and serial entrepreneur, Hassan launched his first business in his early teens and has since guided various ventures from inception to growth. Hassan founded and currently operates a boutique talent booking agency that represents a roster of national and internationally renowned musicians, and has booked rock and jazz concerts nationally and internationally. Hassan serves on various local collaboratives and worktables focused on business development, economic revitalization, and inclusive innovation. Hassan is an Aspen Institute 2015 Ideas Scholar, and currently serves on the board of directors at the 125-year old Detroit Eastern Market, one of the oldest and largest year-round public markets in the U.S. (bio via ACCESS website)
The Future of Dearborn: The Voice of Millennials is free and open to the public. To RSVP for the event, CLICK HERE.
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