At White House-Silicon Valley Event, Detroit Is A Highlight

The White House is partnering with the New Economy Initiative to host “The Detroit Story,” a side event highlighting Detroit’s business environment at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Palo Alto, California.

“It is time to tell the Detroit story, to put Detroit back on the global map, and to encourage innovators from around the world to come join the entrepreneurial movement in Detroit led by Detroiters,” said Julie Egan, deputy director of the White House Detroit Federal Working Group.

Detroit has a large footprint at this year’s Summit, with five official delegates. No other city has as many representatives, according to a press release.

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The delegates include Pashon Murray, co-founder of Detroit Dirt, Amy Kaherl, director of Detroit Soup, University of Michigan transportation research scientist James Sayer, Jerry Paffendorf, CEO of Loveland Technologies, and Pam Lewis, the director of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan (CFSEM).

“The city of Detroit has come a long way in recent years, and we think a lot of that has to do with philanthropy taking an inclusive approach to investing in support for entrepreneurs," said Lewis.

A panel discussion Thursday evening featured Shinola CEO Jacques Panis and other Detroit entrepreneurs, who discussed why they decided to locate their businesses in Detroit.

According to a press release, the New Economy Initiative’s investments in the past decade have led to the creation of over 17,000 jobs in the Detroit area.