Driven by her empathetic nature and passion for local economies, Chanell Scott Contreras is deeply committed to increasing economic equity throughout Detroit. As the Director of Entrepreneurial Initiatives, she collaborates with the ProsperUS team and a rich network of partners to strategically grow and develop training, business services, and lending for underserved entrepreneurs in Detroit’s neighborhoods.
Prior to joining ProsperUS, Chanell worked on a range of community and economic development initiatives with organizations such as Kiva.org in Detroit and the Evergreen Cooperatives in Cleveland. She refined her skills in economic development as a National Urban Fellow at The Cleveland Foundation while completing a Master of Public Administration at Baruch College of the City University of New York. Before Chanell pursued a career in community economic development, she was a small business owner working to help independent producers of fair-trade and eco-friendly products market and grow their own small businesses.
Chanell’s commitment to economic equity and inclusion was strengthened during her undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan and is rooted in the beautiful diversity of her friends and extended family.