 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Inforum, headquartered in downtown Detroit and in Grand Rapids, was founded as the Women's Economic Club (WEC) in July 1962.
The WEC was created when Marie Moon, Alice Snider, Thelma Murrell and Dorothy Seifert gathered a group of 23 women together to discuss the formation of a luncheon club. [1] The WEC officially received its charter from the National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs (NFBPWC) in 1962. It became an independent organization with its own by-laws in 1965.
In 2005, members voted to change the name of the organization to Inforum: A Professional Women's Alliance. This better reflected the mission of the organization, which was to strengthen the business environment in Michigan by creating opportunities for women to lead and succeed. [2] Activities and programs encompass luncheons, seminars, leadership courses, and other networking events which allow members to build alliances with colleagues into empowering combinations.
Since 2003, Inforum has published a biennial study with the Wayne State University School of Business Administration to analyze the number of women board members on Fortune 500 companies. [3]
In June 2016, members voted to transfer Inforum's assets to the Inforum Center for Leadership. The combined 501(c)(3) charitable and educational nonprofit operates as Inforum. [1]
The 52-person Inforum Board of Directors is led by Diana Tremblay, vice president of global services, General Motors. Terry Barclay is the organization's President and CEO. [4]
Edsel Bryant Ford II is the great-grandson of Henry Ford I, grandson of Edsel Ford I, and the only son of Henry Ford II. He served as a member of the board of directors of Ford Motor Company for 33 years before announcing his retirement, and serves on the finance committee and sustainability and innovation committee. He is a cousin of the company's Executive Chairman, William Clay Ford Jr.
The Millender Center is a mixed-use complex in downtown Detroit, Michigan. The complex spans two city blocks, containing a retail atrium, Detroit People Mover station, and parking garage on its first seven floors, plus the 33-floor Renaissance City Club Apartments and a 20-floor, 265-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel. Developed by Forest City Enterprises and completed in 1985, the Millender Center is now mostly owned by Bedrock Detroit.
Brian Nelson Calley is an American politician who served as the 63rd lieutenant governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was previously elected to the Michigan House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011.
Eleanor Mary Josaitis was an American civil rights activist and the co-founder of Focus: HOPE, an organization fighting racism and poverty. Michigan governor Rick Snyder referred to her as a "tireless and devoted leader".
The Michigan State University Federal Credit Union (MSUFCU) is a credit union headquartered in East Lansing, Michigan. Primarily serving students and alumni of Michigan State University and Oakland University, MSUFCU is federally chartered and regulated by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). MSUFCU is the largest university-based credit union in the world, and the second-largest credit union in Michigan.
Trinity Health is an American not-for-profit Catholic health system operating 92 hospitals in 22 states, including 120 continuing care locations encompassing home care, hospice, PACE and senior living facilities. Based in Livonia, Michigan, Trinity Health employs more than 120,000 people including 5,300 physicians.
Manuel "Matty" Moroun was an American billionaire businessman, most notable as the owner of the Ambassador Bridge international crossing connecting Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario. The bridge, which Moroun purchased from the Bower family in 1979, is one of the few privately owned border crossings between the United States and Canada.
Denise Ilitch is a Detroit-area businessperson, lawyer, and member of the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan. Ilitch was rumored to be a Democratic Party candidate for Governor of Michigan in 2010, after having met with the White House in early January to discuss a potential run, though she later declined to run.
Linda Leuchter Addison is an American business executive, lawyer and author. Addison served as U.S. Managing Partner, Chair of the U.S. Management Committee, and global board member of Norton Rose Fulbright. She is Founding President of the Center for Women in Law, and co-chaired the New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on the Future of the Legal Profession. Crain's New York Business named Addison one of the "50 Most Powerful Women in New York." She is a member of the Board of Directors of Globe Life Inc. Addison also is an independent board member of KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm. She previously served on the Advisory Board of Northern Trust Bank, N.A.
Mandell "Bill" Berman (1917–2016) was the businessman and philanthropist behind the Mandell L. and Madeleine H. Berman Foundation, which supports Jewish education, and research and study of the contemporary American Jewish community. His philanthropic focus was on the storage, dissemination, and preservation of Jewish data, as well as Jewish education and special education.
Detroit City FC (DCFC) men’s team is an American professional soccer club based in Detroit, Michigan, that competes in the USL Championship. The club played in the National Premier Soccer League from 2012 to 2019 and the National Independent Soccer Association in 2020 and 2021. Detroit City plays its home matches at Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramck, an enclave of Detroit.
Rosalind "Roz" G. Brewer is an American businesswoman and former CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, before stepping down in September 2023. Brewer is the first woman to become CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, group president and COO of Starbucks, and CEO of Sam's Club. She currently serves as a member of the President's Export Council.
Elaine Didier is the director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum in Michigan, United States. Didier worked at the University of Michigan from 1977 to 1999, where she earned her Doctorate (PhD) in 1982. She was appointed as a board member in October 1997 at Compuware, a Detroit, Michigan based software company with products aimed at the information technology departments of large businesses. In July 1999, Didier left the University of Michigan to become dean of Kresge Library at Oakland University. Didier became director of the Ford Presidential Library and Museum in January 2005. Didier led efforts to increase attendance to the museum. For her accomplishments, she received the University of Michigan Distinguished Alumni Award and the Rotary Club Distinguished Service Award.
Inteva Products, LLC is a global automotive supplier. Serving original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the automotive industry, Inteva is headquartered in Troy, Michigan and has nearly 30 locations on three continents. The Inteva Products brand name was introduced to the marketplace in 2008 and the company traces its history back to the establishment of German carriage supplier Traugott Golde in 1872.
David T. Provost is a Detroit businessman and the Chairman of TCF Bank.
Capital Impact Partners, or simply Capital Impact, is an American congressionally chartered, District of Columbia nonprofit and certified community development financial institution that provides credit and financial services to underserved markets and populations in the United States. S&P Global issued Capital Impact its first rating in 2017.
Danialle Karmanos is an American philanthropist, humanitarian, activist, and social entrepreneur.
The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States. The league is in the third tier of American soccer and began play in 2019. NISA initially used a fall-to-spring season format with a winter break but have switched to spring-to-fall which is more common in the United States.
Howard Francis Sims, (1933–2016), was an American architect, businessperson, and philanthropist, active in Detroit. He founded the architecture firm SDG Associates. Sims helped design the state of Michigan's first construction code. He was a leader in business and sat on various boards. Sims established multiple college scholarships to support Black students in pursuing architecture.
Faith Fowler is an American pastor and community activist. She is the senior pastor of Cass Community United Methodist Church and the executive director of Cass Community Social Services (CCSS), a large nonprofit in Detroit that serves more than 700,000 meals a year and houses about 300 homeless people per night alongside a day program, medical clinics, and a job center. CCSS was established as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) in 2002. Prior to that, many of its programs started as a part of Cass Community United Methodist Church.