What would you like the power to do? That is Bank of America’s rallying call and Tiffany Douglas and her colleagues take it seriously. As the company’s Senior Vice President and Market Executive for Michigan, Tiffany supports the Bank’s lines of business to deliver and serve clients and communities. She oversees more than $3 million in annual investments that help drive and respond to community and economic development needs in Michigan that support individuals and families. Tiffany’s adopted hometown of Detroit (“I flew here and grew here” says the Twin Cities native) is at the heart of that effort.
“When people ask me what I want the power to do, it’s to continue to restore the roar in Detroit,” she explains. “Detroit’s always had this muscle roar–from the engines we build to the sports teams we’ve had to the pride of the people here to go to work every day and work hard. So, how do the little things I do every day help restore the roar in Detroit?”
The answer, in large part, is to keep it local. “We are really concentrating on neighborhood investments,” Tiffany says. “We are supporting and positioning all of our work to help impact the people, places and projects that drive the economic viability of the diverse and dynamic neighborhoods in metro Detroit.”
Bank of America is a long-time supporter of Global Detroit’s efforts to ensure that this vision includes Detroit’s immigrant neighborhoods. Tiffany says it’s critical that we build a diverse city and region. “If you look at the makeup of Southeast Michigan, we are a majority minority city,” she observes. “This gives us a phenomenal opportunity to drive programming, economic viability and inclusion, business ownership and the kind of rich cultural offerings that could be manifested if all of our residents felt empowered.”
In her 13 years with Bank of America, Tiffany is especially proud that the bank has been one of the first at the table for some of the key initiatives transforming metro Detroit, like the Grow Detroit’s Young Talent summer jobs program. Outside work, her passion is her two children. Creating a world that is better not just for them but for everyone is what fuels her. “If I’m doing fine, that’s great for me and my family,” she says. “However, if we all can’t thrive, then we’re not well.”
And we all thrive through inclusion, she asserts. “The more opportunities are availed to more people to get on the economic playing field, to feel included, to be seen, to be heard, to be on a path to prosperity, Detroit could be another example to the world about where and how greatness happens.”
For her commitment to building an inclusive Detroit and Southeast Michigan, Global Detroit is pleased to honor Tiffany Douglas with our Corporate Leadership Award. The award will be presented at Tapestry, our annual celebration, at the Jam Handy Building, 2900 E. Grand Blvd. on October 3 from 4-7pm. Please join us to celebrate Tiffany and all our Inclusive Economies award winners.