Mark your calendars for November 10, when Global Detroit’s annual fundraising celebration, Tapestry, returns to bring together the people and organizations championing immigrant inclusion and economic development across Michigan. This year, we’re celebrating five Changemakers whose work is helping build a more welcoming and prosperous region. First up is Kelli Dixon, our Global Detroit Champion awardee. This award recognizes a mainstream institution or individual that demonstrates inclusive practices or champions immigrant inclusion. 

Kelli E. Dixon, Ph.D. is an international education leader with more than 25 years of experience advancing global engagement and creating opportunities for students, scholars, faculty, and communities to connect across cultures. Born in Pontiac and raised in both Michigan and Milwaukee, she returned to Michigan to attend the University of Michigan before earning her master’s and Ph.D. from Wayne State University. Today, as the Director of the Office of International Students and Scholars at Wayne State University, her work brings together international education, immigration support, and community connection, helping people from around the world find not only opportunities in Detroit, but a sense of belonging.

We spoke with Dixon about the experiences that shaped her career, the role international students and scholars play in Detroit, and what keeps her committed to the work.

Was there a particular moment, person, or experience that made you realize this was the work you wanted to do?

There wasn’t one particular moment when I decided this was the work I wanted to do. My career has evolved through experiences that continually reinforced how important education, job opportunity, and connection are in people’s lives. My own educational journey influenced me tremendously. I was born in Pontiac, moved to Milwaukee in third grade, and eventually returned to Michigan to attend the University of Michigan. I later attended Wayne State University, where I earned both my master’s and Ph.D. That journey gave me an appreciation for what it means to enter new environments, adapt, learn from different communities, and find your place.

Over more than 25 years in international education, I have had the opportunity to help students and scholars do exactly that. Whether supporting an international student navigating immigration requirements, helping a scholar establish a new life in Detroit, creating a study abroad opportunity, or developing a global partnership, I have seen how education and work opportunities can change someone’s trajectory. I am not simply administering programs or policies. I am helping people navigate experiences that can change their lives.

How has your work been shaped by your community?

Wayne State University and the Office of International Students and Scholars are deeply connected to the vibrancy of Detroit. Every year, students and scholars from around the world come to Wayne State to study, conduct research, teach and build their careers. They become part of our neighborhoods, businesses, universities, hospitals, and cultural institutions. My role is to help ensure that they don’t simply come to Detroit—they feel that they are part of Detroit. When international students and scholars feel welcomed and connected, they have an opportunity to build lasting relationships here and contribute their talents, ideas, cultures, and experiences to our community.

I am especially proud to do this work at Wayne State. My own educational journey brought me back to Michigan and ultimately to Detroit, where I built my career. I have experienced firsthand the role education and community can play in shaping someone’s life, and I want to help provide that same sense of opportunity and connection to others.

How does your work contribute to the vibrancy and growth of the local community?

International students and scholars contribute to the intellectual, cultural, and economic life of our community. They bring different perspectives and experiences into our classrooms, research laboratories, workplaces, neighborhoods, and cultural institutions. My work in international education has extended beyond supporting students and scholars to include study abroad, international partnerships, faculty exchanges, international internships, service-learning, field research, and other global learning opportunities.

I believe our responsibility is not simply to welcome people to Detroit, but to help them become part of the community. When someone who has come from another country develops relationships here, participates in the community, and eventually decides to build part of their life or career here, that is meaningful. Detroit has given me tremendous opportunities, and I am proud to spend my career helping create opportunities and connections for others.

What keeps you going when the work gets difficult?

International education can be challenging. Regulations change, circumstances can be complicated and sometimes the solutions are not easy. As a senior international education leader, I have had to navigate complex immigration regulations, institutional policies, organizational change, risk management and the many challenges that come with serving a global community. But behind every policy or difficult situation is a person. There is a student who wants to finish a degree, a scholar who has traveled thousands of miles to conduct research, a faculty member who wants to create a meaningful global learning experience or a family trying to build a new life.

I also think about the people and institutions that helped me along my own journey. I was given opportunities to learn, grow and pursue an education that ultimately brought me back to Michigan and Detroit. I feel a responsibility to extend that same sense of opportunity to others. At the end of a difficult day, I remind myself that the work matters because the people matter. That is what keeps me going.

How has your background or cultural experience influenced your work?

Moving between communities and returning to Michigan helped me appreciate what it means to enter a new environment, learn from people with different experiences, and find where I belong. I am especially proud of my education and experiences in Detroit. Wayne State gave me more than degrees. It connected me to Detroit, shaped my professional life and gave me the opportunity to work with people from around the world.

That perspective has become central to my work in international education. I understand that coming into a new environment can be both exciting and challenging. That is why I believe welcoming people is about more than opening a door. It is about helping them feel that they belong once they walk through it. Detroit has given me a great deal, both personally and professionally. I am proud to give back by helping people from around the world become part of this community and by helping our community benefit from the perspectives and experiences they bring.

Global Detroit is excited to honor Kelli Dixon and the other 2026 Tapestry Changemaker Awardees at Tapestry on November 10. If you would like to join us, visit www.eventbrite.com/tapestry.