Urban Game Changers

Urban Entrepreneurship Initiative
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Interviews with innovators and entrepreneurs who are making game-changing improvements to urban community quality-of-life.

Episodes

  1. Queen of Clean (*energy) Pt. 1

    4D AGO

    Queen of Clean (*energy) Pt. 1

    Carla Walker Miller built a company that utilizes clean energy technology to improve lives and create economic opportunity. Carla Walker-Miller is Founder and CEO of Walker-Miller Energy Services, a Detroit-based energy efficiency and clean energy solutions company focused on helping utilities, communities, and businesses reduce energy burden while expanding economic opportunity. A civil engineer by training, she began her career in the power and electrical equipment industry with Westinghouse (later ABB), where she spent nearly two decades in sales engineering and distribution leadership roles across the United States. Known for her leadership at the intersection of energy, entrepreneurship, and community impact, Carla has built a career centered on advancing access, innovation, and long-term economic vitality in Detroit and beyond. This episode (pt. 1) focuses on Carla’s origin story. The next episode (pt. 2) will focus on her experience building WM Energy Services. Episode Summary This episode (part 1) focuses on Carla’s origin story. The next episode (part 2) will focus on her experience building WM Energy Services. In this episode, Carla Walker-Miller, reflects on her journey from growing up in a large, hardworking family in Nashville to navigating the realities of corporate America as a young engineer. She shares how a full-ride scholarship shaped her path into engineering, the lessons she learned during nearly two decades in the energy industry with Westinghouse and ABB, and the emotional toll of constantly proving she belonged in spaces where she was often the only one. Through candid stories—including a pivotal moment when a distributor refused to work with her—Carla explains why performance alone is not always enough for success. The conversation follows her move to Detroit in 1990, where family, resilience, and community ultimately reshaped her perspective and laid the foundation for her future as an entrepreneur. Urban Game Changers Episode 8 Queen of Clean (*energy) – Pt. 1 Carla Walker Miller, Founder and CEO of Walker Miller Energy Services Release date: February 13, 2026 Length: 38:41 Executive Producer and Host: W. David Tarver Producer: Ben Reynolds Associate Producers: Anshiqa Agrawal and Felipe Furtado, MD The post Queen of Clean (*energy) – Pt. 1 appeared first on Urban Entrepreneurship Initiative.

    39 min
  2. Health Bar Fuels Primary Care Access

    FEB 7

    Health Bar Fuels Primary Care Access

    From Registered Nurse to CEO: Nathan Baar is Changing the Game in Primary Care Access In this episode of Urban Game Changers, we speak with Nathan Baar, Founder and CEO of HealthBar, a Grand Rapids–based healthcare service reimagining how primary and preventive care is delivered. HealthBar operates a hybrid model that embeds clinical teams directly into workplaces and schools, supported by virtual access via phone, text, and email. Health Bar makes primary medical care care more accessible, personal, and proactive. Nathan explains how HealthBar’s fixed-fee, cash-based model shifts incentives away from volume-driven sick care and toward healthy outcomes. By contracting directly with organizations instead of billing insurance, HealthBar provides unlimited primary care services while reducing reliance on emergency rooms, urgent care, and hospital systems. The intended result is better health for patients and lower costs for organizations. The conversation also explores Nathan’s journey from registered nurse and emergency department director to entrepreneur, including the challenges of bootstrapping through COVID, navigating financial risk, and rebuilding the business around a long-term vision. We discuss healthcare access in urban communities, the importance of trust and continuity in care, and what aspiring healthcare entrepreneurs should understand before trying to scale a solution. This episode offers a candid look at what it takes to build a mission-driven healthcare business: one focused on relationships, prevention, and sustainable impact. Urban Game Changers Episode 7 Health Bar Fuels Primary Care Access Nathan Baar, CEO and Founder of HealthBar Release date: February 5, 2026 Length: 41:41 Executive Producer and Host: W. David Tarver Producer: Ben Reynolds Associate Producers: Anshiqa Agrawal and Felipe Furtado, MD The post Health Bar Fuels Primary Care Access appeared first on Urban Entrepreneurship Initiative.

    42 min
  3. Bloom: Supply Chain as a Service

    JAN 29

    Bloom: Supply Chain as a Service

    Watch the Interview Prefer to listen? Use the audio player below. Bloom founders Justin Kosmides and Chris Nolte aim to bring “success as a service” to mobility startups In this episode of Urban Game Changers, David talks on location with Justin Kosmides and Chris Nolte, co-founders of Bloom, about delivering a new way for hardware companies to build, scale, and operate in today’s evolving mobility economy. Drawing on backgrounds spanning investment banking, e-bike manufacturing, sales, and national distribution, Justin and Chris share why Bloom was founded in Detroit and how the company connects hardware brands with North American manufacturing, logistics, and operations partners. Bloom wants to be the place where startups and established companies alike go to create a custom, purpose-built supply chain for their new-age mobility products. Ultimately, they aim to make it almost as easy to produce an e-bike as it is to produce an e-book. Bloom aims to build supply chains for a wide range of mobility products, including small delivery vehicles, scooters, drones, and devices that have not yet been envisioned. During the informal conversation, David, Justin, and Chris explore the meteoric rise and precipitous fall of the U.S. e-bike industry, the broader shift toward domestic production, and how emerging technologies like micro-mobility, drones, and robotics are reshaping the urban scene. This conversation highlights how smart systems, local talent, and efficient supply chains can unlock sustainable growth while strengthening cities and communities. Urban Game Changers Episode 6 Bloom: Supply Chain as a Service Justin Kosmides and Chris Nolte, co-founders, Bloom Release date: January 29, 2026 Length: 22:41 Executive Producer and Host: W. David Tarver Producer: Ben Reynolds Associate Producers: Anshiqa Agrawal and Felipe Furtado, MD The post Bloom: Supply Chain as a Service appeared first on Urban Entrepreneurship Initiative.

    23 min
  4. Power to the Patient

    JAN 8

    Power to the Patient

    Watch the Interview Prefer to listen? Use the audio player below. Dr. Paul Thomas is reshaping access to healthcare in the City of Detroit. After medical school, Dr. Thomas left the traditional insurance-based healthcare system determined to build a patient-first model centered on transparency, trust, and long-term relationships. We discuss the real challenges facing urban healthcare, how Plum Health serves a diverse Detroit community, and why momentum around Direct Primary Care is growing nationwide. Dr. Thomas’s practice shows what can happen when healthcare is treated not just as a service, but as a foundation for community vitality and economic stability. Dr. Paul Thomas, Founder, Plum Health Release date: January 8, 2026 Length: 34:57 Executive Producer and Host: W. David Tarver Producer: Ben Reynolds Associate Producers: Anshiqa Agrawal and Felipe Furtado, MD The post Power to the Patient appeared first on Urban Entrepreneurship Initiative.

    35 min
  5. Seeing is Believing

    12/04/2025

    Seeing is Believing

    Watch the interview Prefer to listen? Use the audio player below. Dr. Cleamon Moorer is striving to bring quality vision care to every neighborhood. Dr. Cleamon Moorer is on a mission to deliver quality vision care to homebound people in Detroit and throughout the state of Michigan. It is a mission born of his personal experience. Cleamon Moorer was born with congenital cataracts in both eyes. By the age of 21, he was legally blind, and his family could not afford the surgery needed to restore his vision. In a desperate bid, his mother penned a heartfelt letter to the Grace Guild of Sinai-Grace Hospital, and the Guild stepped in and covered the cost of the surgery. That act of mercy was the driving force. Today, Dr. Moorer is a businessman who is determined to create a sustainable, scalable operation to address the vision needs of many. We dropped by to get to know Dr. Moorer, to understand his business model, and to discuss his vision and aspirations. Guest: Dr. Cleamon Moorer, Founder, EyeCareForDetroit Release Date: December 4, 2025 Length: 35:08 Executive Producer & Host: W. David Tarver Producer: Ben Reynolds Associate Producers: Anshiqa Agrawal and Felipe Furtado, MD The post Seeing is Believing appeared first on Urban Entrepreneurship Initiative.

    35 min
  6. Can Technology Stop the Bullets?

    11/19/2025

    Can Technology Stop the Bullets?

    Watch the interview Prefer to listen? Use the audio player below. Can technology be effective in decreasing gun violence and increasing public safety in cities? Ralph Clark is CEO of SoundThinking, Inc., formerly ShotSpotter, a municipal safety solutions technology company, traded on NASDAQ. SoundThinking is a “poster child” for the UEI notion of applying innovation and entrepreneurship to improve urban quality-of-life. Its solutions have spurred controversy in some quarters, as some have claimed (incorrectly) that Shotspotter listens in on neighborhood conversations. Others have questioned the value of the system vs. other approaches to reducing crime. In any case, the company clearly addresses one of the ten community vitality categories cited by UEI: Safety. The company’s ShotSpotter product automatically detects gunfire in urban environments and allows law enforcement to deploy resources quickly and efficiently. Ralph was a speaker at the UEI 2015 Urban Entrepreneurship Symposium in Detroit, and the company has served as a corporate partner with the University of Michigan Center for Entrepreneurship class “Innovation for Urban Impact” (formerly “Urban Entrepreneurship”). Guest: Ralph Clark, CEO, SoundThinking, Inc. Release Date: November 18, 2025 Length: 1:01:12 Executive Producer & Host: W. David Tarver Producer: Ben Reynolds Associate Producers: Anshiqa Agrawal, Felipe Furtado, MD The post Can Technology Stop the Bullets? appeared first on Urban Entrepreneurship Initiative.

    1h 1m
  7. Appearing on the Today Show nearly ruined this Detroit entrepreneur

    10/21/2025

    Appearing on the Today Show nearly ruined this Detroit entrepreneur

    When April Anderson started Good Cakes and Bakes in Detroit in 2013, she was thinking about her Southern roots, family recipes, and small batch cooking. The goal was “food that tastes like what your grandmother would make.” After an appearance on the Today Show and rave reviews by famous customers like Oprah Winfrey and Bill Clinton, April had to figure out how to take her soulful treats nationwide. It wasn’t easy. Join us as this University of Michigan educated urban entrepreneur describes how she managed to create and scale a business that delivers that most precious sensation: the tastes created by grandma’s hands. Interview with April Anderson of Good Cakes and Bakes. Recorded in September, 2022. Prefer to listen? Use the audio player below. The post Appearing on the Today Show nearly ruined this Detroit entrepreneur appeared first on Urban Entrepreneurship Initiative.

    22 min
  8. Beijing Baller

    10/07/2025

    Beijing Baller

    Afro-Caribbean “kid” becomes China-based serial entrepreneur Shagi Defoe was one of the first students from the tiny Caribbean nation of Dominica to attend college in China. A natural entrepreneur, he has since created several entrepreneurial ventures and has built a life for himself and his family in Beijing. How did he do it? Check out the interview. As the saying about a certain other large city goes, “If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere…” Prefer to listen? Use the audio player below. The post Beijing Baller appeared first on Urban Entrepreneurship Initiative.

    46 min
  • 8 Episodes

About

Interviews with innovators and entrepreneurs who are making game-changing improvements to urban community quality-of-life.

Information

  • Creator
    Urban Entrepreneurship Initiative
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    8
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    Copyright © 2025, 2026 Urban Entrepreneurship Initiative, Inc.
  • Show Website
    Urban Game Changers