Why Not Me‪?‬ optiMize

Julia Dreher was optiMize’s fifth Student President, leading the organization through a period of tremendous growth. During her tenure as President, optiMize surpassed 5 million dollars in total funds committed and received over 300 applications to the Social Innovation Challenge for the first time. After graduating from Michigan (International Studies, ‘20), Julia served the Biden campaign in Michigan as well as Jon Ossof’s campaign in the Georgia run-off election. Now, Julia is a program assistant at USAID’s Center for Innovation and Impact.

Hitinder Gurm is the Chief Clinical Officer for the University Hospital and the Frankel Cardiovascular Center. He pioneered a state-wide collaborative initiative that has vastly improved outcomes for cardiovascular patients over the past 20+ years and is a constant innovator in the heart-health space, with his name on 5 patents and over 200 research papers. Gurm attended medical school in India and did his residency with the NHS in the UK before immigrating to the United States to complete his training at the Cleveland Clinic.

Nando Felten is a Master's Candidate in Educational Design (SOE). Early in his undergraduate education, Nando co-founded Building Successful Bridges (BSB), a student organization that exposes minority students to career and professional development resources and opportunities through workshops and networking. Now, Nando is working with the School of Education to help design a brand-new 4-year degree program that emphasizes problem-based learning and community engagement.

Gerry Anderson is the former CEO of DTE Energy. He now serves as the chair of the Edison Electric Institute’s committee on the environment, a trade association representing all publicly-owned U.S. electric companies. He also chairs Business Leaders for Michigan and serves on the board of the Nature Conservancy and the Downtown Detroit Partnership. He graduated from the University of Michigan (MPP, MBA) in 1988.

Pam Smith is the President & CEO of the United Way of Washtenaw County. She has been involved in community efforts her entire career and was an early supporter of optiMize. UWWC's mission is to connect people, resources, and organizations together to create a thriving community for everyone. They focus their impact on issues surrounding early childhood, health & nutrition, older adults, school-aged youth, housing & homelessness, and financial stability. You can read more about the United Way of Washtenaw County's work here: https://www.uwwashtenaw.org

Angela Dillard is the Chair of the Department of History at the University of Michigan, and the Richard A. Meisler Collegiate Professor of Afroamerican & African Studies, History, and in the Residential College where she is part of the Social Theory & Practice program. She is a distinguished historian specializing in "American and African-American intellectual history, particularly around issues of race, religion, and politics — on both the Left and the Right sides of the political spectrum." She is the author of Faith in the City: Preaching Radical Social Change in Detroit and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Now?, a study on conservative political thought among minorities. Read more about Dr. Dillard and her upcoming work here: https://lsa.umich.edu/daas/people/core-faculty/adillard.html