What happens when live storytelling and food collide?
A multi-sensory experience that encourages people to bridge cultural divides.
We will invite a cook to prepare a food dish that is connected to their fondest memory and tell a story about it. At the end of their story, the audience of 30 will taste the dish. Over the course of 12-months, we will host up to five (5) dinners and will design a Detroit story cookbook.
Who is the featured cook?
We've invited Misha Stallworth and her cousin Niles Heron to tell us a story about their dish.
Niles Heron is all-in on Detroit and Entrepreneurship. He sees entrepreneurship as a solution and believes in doing the work it takes to help Southeast Michigan continue to grow as an inclusive space for innovation.
In 2014, he co-founded Michigan Funders (Michigan’s first intrastate equity crowdfunding platform) with a group of business partners to help address financing gaps in the local capital ecosystem. Michigan Funders successfully helped Detroit City Football Club raise more than $730,000 from local investors, the largest such raise in Michigan State History. Through hundreds of business plans and pitches, though, he realized that his passion was working alongside entrepreneurs to strategize, measure, and grow their businesses and not just to help fund them.
Today, he runs a modular consulting company called Simple Machines that leverages experts from varied industries to create best-in-class support systems for entrepreneurs and build custom plans to meet them where they are and achieve their goals.
Brother, son, founder, consultant, advisor, activist, and now, cook for Dinner for 30.
What is the dish?
A spicy chicken chili with Jamaican-style baked dumplings (ingredients: potatoes, green beans, and carrots). Vegetarian chili will be available as well.
Who is the storyteller?
Misha Stallworth’s first direct action toward social justice was against 5th-grade bullies in defense of a fellow 1st grader. It ended in a fight (which she won) and some would argue was the first indication that her talents would be better used on the strategic side of things. She now focuses on strategic planning, evaluation, and development in the non-profit sector. Misha is committed to things being fair and to that end she is passionate about inclusion and accessibility. Always working on at least 3 things at time, she is currently the Director of Arts & Culture at the Hannan Center where she fights ageism through creative expression; the youngest ever elected Detroit School Board member where she takes great pride in improving community accessibility; and serving organizations like Developing K.I.D.s as a board member, City Year as the Alumni Chair, and the Michigan Democratic Party as the Youth Vice Chair. She has a quirky passion for strategic planning and evaluation that she uses to facilitate outcome-driven processes. Past projects have included managing Detroit Meals on Wheels, facilitating the Cody Rouge Youth Council, and non-profit technical assistance in planning and fund development. Misha is often asked why she returned to Detroit after time in Chicago and LA; she did so for 2 reasons: 1) She loves Detroit more than anywhere else in the world and 2) If she’s going to work to make things fair, she should do it first at home where the need is so great. Misha’s bachelor’s degree is in Research Psychology from the University of Chicago and her Masters is in Social Work and Community Organizing from the University of Michigan. Her Northwest Detroit home is the same one in which she spent weekends with her grandparents and is also where she sometimes rescues stray cats and dogs.
What are the details?
We will have water and carbonated beverages available. Please bring your beverage of choice ;-)
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