Amy Bloom

Amy Bloom, J.D., is a social innovator, lawyer and educator. She is the immediate past chair of the Center for the Study of Citizenship and co-founder of the center's Institute for Strengthening Communities. Ms. Bloom currently serves as a research scholar-in-residence for the center and is the center's resident expert on deliberative democracy. She is currently employed as a middle and high school teacher in Bentley Community Schools. She previously spent 18 years as a history, social studies and civic engagement consultant with Oakland Schools.

Prior to her employment with Oakland Schools, Ms. Bloom taught high school social studies, served as a teacher consultant to Street Law, worked for Senator Carl Levin and clerked for the Massachusetts Superior and Appellate Courts, as well as the Honorable Patti B. Saris of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. She was awarded the Spirit of Detroit Award for her contributions to the city's teen court program in 1999. Ms. Bloom holds a Bachelor of Arts and a teaching certificate from the University of Michigan and a law degree from Suffolk University Law School in Boston.

Marc Kruman

Marc W. Kruman, Ph.D., is the founding director of the Center for the Study of Citizenship and professor of History at Wayne State University. He has taught American history at Wayne State since 1975. Kruman is the author of two books "Between Authority and Liberty: State Constitution Making in Revolutionary America" (1997) and "Parties and Politics in North Carolina," 1836-1865 (1983) and the co-editor of "The Meaning of Citizenship," co-editor, Richard Marback (2015).

He has been awarded an Andrew W. Mellon Faculty Fellowship in the Humanities at Harvard University and a National Endowment for the Humanities Research Fellowship. In 1999, he was a Fulbright senior lecturer at the University of Rome. At Wayne State University, Kruman received the President's Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Board of Governors Faculty Recognition Award (twice) and a Board of Governors Distinguished Faculty Fellowship.

Dennis Atkinson

Dennis Atkinson, M.S. is the founder of e-Cell Secure LLC (2018), supporting the transportation, storage, logistics and recycling of lithium-ion batteries. He was previously the director of Corporate Engagement at Wayne State University and the Small Company Advisor at the Larta Institute. Mr. Atkinson has also served as a scientific advisor to the Pharmaco-Kinesis Corporation, as director of corporate research advancement at the University of Southern California and in a variety of related positions with major multi-national corporations like Siemens and GE Healthcare. Mr. Atkinson holds a Bachelor of Science from Kettering University (formerly the General Motors Institute) and a Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering, Cardiology and Microelectronics from Penn State University.

Caroline E. Chambers

Caroline E. Chambers, M.P.A., is an expert in diversity, equity and inclusion and a corporate social responsibility leader. She has extensive management experience with financial, healthcare and nonprofit organizations. Ms. Chambers is currently the senior director for diversity and inclusion at Graham Media Group.

She previously served in progressive capacities at Comerica Bank for more than two decades, concluding her tenure there as vice president of diversity and inclusion and president of the Charitable Foundation at Comerica Bank. In addition to her role on the Executive Board at the Center for the Study of Citizenship, Ms. Chambers also serves on the boards of the Oakland County Bar Foundation, the Urban Financial Services Coalition Foundation and the Covenant House Academy in Detroit. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Georgia and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Michigan.

Jim Croce

Jim Croce is a business developer, enterprise innovator and entrepreneurial leader. He has extensive experience driving market adoption and commercialization success of innovations targeted at energy and water utilities. Mr. Croce is currently the client relationship director for J.D. Power. He is also the principal and founder of Greenlark Energy Partners and its forerunner, Utility Boost, LLC.

Mr. Croce was previously a venture partner at Huron River Ventures and a member of the Board of Directors for the Ultralife Corporation. Prior to those roles, Mr. Croce served as president and chief executive officer for NextEnergy and in progressive capacities at DTE Energy Corporation. Mr. Croce holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Wayne State University.

Fred Mester

Fred Mester, J.D., spent 27 years as a circuit court judge with the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court of Michigan in Oakland County. He is a certified mediator, arbitrator, facilitator and Visiting Circuit Court Judge for the Sixth Judicial Court. Judge Mester has been a member of the Michigan Bar for 43 years. In addition to his extensive court service, Judge Mester was an adjunct faculty at Oakland University for 22 years. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Central Michigan University and a Juris Doctorate from Wayne State University.

John Moore

John Moore, Ph.D., is the chair of the finance and economics program at Walsh College. He originally joined the Walsh College faculty as an adjunct professor in 1994 and became a full-time faculty member in 2008. His research interests include economic history, political economy and the impact of economic intersections between politics, theology and philosophy upon citizens. John received his undergraduate degree in accounting from the University of Notre Dame and began his career with the international accounting firm of Coopers & Lybrand.

He spent most of the following twenty-five years as a chief financial officer in the private sector, primarily in the field of commercial real estate. In addition to his service on the board of the Center for the Study of Citizenship, he is past president, current secretary-treasurer and board trustee of the Economic and Business History Society, an international academic society. John is also a member of the Catholic Schools Council for the Archdiocese of Detroit, with oversees diocesan high schools and grade schools and chair of the board of Cedar Management Company, a private investment company owning commercial real estate properties.

Farris Alami

Faris Alami is the founder and CEO of International Strategic Management, an international technology company. He is a consultant with the World Bank as an "Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Expert" and works with the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program at Wayne State University and Babson College. Alami has managed over 100 start-ups and planned, managed and directed entrepreneurial and international training and talent programs. He is a certified FastTrac facilitator for the Kauffman Foundation and facilitates a global trade mission program for high school students. Farris Alami holds a Bachelor of General Studies from the University of Michigan Dearborn.

Brian Dickerson

Brian Dickerson currently holds a position as deputy editorial page editor at the Detroit Free Press. Prior to this, Brian worked as a columnist and editor for the Free Press as well as a journalist at the Miami Herald. Dickerson graduated from Princeton University with a degree in journalism.

Antoine Dubeaucard

Antoine Dubeauclard manages the creative department and studio at Media Genesis. He provides strategic advice to the company's accounts, including Chrysler, Toyota Scion, the Detroit Regional Chamber, the United Nations Development Program, the University of Michigan and the United Auto Workers (UAW) among others. In 2008, he was one of the recipients of the Crain's Detroit Business 40 Under 40 awards, a tribute honoring business leaders in Southeast Michigan. Dubeauclard frequently writes and speaks on internet-related subjects and sits on several boards, including ours. Antoine Dubeauclard has three citizenships and speaks and has taught in three languages.