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Ford Announces 2018 Class of Thirty Under 30 Fellows

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Bill Ford Thirty Under 30

Ford on Friday announced the 30 fellows that will make up the 2018 class for its Thirty Under 30 program. These individuals were selected from a field of almost 300 applicants to be a part of the third iteration of Ford’s yearlong leadership program for entrepreneurs, visionaries, and leaders under the age of 30.

This year’s Ford Thirty Under 30 Fellows will, for the first time in program history, include Ford employees from Canada as well as the United States. They will be teaming with nonprofits based out of southeast Michigan and Ontario to deliver solutions for affordable housing and shelter and combat homelessness.

“This is a time of great change for the company and it’s incredibly exciting,” said Bill Ford, executive chairman, Ford Motor Company. “The connections you will make, with the nonprofits and each other, are one of the most interesting parts of the program. It may spark something in you that has nothing to do with the program, but moves you to give back to the community.”


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Ford’s Thirty Under 30 are

  • Ishmael Amegashie
  • Molli Andor
  • Shelby Avery
  • Alexander Breg
  • Leah Cordero
  • Patrick Davis
  • Lani Duffy
  • Dominic Gelfuso
  • Katelyn Hamaker
  • Muneeb Hameed
  • Eric Hum, Sergio Juarez
  • Nevi Kaja, Audrey Lajoie
  • Steven Lapointe
  • Christiana Lumaj
  • Samantha Martens
  • Devin McParlane
  • Joseph Petit-Homme
  • Jackson Pilutti
  • Sophia Polansky
  • Westin Pulizzi
  • Benjamin Schoenleber
  • Dhivya Srinivasan
  • Christopher Taylor
  • Daria Urakova
  • Aparna Velampudi
  • Robert Voisin
  • Brendan Webb
  • Kevin Zurek

The nonprofits with whom these Ford Fellows will be working over the next year are Detroit-based Cass Community Social Services, which specializes in Tiny Homes; FirstStep, a shelter for victims of domestic and sexual violence based out of Wayne County, Michigan; Habitat for Humanity Macomb County, specializing in affordable housing solutions; the Ruth Ellis Center, a Detroit-area shelter and social services agency focusing on at-risk LGBTQ youth; Lathrup Village’s South Oakland Shelter for the homeless; and Canada’s United Way Halton and Hamilton, which develops new housing initiatives.

Ford says that its 30 Fellows will be introduced to a process called design thinking, developed at the Henry Ford Learning Institute, which will also be operating a new Ford Social Innovation Studio. The studio’s aim will be to utilize the ingenuity of the Thirty Under 30 candidates, Bill Ford Better World Challenge grant winners, and nonprofits to provide quality-of-life-improving necessities to those in need.

“Ford’s Thirty Under 30 is proving to be a rewarding and inspiring program for the employees and nonprofits,” said Rene Palileo, manager, Ford Thirty Under 30. “They are carving out new avenues to connect people with solutions that will help move their lives forward and lift community prosperity.”


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