Born & raised in Northwest Detroit, Lauren Hood brings an authentic perspective to community engagement & equitable development.

Passionate about the city's cultural heritage, Hood has spoken & written extensively on Preserving Black Space and facilitates dialogues on race for area non profit organizations.

She serves as the Vice Chair of the City of Detroit Planning Commission and the boards of Detroit Sound Conservancy and Urban Consulate. She is a past Detroit Historic District Commissioner and Preservation Detroit trustee. She has graduated from numerous fellowships, including Theaster Gates' PlaceLab Ethical Redevelopment Series, Detroit Equity Action Lab, Leadership Detroit, and Harvard University’s Young American Leaders Program.

Hood holds a Masters Degree in Community Development and undergraduate degree in Business, both from the University of Detroit Mercy. Having had a 20+ year history with the institution, Lauren developed relationships with institutional allies that helped her to secure the leadership role with the area’s community development non profit, Live6. As the founding Director of the organization, she successfully convened cross sector stakeholders and residents to organize around development initiatives taking place in the neighborhood. Those convenings helped provide insight that led to the conception of her current endeavor, SuperNatural, an affinity space that will anchor the neighborhood's cultural corridor.