Heather Levine - Entrepreneur-In-Residence/Talent Manager

Over the last six years, Heather has coached hundreds of small business owners during open office hours, one on one engagements over a six-month period and through workshops held in the neighborhoods. Prior to that, Heather worked as a real estate attorney who successfully oversaw the leasing process from start to finish, including developing and maintaining relationships with small business owners, Fortune 500 companies and luxury European retailers. Heather drafted, negotiated, and reviewed 500+ contracts annually under strict deadlines. As a business owner, Heather and her husband have opened four new businesses over the last 11 years (two restaurants and two cocktail bars), including acquiring liquor licenses, negotiating lease agreements, managing the construction, and permitting processes, and hiring and training employees.  Heather loves coaching small business owners because she has been in their shoes and understands the challenges of running a small business.

Laura Corp - Operations Director

Laura is a nonprofit professional that is passionate about supporting marginalized groups of people to break out of cycles they were born into, specifically through home ownership and other forms of equity. Most recently, Laura was the Operations Manager at Humble Design Detroit, where she oversaw the operations and team to ensure that houses were transformed into homes for families, veterans, and individuals emerging out of homelessness. While at Humble, Laura met several single moms that dreamed of starting their own businesses and gaining equity for their family, this experience allowed Laura to see what a large need there is for an organization such as Build Institute in the Detroit Region.  Laura is skilled at making day-to-day processes more efficient, building and maintaining relationships within the community, and ensuring that an organization has the most optimal tech stack to allow for better access to data. Laura is a graduate of Rochester University and serves on the advisory board for the School of Business, which has allowed her to guest lecture as well as mentor students that are considering entering the nonprofit space. Outside of work, Laura is happiest when she is spending quality time with her friends, playing tennis, trying out a new restaurant, or on hikes with her dog.

Lisa Grace - Development Director

Lisa Grace is a non-profit professional with over 25 years of experience working for Detroit area nonprofits. She believes that small businesses and entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of our local economies and now more than ever before, entrepreneurial education and access to capital plays a critical role in ensuring that our communities are thriving. While at Ecoworks, Lisa was able to raise the visibility of the Reclaim Detroit program, developing a market for reclaimed materials and securing funding to support the environmentally driven workforce development program. At GRDC and Ennis Center for Children, she secured much needed funds to increase and support operations and programming. Lisa is also a passionate volunteer working for several organizations, but her heart lies with the Redford Theatre. Currently, she serves on several committees and is the voice of the Redford Theatre’s social media. Lisa is a proud graduate of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of NonProfit Management. She is inspired daily by her husband, their children and grandchildren who say she is a great cook, an avid reader, and a subpar poker player. 

Onni Stone - Capital Access Manager

Onni Stone is passionate about empowering marginalized people, specifically economically and through financial literacy. She is a lifelong Michigan native, now resident of Detroit. She has worked for and started a number of small businesses over the years and understands the micro and macro impact of providing resources for entrepreneurs. She works for the Build Institute in the capacity of Kiva capital access manager. She manages Detroit SOUP and Build Institute’s Capital Ladder Access Fund and is the in house finance subject matter expert. In her free time, she is a reader, learner, woodworker, and explorer.

Regina Ann Campbell- President and CEO

Regina Ann Campbell is the President and CEO of Build Institute, the nonprofit idea incubator for the Detroit Region. Before joining Build Institute, Regina was the Chief Program Officer for Epicenter Memphis. Regina was responsible for national strategic partnerships and a portfolio of programs, initiatives, and systems that ensured inclusive access and vibrancy of the entrepreneurial community in the Greater Memphis region. 

To date, Regina has led teams and initiatives that provided access to $21.4M+ in funding and resources for minority small business owners. As an economic development thought leader Regina has a successful track record of creating economic growth by scaling place-based acceleration and incubation, working with hundreds of entrepreneurs, and assisting in the launch of multiple startups. 

As a culture advocate, Regina champions entrepreneurship to drive economic empowerment for women and minorities; leverages shared cultural experiences to serve the “whole entrepreneur”; understands the ripple effect of entrepreneurship in urban/local communities; provides access to resources; revitalizes neighborhoods to create vibrant and thriving communities. 

Regina is also a social entrepreneur as co-founder and president of 901 ROC Development, LLC.

Shenai Jackson - Programs Director

Shenai is a trusted economic developer and serial entrepreneur. Shenai has worked in entrepreneurship and economic development for over 8 years. Shenai is a proud Michigan State University graduate, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Communication with a concentration in Business. Currently, Shenai is completing a Master of Urban Planning with a specialization in Economic Development at Wayne State University. Given her background, she has developed a strong passion for supporting small businesses by leveraging connections, community resources, and investment tools to accelerate the growth and development of businesses. Before joining the Build Institute, Shenai worked in program management for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program for 5 years. As an entrepreneur, Shenai started a luxury clothing brand called Liu Lux, also known as the Living It Up Luxury Brand, to encourage all to live life abundantly and prioritize self-care and healing. Shenai is also a proud Build Institute graduate.

Torrance Campbell - Programs Assistant

Torrance is a creative that values diversity, innovation and quality service . Torrance supports the program team with Build Classes, Build Alumni, engagement, social media and technical things. Torrance has lived in Detroit, Michigan most of his life with the exception of three years in Memphis, TN where he attended the first accredited TSTEM High School. Torrance returned to Detroit Michigan and is a freshman at the College for Creative Studies aspiring to become an animator.  Along with animation, Torrance has been coding for a lifetime and has a CompTIA certification.