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Our Board

Board of Directors

Marilyn Lawrence

Interim Board Chairman, Associate Managing Director
Community Development Relationship Manager, CIBC BANK USA

Marilyn Lawrence serves as an Associate Managing Director and Community Development Relationship Manager at CIBC BANK USA. Ms. Lawrence has over 22 years of successful experience helping businesses thrive within the community.

Marilyn was born and raised on the West Side of Detroit and witnessed the needs of her own community. This drives her passion to help neighborhoods similar to the one she grew up in through entrepreneurial education and access to capital.

She joined CIBC BANK USA in 2022 to continue her work as a relationship manager within the community development group. In her current role Ms. Lawrence is able to originate loans to small businesses with revenues up to $1 MM within Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.

Before joining CIBC, Ms. Lawrence served 18 years as a bank branch manager and 2 years as a business relationship manager. She is a proud alumni of Central Michigan University. Fire Up!! Outside of helping her clients make their ambitions a reality she enjoys spending time with her husband Justin, and family. Marilyn is also an avid traveler and especially enjoys traveling abroad.

April Anderson

Pastry Chef & Co-Owner, Good Cakes and Bakes

From the early age of 9, April Anderson knew she wanted to be a baker and started making treats for her family on a regular basis. As April’s curiosity grew she began exploring more sophisticated recipes and started a home-based baking business in 2008 while also taking her first Wilton’s Cake Decorating Class.

In 2010 April attended Macomb Community College for Pastry Arts, gaining knowledge on Pastry Techniques, Artisan Breads, French Pastries and Recipe Development. It was during this time that April knew that she wanted to open a bakery in Detroit, discovered D:hive and graduated from the organization’s February 2013 BUILD class – a business and project planning class for aspiring entrepreneurs. In September 2013, April along with partner, Michelle Anderson, opened their first bakery in Detroit on the historic Avenue of Fashion.

Incorporated in 2013, Good Cakes and Bakes’ mission is to provide quality baked goods that are wholesome and organic in nature; and to provide baked goods in an environment that is positive, creative, educational and friendly to employees and the community.

In 2015 April, along with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Kresge Foundation President Rip Rapson and former President Bill Clinton, participated in the Clinton Global Initiative America’s closing plenary session Comeback Cities which explored Detroit and highlighted its local businesses.

A native Detroiter, April Anderson is a graduate of Chadsey High School and holds both a Bachelors of Science from Spelman College and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan. April has baked for Oprah Winfrey and President Bill Clinton.

Stephanie Appiah

Executive Vice President, Property Operations

Stephanie brings almost 15 years’ experience in operations and administration to her role as the Executive Vice President, Property Operations, where she’s responsible for over 30,000 residents. Prior to Beam Living, Stephanie was with Bedrock Management Services, one of Detroit’s largest full service real estate firms. There she served as Senior Vice President of Property Management, responsible for 100+ buildings with commercial, retail, and residential tenants. Before entering the real estate sector, Stephanie worked in project management at Cleveland-based gaming/casino company JACK Entertainment. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Swarthmore College, as well as an MBA and Law Degree from William & Mary.

Robert Lockett

Executive Director, LISC Detroit

Rob Lockett is a servant leader, with demonstrated experience accelerating organizational growth, and delivering next level impact for multiple stakeholders. He has an established track record of success; leading initiatives for significantly rowing enterprise value through strategic problem solving, team member development, and operational excellence.

Currently, Rob serves as the Team Leader – National Housing Stability for Rocket Community Fund (RCF), the philanthropic organization of Rocket Companies (NYSE: RKT). At RCF, Rob is responsible for all functions of philanthropic investment, market
expansion and stakeholder engagement in key markets nationally.

He and his team are dedicated to executing the mission of RCF; simplifying complex and inequitable systems to ensure everyone has access to stable and healthy housing. RCF invest across a diverse portfolio of several issue areas: including Homelessness, Displacement Prevention, Bridging the Digital Divide, and building Generational Wealth through Homeownership, particularly in communities of color.

"Leaders look for opportunities to serve others", a statement central to Rob personal mission of building better communities. His involvement and advocacy with Civic Engagement, Social Justice, and Economic Mobility related issues have shaped his personal journey. Rob is a speaker and consultant to groups providing 'whole health' solutions to the Black community.

Equitable access to opportunity for Black and BIPOC entrepreneurs, particularly access to capital is a very important item for Rob. He is a graduate of the Venture Scout Program with Hawke Ventures, through its Equitable VC Professionals Initiative. He is a frequent speaker, mentor, and advisor to early-stage start up founders and operations professionals.

He is an active civic and non-profit leader and board member, currently serving the Founder's Junior Council Board of the Detroit Institute of Arts, Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC) Detroit, Michigan Political Leadership Program, 100 Black Men of Greater Detroit, Wayne County CASA, and the SASHA Center. Rob enjoys learning and has developed a passion for giving back through education, with classroom instruction experience at the collegiate level, most recently at Atlanta Metropolitan State College, Emory University, and several other guest lecture features.

A native of Atlanta, GA, Rob received his BS in Public Policy from the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University and holds an MBA from Goizueta Business School at Emory University.

Portia Powell

CEO, Good Vibes Lounge
CEO, One Detroit Credit Union

Portia Powell brings more than 20 years of banking experience to this new role as President and CEO.

"One Detroit is poised to take the next step in becoming Detroit's community financial institution, and Portia's mix of banking experience and devotion to the community is a perfect combination to make that happen," said Hank Hubbard, president and CEO of One Detroit Credit Union.

Powell previously served at Chemical Bank as manager of Municipal Banking Operations. As a Certified Public Funds investment manager, she serviced municipalities all over the country, including the City of Detroit. Most recently she served as a program manager for Huntington Bank's Lift Local Program and helped execute on their $4 billion commitment to underserved communities.

Powell, who also led the Minority & Women Owned Business Initiative for TCF Bank, sees this position as the ideal role to fulfill her personal mission and professional goals.

"This opportunity to serve Detroit, and be at the forefront of the new products and partnerships that will directly impact the lives of Detroiters, is truly a dream come true," said Powell. "When small institutions and minority-owned and operated institutions are fading away, to have the opportunity to lead an organization that's committed to those same community-first values is both an honor and a privilege."

Matty Yohannan

Founder and Managing Member, Brown Oak Media

Matty Yohannan was most recently Chief of Staff to CEO Marc Ganzi at DigitalBridge with a focus on advancing key growth initiatives and strategic projects. He sat on both the DEI and ESG Steering Committees, served on the Board of Mexico Tower Partners and was part of the founding team of the DigitalBridge Ventures platform, where he remains a Senior Advisor.

He joined DigitalBridge from Deacon Arch Partners, a family office merchant bank that he founded and capitalized. Prior to Deacon Arch, he was a Managing Director at ShareNett, a family office investment platform founded by Jim Pallotta (Raptor Group), where he led the origination and investment efforts and was a Member of the Investment Committee and Management Committee.

Matty earned his MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business with a Certificate in Public Management & Social Innovation, and graduated magna cum laude with a BS in Finance & Economics from the Stern School of Business at NYU.

He is an Alumnus of the SEO Career Program, a Toigo Foundation Fellow, a Finalist for the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans and a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10k Small Businesses Program for Roasting Plant Detroit.

Jacqueline Young

Senior Director of Business Development, DEGC

Jacqueline Young is Senior Director of Business Development. Young comes to DEGC from DTE Energy, where she was an Economic Development Manager responsible for job growth and retention strategies in DTE’s service territories. Young will lead DEGC’s business attraction efforts in her new role, focusing on multi-sector industries supporting Detroit’s ever-growing supply chain. She will guide companies through site selection and deal-closing processes, create new job opportunities in Detroit, and work closely with local, regional and state partners. Young will also represent DEGC at industry events and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders in Detroit’s startup and innovation ecosystems.

To the BUILD Institute Community,

On behalf of the BUILD Institute Board of Directors, we want to share that the Board has made the decision to pause operations at the end of 2025.

We recognize that we are living in a time of great uncertainty for small business support organizations across Michigan. This moment offers us an opportunity to reassess how BUILD delivers on its mission, retool our programming, and evaluate new partnership opportunities and our overall business model to ensure long-term sustainability and impact.

In the coming months, we will continue all scheduled programming through December to ensure that all commitments to entrepreneurs and partners are honored. During this time, we will also explore new ways to align our work with the evolving needs of our community, including our network of over 3,000 alums.

Please join us in showing appreciation for the team members and facilitators who have served Detroit’s entrepreneurs and supported BUILD’s mission since our founding in 2012.

If you have any questions about this decision or what it means in the near term, please email us at [email protected].

Thank you for your continued support and for being part of BUILD’s legacy of inclusive entrepreneurship.

With gratitude,
The BUILD Institute Board of Directors