As we celebrate another year and take some time to rejuvenate, it’s humbling to reflect on all that 2017 brought us as we partnered with mission-driven organizations in Detroit, across Michigan, and nationally.

We thank our partners and communities for allowing us to collaborate, serve, and lead with you in 2017—and beyond. We also thank those who have engaged with us and supported in a myriad of ways.

These reflections and highlights from 2017 wouldn’t be possible without a vast local and national community committed to mission-driven work—thank you!

In 2016, the Michigan Department of Education’s Office of Educator Talent brought us on board to build a campaign to celebrate educators—based on the Michigan Equity Plan—which came to be known as the #proudMIeducator campaign. With a social media campaign across platforms, as well as a monthly video feature of an educator from every region of the State, we uplifted the great work of teachers. Recognizing the power of educators’ voices, we also launched a monthly blog. We designed a three-phase campaign, with each phase co-existing with the prior. July 2017 marked one full year of the campaign—and it continues!

Through the first quarter of 2017, we partnered with The Skillman Foundation to host Teacher Listening Sessions. These sessions allowed us to get a better pulse on what teachers want and need. An impact report was prepared that was included in knowledge downloads with leadership across the city, business community, and education landscape—leading with teacher voices.

Throughout 2017, we partnered with the Campaign for Black Male Achievement (CBMA) to design and launch the inaugural CBMA Detroit Advisory Board; design and host quarterly partner and staff deep-dive days; launch the national inaugural Building Beloved Community Leadership Fellowship; host the first-ever regional Rumble Young Man, Rumble! in Detroit; partner to further High School Excellence with brilliant educators at Frederick Douglass Academy for Young Men (located in Detroit) on the FD Promise, CBMA Literacy Corps, and CollegeSpring PSAT Preparation; as well as overall strategic planning and reporting with the national Strategy and Innovation Team. The impact of CBMA in Detroit, as well as nationally is undeniable—we are deeply grateful to partner with them!

In July, we moved into our new offices at Bamboo Detroit. We are proud to say we’ve been with Bamboo since 2016, yet as they have grown, so have we! The new 4th floor suites of Bamboo Detroit are home to our Hampton Consulting Detroit office. Visit Bamboo today for a tour—or check out their social media platforms to learn about networking and professional development opportunities.

We’ve had a blast partnering with New Paradigm for Education (NPFE) this year. We built out a strategic recruitment plan in partnership with NPFE’s Superintendent and district leadership with a goal of getting NPFE’s schools fully staffed for the 2017-2018 academic year and beyond. NPFE began the school year fully staffed, including a waitlist of qualified candidates for several roles. In addition to leading recruitment, we’ve also launched partnerships and an overall talent continuum for the district.

Since 2015, we’ve been working with the Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives at the University of Michigan and a cohort of 300 brilliant high school students via Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP)—Michigan’s largest college access program. This fall, OAMI hosted a Matriculation Ceremony for GEAR UP students who are attending the University of Michigan. These young brilliant minds are trailblazers and we are so proud of them completing their first semester of college!

United Way for Southeastern Michigan’s Vice President of Education, Tammie Jones, had a powerful vision for opportunities and access that every student in Detroit should experience—including large-scale, college and career readiness fairs. We partnered with United Way to design a fair continuum for not only high school students, yet middle schoolers. 2017 marked the first year and two of three fairs that will be hosted annually. In May, United Way partnered with Grow Detroit’s Young Talent, Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation, Downtown Detroit Partnership, and the Mayor’s Youth Workforce Sub-Committee to host the Career Connections Fair. The fair engaged 687 youth attendees, resulted in over 300 job offers, and engaged over 80 partners and facilitators, 115 volunteers, and 65 employers. In November, we focused on high school freshmen via the Find Your Future: Career Exploration Fair. This fair engaged more than 1,800 freshman students from across 25 high schools from Detroit Public Schools Community District. Students were able to engage in 15 workshops hosted by 18 facilitators, 52 career exploration booths staffed by 175 partners, a social-media lab, professional headshot station, and on-site high school and college advising sessions.

The work we do at Hampton Consulting wouldn’t be possible without our great team members; people make an organization, and we are fortunate to have amazing people! In June, we welcomed Alaina Dague as our Senior Consultant. In September, Tori Lee joined us as our Special Projects Coordinator. We were also thrilled to welcome Jeniqua Davis as our Executive Assistant in October. This dream team has made our work possible and continues to progress and grow our organization’s impact—we cannot thank them enough!

2017: A Year of Powerful Impact with Mission-Driven Partners