Celebrating and learning from those on the frontlines of public service is core to our mission at Civic Roundtable. Our platform is shaped by the voices of leaders like Jenan Jondy, who reminds us that lasting impact doesn’t come from individuals alone—but from building programs and institutions that continue to serve communities long after any one person moves on.
As part of Michigan State University’s land-grant mission, the MSU Center for Community and Economic Development (CCED) partners with communities across the state to advance equitable, sustainable local economies. Through collaborative research, responsive engagement, and student-driven initiatives, the Center supports innovative projects that address complex challenges—especially in places that have long been under-resourced.
One of the people helping lead that work is Jenan Jondy, a Flint native and longtime advocate for systemic equity. With over two decades of experience in outreach, human rights, and program development—both locally and internationally—Jenan brings both lived experience and deep expertise to her role at the Center.
Today, she serves as the Regional Economic Innovation (REI) Coordinator at CCED, leading statewide efforts to co-create economic development tools and programs with low-income communities. Her approach centers on relationships, expanding access, and building long-lasting community capacity.
What are the Center’s core priorities?
At the Center, we support three main types of projects—Co-Learning Plans, Innovation Fellows, and Student-Led Faculty-Guided (SLFG) technical assistance. The projects are part of a fluid model which creates opportunities to co-create with community innovative economic development tools, models, policies, practices, and programs across Michigan.
A key component of our work is partnering with the community to inform upcoming initiatives. Instead of assuming what communities need, we take responsibility for building partnerships and doing the outreach so that we are appropriately informed on how we can leverage the Center and higher education resources to support community economic development. We reach out, ask questions, and invite communities to share their ideas and partner with us.
Last year, we reached out to thousands in our network to identify key areas for job creation and retention in Michigan. The network emphasized workforce transition, affordable housing, local procurement, innovation centers, renewable energy, and community benefits. Some awarded projects include a national conference on community capital, connecting Flint businesses to procurement opportunities and exploring AI for digital equity. Another initiative focuses on upskilling residents of Zone 8 in Detroit with AI literacy to improve job prospects.
How did you get into this work?
I’m a native of Flint, so I’ve seen the impact of disinvestment up close. The city was hit hard—first by the recession, then by the Flint water crisis, and later by COVID. It was devastating. I was involved in the water crisis response, and that experience shaped how I understand community development.
During my master’s program, I took a course in domicology, which is about the study of the life cycle of the built environment. That helped me make sense of the blight I’d witnessed in Flint - homes and buildings left vacant, only to cause further harm to the local community. Then, rapid change and investments make affordability for the local population a greater challenge. Structures can be renovated or built - but this shouldn’t be at the cost of individuals and families being displaced. Economic development isn’t about aesthetics, it’s about building sustainable equitable access and opportunities for those that live - or want to live - in our communities.
Can you share a project or partnership you're especially proud of?
One that I’m really proud of is our work with Chris Miller, one of the Center’s Innovation Fellows and CEO of the National Coalition for Community Capital (NC3), whose work continues to focus on community capital. These give non-accredited investors—everyday people—a way to build community wealth. REI supported this work through an Innovation Fellowship and this year via a national conference, “Changing the Paradigm: Mobilizing Community Investment Funds”. The event brought together attendees from 17 states and Canada, representing more than 75 different organizations - providing a platform for quite a bit of cross pollination between individuals and organizations.
Now other states are looking into similar models—even legislation. That’s the kind of impact we want to see: taking something from an idea to a real, usable tool for communities.
How do you engage the community in your planning?
One of our main approaches is through our annual Ideas to Innovation cycle.
Each year, we ask communities across Michigan to share ideas. What economic development challenges do they face? What opportunities could create or retain jobs where they live?
Submissions come from EDA designated Economic Development Districts (EDDs), nonprofit leaders, residents, professionals, and community members. We start to identify recurring themes—housing always comes up—and we group them into topical areas. Then at our Annual Summit, we present those ideas. Our partners—EDDs, state agencies, nonprofits, and experts—review and rate them. Their feedback helps shape our project priorities for the next year. The community leads the way. We simply support and resource what they’ve told us matters most.
There’s a phrase I always come back to: Culture eats strategy for breakfast. You can invest millions into programs, but if you don’t have buy-in, you’ve missed the point. Development has to begin with the people.
What barriers do you encounter when working with communities across the state?
The big four are time, talent, funding, and reach. To build capacity, we bring in student research assistants from different fields—policy, media, planning—and mentor them. We’re not just getting short-term support. We’re developing future leaders for this work.
Funding is always a challenge, but our partners bring their expertise and resources to the table. For example, one of our panel members introduced us to the Knowledge Commons, where we now share our reports. They’re indexed in Google Scholar, and within a month, we had thousands of downloads. That reach matters.
This work depends on strong, supportive leadership on leadership. I’m fortunate to have a director who brings the stability and support we need to do this work well.
What keeps you grounded and motivated?
This work takes time. But I remind myself that if I can move the arrow just one degree, that’s one degree less someone else will have to move. That’s how I stay grounded.We talk about rights a lot—and that’s important—but we also have responsibilities. Especially if you’re part of an institution.
We have a responsibility to the communities we’re in.
How does Civic Roundtable support your work?
Roundtable creates opportunities for collaboration. One University Center reached out to me because they saw our summit on Roundtable. They wanted to create something similar on their campus. That kind of idea exchange is so valuable. It keeps the work moving forward.
Roundtable also provides connection. There are days when this work feels heavy. But when I log on and see what other communities and centers are doing, it reminds me that I’m not alone. That gives me hope.
