Two Degrees of Detroit: A Full Circle Moment with Margrit Allen

I understand that the distinction between those who have been system-involved and those who have not often comes down to circumstance, opportunity, and systemic factors rather than character or potential.

Margrit Allen

Detroit’s story has always been one of innovation, adaptability, and collective strength. Few embody these values more fully than Margrit Allen — a lifelong Detroiter whose visionary leadership across education, workforce development, and nonprofit programming continues to strengthen the city’s interconnected networks of opportunity. Today, as a member of GreenLight Fund Detroit’s Selection Advisory Council (SAC), Margrit continues to invest her time and talents into ensuring that Detroiters have access to the tools, support, and opportunities they deserve.

Rooted in Detroit, Building Networks of Opportunity

Earlier this spring, the GreenLight Fund Detroit team joined Margrit and a lively group of familiar faces at the local office of Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) to unveil a new mural that had been months in the making. Spanning two full walls, the piece pulses with the energy of Detroit social realism, and was co-created by the CEO Michigan Site Director and two members of the Linkage Community—an alumni association of the Prison Community Arts Project (PCAP). It was a powerful full-circle moment: PCAP was featured at Detroit SHIFT in 2018, where GreenLight Fund introduced CEO as our first portfolio organization.

Like Margrit, muralism has a long history of social and cultural advocacy in Detroit; Girl with the D Earring, several BLKOUT Walls Festival commissions, and Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry murals are all near neighbors to the artwork unveiled that sunny day in April. CEO’s new mural is a symbol of return, renewal, and relationship—values that have defined Margrit’s journey with GreenLight Fund for the past seven years. We had the opportunity to speak with her about that journey.

In conversation with Margrit: A focus on community impact

Margrit is a member of the GreenLight Fund Detroit SAC and participates  not only as a workforce development leader and subject matter expert, but as a mother and community member committed to identifying barriers to opportunity Detroiters encounter every day and giving voice to shared realities across the city. Rewind to GreenLight Fund Detroit’s first selection cycle when the critical unmet need that rose to the surface was reentry and workforce access for individuals returning from incarceration.

The solution: CEO—an evidence-based model with a national track record of connecting individuals returning home from prison with transitional employment, skills training, and long-term opportunities for economic mobility.

As CEO Detroit’s founding Executive Director, Margrit leverages her lived experience as a portfolio leader to help guide our future investments. She brings firsthand knowledge of what it takes to launch a national model in Detroit:

“My experience leading CEO Detroit fundamentally shapes the lens I use to evaluate organizations seeking to expand into our city. When evaluating potential GreenLight investments during this cycle, I assess their openness to learning from local expertise and their commitment to building reciprocal relationships within Detroit’s existing support networks. Organizations that view expansion as a partnership with the community rather than simply a geographic growth opportunity are those most likely to create lasting positive change in our city.”

Margrit also brings to the table a teacher’s understanding of individualized approaches, a practitioner’s insight into what community-centered impact truly looks like, a connector’s spirit linking GreenLight Fund’s efforts to broader workforce and education ecosystems, and a deep commitment to selecting organizations that honor Detroit’s strengths, culture, and future aspirations. 

“Detroit is fundamentally relationship-based, making respect, partnership, and clear swim lanes essential to success. National organizations must approach expansion as joining an existing ecosystem, not planting a flag in unclaimed territory. I strongly believe that national organizations with local sites must commit to remaining flexible to meet communities at their particular points of need.”

The GreenLight Fund Method brings in evidence-based organizations with a track record of success, and local leaders like Margrit ensure those models take root and thrive.

“Organizations succeeding in Detroit empower local leaders to co-lead strategy development based on deep community knowledge… This co-creation approach ensures programs remain responsive to Detroit’s specific context and can build authentic relationships with community partners.”

When building her first CEO team, Margrit sought out folks who she could trust to lean in to do the work: 

“Nina Hicks, Jamal Williams, Deshawn Singleton, Cierra McFarlin and Alicia Stokes brought a heart-centered approach to the work and understood that we were doing much more than running a jobs program. They recognized that our work was about restoration, healing, and creating genuine opportunity.

 

Their commitment to seeing participants in their full humanity rather than through the lens of past mistakes exemplified the very best of Detroit’s community-centered values and became our greatest strength in the work.”

Under her leadership, CEO Detroit supported thousands of returning Detroiters in gaining economic stability, advocated to overturn state restrictions on accessing SNAP benefits, and worked to shift employer mindsets around inclusive hiring and fair chances. 

“CEO’s impact in Detroit was profoundly shaped by its partnerships; without them, success would have been impossible. GreenLight’s impact extended far beyond financial support… What emerged was an ecosystem of conscious collaboration that transformed lives. Together, we created space for system-involved individuals to reclaim their purpose and rise into their highest expression, work that continues to elevate Detroit through the power of aligned partnership.”

Margrit transitioned from CEO in December 2020. Her legacy remains evident as CEO Michigan continues to lead with the same determination, empathy, and insight that comes from being deeply rooted in the communities that call this city home as she does. Margrit’s commitment to community members coming home continues to guide her work. 

“When I announced my departure from CEO, one of our participants sent me a message on LinkedIn saying, ‘don’t forget about us’ with a teary-eyed emoji. I have never forgotten that. I intend to always continue the work, regardless.

 

In my current role, I spearheaded Fair Chance Initiatives for [Trinity] Health System and CEO was my first reentry partner organization (hence the people on the CEO mural in scrubs, that’s us). Under my leadership, we have completely revised hiring policies (across a 27 state system) to be more inclusive for people who have had convictions, and are building conviction-informed career pathways so that fewer people are screened out of employment [in healthcare settings] due to legal restrictions.”

Margrit understands what it takes to implement a high-impact solution, and just as importantly, what it takes to sustain it. Her experiences as a portfolio leader, teacher, direct service provider, and workforce development professional make her an invaluable contributor to our work.

GreenLight Fund Detroit has since invested in  New Teacher Center, Springboard Collaborative, and Bottom Line; each one selected through the same rigorous, community-led process. Margrit’s involvement helps ensure our selection decisions are rooted in local wisdom and that equity and accountability remain front and center.

GreenLight Fund is built on the idea that meaningful, lasting change is driven by communities. We invest not only in proven organizations, but in the people and relationships that help them succeed locally. From leading our first portfolio organization to guiding what comes next, Margrit exemplifies that approach, remaining a steward of community voice and a champion for impact. 

At GreenLight Fund Detroit, we are proud to work alongside leaders like Margrit who bring local knowledge, strategic insight, and a deep commitment to equity.  Real impact doesn’t happen in isolation — it happens through community-driven, interconnected action.