Group photo of 2022-23 Community Tech Workers

Community Tech Workers

What is the Community Tech Worker program?

Community Tech Workers help business owners save time and money by integrating technology into their businesses. Rooted in the Community Health Worker model, Community Tech Workers aim to take on the digital divide affecting small businesses, while piloting a workforce development model to move young people into tech-related fields. Community Tech Workers offer free one-on-one training to help business owners better integrate technology into their businesses, to improve the business’ efficiency and increase profitability. 

Community Tech Workers are available to meet Monday-Thursday from 9:30-4:00 p.m. Both in-person and virtual meeting options are available. Get started by scheduling an intake appointment with a community tech worker on the Detroit Means Business website.

Services

Our goal is to increase the digital capability among Detroit business owners. We specialize in teaching business owners how to: 

  • Update websites
  • Create social media images 
  • Automate social media posts
  • Optimize point of sale systems
  • Automate electronic inventory systems
  • Integrate third party apps (e.g. scheduling, delivery, project management)
  • Establish cybersecurity protection

What We Don’t Do
We’re not a help desk. We don’t do content creation for websites or social media and we don’t do routine updates to websites — but we will teach you how to update your own website, or how to use free software to make effective social media, and how to read the back-end analytics to see if your posts are working.

How it Works

  1. Businesses can schedule an intake appointment with a community tech worker on the Detroit Means Business website. The community teach workers will:
    • Meet to learn more about clients’ needs and pain points
    • Propose a scope of work for resolving clients’ issues. This usually includes some combination of training on specific software for the business owners or their staff, and referrals to other resources.
  2. Once the client and tech workers agree on priorities, follow up appointments are scheduled as needed.

Meet the Team 

Profile of Danielle Taylor-Basemore, Community Tech Worker

Danielle Taylor-Basemore

Community Tech Worker
Senior, LSA, Communications & Digital Studies

I was determined to become a CTW because I was intrigued by the center’s goal of placing job creation and economic control in the hands of community members. As someone who has observed and experienced the economic hardships of small businesses and now has the skills to combat said hurdles, being able to give back to my city in a way that utilizes my acquired skills was an opportunity too good to pass up.

Headshot of Edwin Taylor, Community Tech Worker

Edwin Taylor

Community Tech Worker

I’ve grown up in Jefferson East for 15 plus years. Most of the business owners know me and my family personally. Watching a lot of these businesses come from the ground up has been life changing and really motivates me to want to do more for myself professionally and in the community.

Headshot of Lutalo Sanifu,  MURP ‘19 Director of Neighborhood Resilience, Safety & Business District Services, Jefferson East, Inc

Lutalo Sanifu, MURP ‘19


Director of Neighborhood Resilience, Safety & Business District Services, Jefferson East, Inc.

Jefferson East, Inc. has a long-standing commitment to serving small businesses, and our relationship with DNEP is an extension of that commitment. It has been a pleasure to collaborate with the University of Michigan faculty and staff to bring these much-needed technology support services to Detroit businesses.

The Community Tech Worker program is a collaboration between the University of Michigan’s Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project (DNEP), the Ford School of Public Policy, the School of Information, and Detroit nonprofit Jefferson East, Inc. Funding is provided by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

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