Kyra Hudson Email & Phone Number

Detroit, Mi, Us

Greater Detroit Area

Ann Arbor, Michigan

As a Research Assistant for Poverty Solutions I have the opportunity to bring the insights gained through my collaborative work experiences with Detroit community members and non-profits to Poverty Solutions’ Investing in Us research project. The project will provide a community informed report of the community investment priorities of Detroit residents, as well as give policy recommendations for improving economic opportunity in Detroit. I am reviewing the existing literature which consists of neighborhood plans, research reports from studies done in Detroit, and a variety of community reports sponsored by community non-profits and foundations. I am pulling out a variety of themes from community members’ quotes within the existing literate to be represented in our final report.

Washington D.C. Metro Area

As the Research and Policy Analysis Intern at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, I joined a talented team of policy researchers to asses the effects of national social and economic policies on the African American community. My primary duty was to work independently on a policy brief tracking the history and impact of race-conscious education policies in the United States. I also availed myself to various researchers and staff in my department, which allowed me to gain a broad range of experiences. These experiences included collecting data from digital archives, planning a major policy conference, editing a peer-reviewed policy journal, and forging partnerships with other researchers working on similar issues in the D.C. community.

Detroit, Mi

As the Junior Project Manager for Detroit's Campaign for Grade Level Reading I had the exciting opportunity to be a part of the initial stages of development for this city-wide campaign to increase at-grade-level reading for children in Detroit. I worked with the Lead Project Manager to develop the strategy for implementing, managing, and evaluating a set of literacy programs in non-profits in the Greater Detroit Area. Once we began implementation, I spent much of my time out in the field at community non-profits gathering data. As I engaged with community members and non-profit directors, I learned a great deal about community needs and used those insights to help inform implementation strategies. In this role I also took on the additional responsibility of being the point person for the Reading is Fundamental literacy program implementation at Brilliant Detroit.

Kalamazoo, Michigan Area

In 2017 I brought my passion for community engagement and research back to my hometown of Kalamazoo, MI as a Community Assessment Intern for Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services Department. In this role I was able to engage with community members and a number of community organizations to collect data on community needs. The data collected was used to create the county’s Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Needs Assessment report in accordance with Michigan’s Title V Block Grant requirement. Other duties I preformed included managing communications and relationships with community contacts for event coordination and publication of MCH online survey.

Detroit, Mi, Ishinomaki Japan

While in Japan my team and I developed intercultural means of empowering individuals and strengthening communities by establishing a partnership with Herman Miller’s Ishinomaki Laboratory in Japan and Brightmoor Makerspace in Detroit. We adapted a design created by Ishinomaki Lab for the components for a toolkit to be used in workshops with children world wide to facilitate opportunities for creative thinking and learning. We continued our work on this project back in Detroit where I facilitated a workshop with Brightmoor Makerspace students at Detroit Community High.

Ann Arbor, Mi

As the intern to the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Culture Officer at U-M I prepared workshops and educational resources that will support a more culturally competent staff and student community at the University. Additionally, I organized and maintained the resource base of organizations across the nation where schools and colleges at U-M can advertise and recruit in order to create a more diverse staff community across campus.

Greater Detroit Area

Brilliant Detroit is an organization developed with, for, and by neighbors in communities around the Detroit area. Brilliant Detroit empowers parents, caregivers, families, and community members by connecting them to the resources necessary to foster a neighborhood where kid success is not only a priority but a reality. As the Community Engagement Associate, I collaborated with my team members and the community in order to create organizational plans for the operation of Brilliant Detroit's different locations. Additionally, I reviewed articles and journals concerned with equity and early-childhood education in order to create an issue brief that will help inform community partners and families of the importance of the work Brilliant Detroit does in early-childhood interventions.

University Of Michigan

As a research assistant for the project "Understanding the Race and Ethnicity Requirement" I curated various pieces of archival research to be used in University of Michigan Dean Angela Dillard's upcoming journal article on the racial events leading to the passing of the Race and Ethnicity Requirement at the University of Michigan. I collaborated with fellow research assistants on the preparation and presentation of project-related reports as well as facilitated oral interviews with significant parties found in our research. From the experience I was able to enhance my communication and interpersonal skills with my team members and research sponsors .

Master Of Science- M.S.Ed, Education Policy

Master Of Management

Activities and Societies: Grader for undergraduate course in Identities, Diversity, and Organizations

Bachelor Of Arts - Ba, Gerald R. Ford School Of Public Policy

Activities and Societies: Intergroup Dialogue Facilitator, Michigan Community Scholars Program, Alternative Spring Break, Student Advisory.