the 2nd annual

VANGUARD

awards

SPONSORED by

CLAIRE NELSON

Claire Nelson is the owner of Bureau of Urban Living, a modern home goods store located in the Canfield Lofts in Midtown Detroit. An avid city-lover since birth, she opened the store to promote design and city living.

A Chicago-land native, she studied Architecture & Urbanism at Smith College and Columbia University. She went on to work at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. and The Skyscraper Museum and Van Alen Institute in New York City before moving to Detroit in 2002. She worked as a designer with downtown firm Archive D.S. before opening her own business.

In 2007, Ms. Nelson and Liz Blondy co-founded Open City a forum for small businesses in Detroit. Since then, Open City has attracted hundreds of aspiring and existing entrepreneurs to its monthly meetings to learn and exchange ideas. From these conversations emerged a climate of creativity and cooperation that helped foster several new start-ups and captured the attention of national media.

Ms. Nelson is passionate about creating vibrant urban neighborhoods through design, preservation, transit and retail development. She is a drafter of the Detroit Declaration, coordinator of the UCCA’s Shop Midtown campaign and a contributor to Model D Media. She sits on advisory boards for the Colin Hubbell Fund, the Urban Retail Loan Fund and Detroit Synergy, and has contributed to programs for MSHDA, Michigan Municipal League, Michigan Future, Detroit Renaissance and Great Lakes Urban Exchange. In 2008, she was a guest speaker at the Mackinac Policy Conference.

Ms. Nelson lives in Midtown Detroit and can usually be found somewhere between Avalon Bakery and Motor City Brewing Works.

Detroit Young Professionals (DYP) is bringing together movers and shakers from across Southeast Michigan to honor 10 remarkable innovators and changemakers at our 2nd Annual Vanguard Awards. This event was established to recognize and celebrate outstanding Detroiters who have distinguished themselves through professional leadership and service to our community.

Hosted by Local 4 News Anchor Rhonda Walker, the 2nd Annual Vanguard Awards will take place on Thursday, March 25, 2010 at Amnesia, perched high above downtown Detroit on the 16th floor of MotorCity Casino Hotel. Attendees will enjoy a special networking reception, awards presentation and after party with a complimentary hors d'oeuvres and music by DJ SloPoke.

Tickets for the 2nd Annual Vanguard Awards are only $25 and can be purchased online at http://www.detroityoungprofessionals.org/vanguards. For more information, please email vanguards@detroityoungprofessionals.org.