We are a community-led, social impact driven community development corporation and non-profit organization formed from the long-standing, 30-year community-based organization, the Bronzeville Community Development Partnership. The Innovation Metropolis: SMART Tech District serves as both an organization and community economic development innovation district comprised of the 9 City of Chicago southside communities also designated as the Bronzeville Black Metropolis National Heritage Area. In collaboration with our community partners, we work to facilitate and foster connection, cohesiveness and expansion of shared-opportunities for the broader constellation of ecosystems of institutions, incubators, accelerators, government agencies, community-based organizations, developers, corporations, manufacturers, financial institutions, foundations, private equity impact investors, labor unions, and utilities.
Innovation Metropolis is working to foster community wealth building and economic mobility by creating awareness and facilitating opportunities for low to moderate income residents within the State of Illinois and 9 Bronzeville Neighborhood communities of Chicago in Clean Energy Transition, SMART Manufacturing, Innovation and Technology. Our work focuses on 6 areas: 1) supporting and fostering locally based workforce pipelines and ecosystems within and expanding the Illinois Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA) Network; 2) supporting, fostering and attracting locally-based small business development, expanding contracting and supply chain opportunities; 3) community education, engagement, research & advocacy; and 4) Goal-To-Net Zero Adaptive Reuse & Decarbonization Community Real Estate Development, education, engagement and project implementation to foster hub and spoke economic centers of opportunity with the healthy redevelopment of local vacant buildings, brownfields and land(capital project II; 5) Innovation District Designation & Bronzeville SMART Mart Hub Development (capital project I); and 6) Infrastructure & Grid Resiliency Fund Development to fuel and fund Community Development & Investment (capital project III).
It is our bold vision that we lift as we climb, bringing other organizations and communities along with us in our pioneering journey in community-focused thought leadership, in designing, planning and developing economic models, approaches, projects, research, policies, hiring, business development models and procurement practices that create new opportunities for community wealth building, improving generational economic mobility and quality of life of low to moderate income families and under-represented populations in Bronzeville and beyond. We want to offer our in-real time best practices as a model of success to scale to other communities to create their own self-determining pathways for thriving economic viability, sustainability and resiliency with renewable energy as the economic engine.
Sherelle Withers is a senior executive-level professional with over 25 years of broad-based, multifaceted and substantive experience and expertise having served in various leadership and professional roles in corporate, government and non-profit environments and as an entrepreneur. She is a social impact, data and mission-driven visionary, systems design-thinking thought-leader, and servant-leadership focused collaborative and community partnership resource developer. She is also a social-impact entrepreneur and organizational development, a creative and an emerging multi-media experiential artist transforming narratives that define community, change and value intertwining the built environment and technology. Ms. Withers has effectively leveraged her learned, work & lived experiences to improve outcomes for all through a focus on equity, innovation, advocacy, education, engagement, collaboration, strategic partnership, program and systems development. Her work experiences include accomplishments in urban planning, community economic development, ecosystem and community wealth building with workforce & supplier diversity pipeline development, authentic community engagement, public policy, change management, business development technical assistance, program development and financial and systems management. Sherelle wishes to empower and rebuild underserved, under-resourced communities like the ones she grew up in Chicago. The focus of her work centers on implementing community-focused and equity-centered ecosystems as a community accelerator through talent / workforce development, small business development, and facilitating supplier diversity pipelinesin renewable energy, Green / Clean energy Technology, adaptive reuse, and community-relevant data design and advocacy that serve as a model for the betterment of disadvantaged, underserved communities.