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Amanda Lewan

@amanda_jenn

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Supporting founders & creators.
CEO @bamboocowork, fiction writer, mom.

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The Innovation Alliance is hiring an Operations Director, its first dedicated operations hire.

The Alliance launched in May to connect Michigan's investors, universities, corporations, founders, and startups as one coordinated network. The goal is to make Michigan a Top-10 innovation economy in the country.

This is the person who makes a statewide coalition actually run. Track the priorities. Keep the partners and Action Councils moving. Run the convenings. Support the grant reporting and budgets. Manage member communications. Whoever takes it builds the operating base a future Executive Director will lead.

We know who does this work in our community. The people who keep the tracker, close the loop, and know everybody in the room.

The details:
Michigan-based, remote with regular in-person meetings and statewide travel. Detroit area preferred.
Contract, about 25 to 30 hours a week
$8,000 to $10,500 a month
12 to 18 month renewable term, with the potential to become full-time
Target start December 2026
Contracted through Invest Detroit Foundation, the Alliance's fiscal sponsor

You need to be a Michigan resident with 7 or more years in operations, program management, or nonprofit or coalition administration. Knowing Michigan's innovation ecosystem is a strong plus.

Apply by Friday, October 30 with a resume and a one-page writing sample at wkf.ms/4zuLBQI, or scan the code on the flyer. Applications are reviewed weekly, so applying early helps.

If this is you, apply. If it is somebody you know, send it to them.

#BlackTechSaturdays #BeTheSource #InnovationAlliance #NowHiring #MichiganInnovation

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What happens when a workspace becomes more than a place to work?
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For Amanda Lewan and Bamboo @bamboocowork, the answer is community.
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Bamboo’s mission is to build a diverse and inclusive ecosystem, which is why its partnership with The Ber-Henda Williams Show and Culture Shift(Hers) Unite™ feels deeply aligned.
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Their shared commitment to nurturing meaningful conversations, practicing thoughtful community care, and centering diversity and inclusion creates opportunities for people to gather, learn, and engage with one another in new ways.
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Because a space is not just about its physical walls.
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A space comes to life through the people and programs inside it.
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When we create room for cultural and community conversations, we create opportunities to move beyond the day-to-day and build the kinds of relationships that might otherwise be missed.
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And when it comes to women founders, entrepreneurs, and community leaders, that space is especially important.
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Women are carrying so much — in their businesses, families, households, communities, and organizations. Creating visible platforms where they can gather with peers, share experiences, and find support is an investment in their growth.
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That is the kind of care and intention that makes this partnership so powerful.
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From the conversations happening inside the space to the creativity behind how it is activated, Bamboo is helping welcome new audiences into a safe environment for deeper connection and more intentional dialogue.
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Because when we make space for people, community has room to grow. 💜
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#WomenLeaders #WomenFounders #CommunityBuilding #InclusiveSpaces #DiversityAndInclusion #WomenInBusiness Event poster with a woman's photo, event details, and partnership logos.

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Before Bamboo, there was no perfectly mapped-out plan.

We sat down with Bamboo Founder Amanda Lewan at Bamboo Ann Arbor to talk about the parts of entrepreneurship that don’t always make it into the highlight reel.

And doing it all? According to Amanda, there really is no such thing. Being both a founder and a mom requires a village. Friends, family and team members all play a role in making it possible for her to show up for both her family and her community.

Her path to Bamboo wasn’t exactly planned either. With a background in marketing and writing, she never necessarily pictured herself building a coworking company. But she understood firsthand what it meant to need somewhere outside of home to work, think and build.

Sometimes the thing you end up creating starts with something you needed yourself.
A little founder talk with Amanda Lewan from Bamboo Ann Arbor. 🌿

#BambooAnnArbor #DowntownAnnArbor #AnnArborSmallBusinesses #AnnArborCoworking #AnnArborEventSpace

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Did you know about Detroits ultimate creator link up???

Well we did!! @socialnthecity and @sntc.events put on a weekend filled with events to highlight + expand Detroits Creative scene, we got to be apart of it at the Creator Summit. Fueling the day with coffee + matcha.

Cc:
@bamboocowork / @amanda_jenn
@sterlmorrow1
@dezdelmar

#butterandblissco #detroitcoffee #detroitcreatives

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Last night, my Detroit women entrepreneurs book sprung to life. ✨

Over the past year, I’ve had the honor of editing these women and their stories. I’ve been so immersed in words on the page that it was a tad surreal watching these wildly driven, smart and talented female founders swap war stories, trade tips and share the joys of their journeys.

All had started their businesses in Detroit in the 2010s and nearly all of them are still going at it, growing their retail shops, art galleries, restaurants, co-working spaces and nonprofits to new levels.

I told most of their stories a decade ago as a reporter for The Detroit News and other publications. Now, they’re telling their stories in their own voice — and sharing advice for other women with aspirations of starting a business.

We have a ways to go until the book is published by the @wsupress in 2028, but I promise it will be worth the wait! ✨📖✨

(Note: There are many more book contributors not pictured!)

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What gets you off your center?#cultureshifthers

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I'm honored and humbled to share that I’ve been named a finalist for the Michigan REjournals Woman of the Year Award.

Early in my career, I’d pick up architecture, construction, and real estate publications and scan the pages looking for Black professionals - looking for a reflection of what my future might look like.

Awards are meaningful, but what this recognition represents means even more. It reminds me that representation isn’t just about being seen. To me, it’s about helping someone else see what’s possible for themselves.

Throughout my career, I’ve had the privilege of contributing to projects that shape our communities, building businesses that support entrepreneurs and city builders, and creating pathways for others to participate in real estate development and community wealth building. I hope that somewhere, someone is scanning a website, scrolling through LinkedIn, or attending an industry event and seeing a reflection of what they can become.

Representation matters.

Not because any one of us has “made it,” but because every visible example widens the path for those coming behind us.

Thank you to the Michigan Real Estate Journal and those who nominated me for this honor, and congratulations to all of the outstanding professionals recognized this year. I’m grateful to be among such remarkable company.

Cheers 🥂 to my WSDI board partners Lisa Berden and Rachele Downs, the @renovaredevelopment team Shannon Morgan and Jill Ferrari, and Amanda Lewan for her great projects Bamboo Grand Rapids and the Jefferson Hub!

#CRE
#realestate
#architecture
#realestatedevelopment
#representationmatters✊🏾👩🏾

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Amanda Lewan has spent years building what founders need most:

A place to begin.

Bamboo was never just about desks, rooms, or office space. It was about density. It was about community. It was about creating the kind of environment where builders, creatives, small businesses, and founders could find each other and grow together.

Now Bamboo is expanding that energy into Grand Rapids, helping anchor a space where the next generation of Michigan entrepreneurs can connect, collaborate, and take bigger risks.

On July 25th, Amanda welcomes us into that vision for the BTS Grand Rapids Takeover.

Because movements need rooms.

And rooms need people brave enough to open the doors.

📍 Bamboo Grand Rapids
🗓️ Saturday, July 25th
⏰ 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

BTS Grand Rapids Takeover. Meet us at Bamboo.

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Yesterday’s #roadtrip in TripSlip’s Achsha Jones van to Bamboo #GrandRapids was a blast. You should sign up for one of her monthly trips to the west side of Michigan.

It’s easy to stay where you are and try to get a fresh perspective, but it’s hard.

That’s why when Amanda Sweet shared about #EastMeetsWest via Slack about a road trip from Bamboo Detroit to Bamboo Grand Rapids on the last Wednesday of the month, I signed up.

I invited Annie Liemohn to work remotely with me, plus any time spent with Emefa Boamah is time well spent, and they are both special traveling companions. Not a secret: No matter where Emefa Boamah turns, she’s introduces you to someone.

Our journey started in Ann Arbor around 7:15am, and we arrived in GR around 9:45am. Staff had a breakfast spread available for us, and then we were off to work, meet up, or walk around the city after that. Choose your own adventure! First I met Nicole Albertson Albertson, owner of TOP’T Superfood Blends. She’s a certified integrative nutrition health coach who is passionate about healthy and tasty eating. Fun to share what’s new since we met last Dec. at Midwest House. Highly recommend horchata at #CafeOtono.

Next up: attended a workshop led by @Dr. Shawn Hondorp, #TheInnovativeTherapist and podcaster. (I decided to skip lunch provided by Bamboo, and it was 100% worth it.) Dr. Shawn led this close-knit group including Tamela Spicer - The Intentional Catalyst and Angie Vuyst in a series of questions to dig into alignment issues with work/life and understanding how our protector part might be overworking. Deep, private conversations with strangers can bring special insights. Thinking about your life and business while on the road with others. Literally & figuratively. Totally different!Definitely glad that I took the time to connect with Bamboo Grand Rapids (Matthew Gira and Amanda Lewan) and I’d like to return in August! (More details in my LinkedIn post.)

Heads up: are you interested in a personal branding session based at Bamboo Grand Rapids on August 25th, or anytime this summer or fall by appointment? The coworking space (former art museum) and city are beautiful and you deserve

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Sound up!

About a year ago @mliemohn and I were celebrating our 32nd anniversary on the west side of #Michigan. (Let me pause right there…I literally don’t know how that many years have flown by with this wonderful man.)

I knew @bamboocowork Grand Rapids going to open in the fall 2025, and I was eager to see it. Seeing updates from @amanda_jenn on social media platforms was exciting to me.

Why?

Because she was building in public, just like Aarash Baktash, PhD and I did 1 Million Cups Ann Arbor in the summer of 2024. Yes, what Amanda did as a #communitybuilder was waaaaaayyyyy harder with the launching 🚀of a new coworking space.

But I felt a part of #teamBamboo because she & her team of @Alexa Stecewicz and Alexia Williams made space for our dream. The dream to rewrite what #entrepreneurial community looks like.

We live in an cycle of chronic loneliness and isolation. Community is the antidote.

That’s why I’m getting on a Trip Slip bus early tomorrow morning at “oh gosh o’clock” with others from Bamboo Ann Arbor (including Emefa Boamah and Annie Liemohn) to ride to Grand Rapids.

The inaugural dream bus.

Because trying new things that community builders like Amanda Lewan and her team including @amandasweetlive (a phenomenal ecosystem nurturer) who want to bridge the East/West divide through mass transit makes sense.

Thank you to @monarchdawn.jen , Tarun Gehani, and Aarash Baktash, PhD, and April Christian- Davis for holding down the 1MC fort tomorrow at 1MCA2.

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You know the road. You build in the dark a long time. Then one night you see it. A light in a window. A door open. A seat saved.

That is July 25th.

We are putting east and west in one room. Detroit and Grand Rapids, together. Because the path to building something real in Michigan has always run across a bridge. Detroit to Grand Rapids. Detroit to Ann Arbor. The founders who unlock their potential are the ones who found the connection. The network. The access. The room that did not know them yet.

So we built the conduit. A way in. A way across.

Come expand your circle. Come find the people building on the other side of the map. Come reimagine how you show up, and where.

BTS Grand Rapids Takeover
Saturday, July 25th, 1 to 4 PM
Bamboo Grand Rapids, 2 Fulton St W

The light is on. Come find your way in.

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