#devita davison

Detroit native Devita Davison was perfectly happy taking a bite out of the Big Apple. She had a great job at a blue chip publishing house, volunteered her time helping young entrepreneurs with their business plans and launched her own startup bring Southern flavor to the city.

When Hurricane Sandy hit Devita's house in Long Island, she came home to Michigan for a spell. In rediscovering her hometown, she was inspired by the good folks at FoodLab, Eastern Market and Green Garage to create Detroit Kitchen Connect.

Detroit Kitchen Connect combines all of Devita passions: entrepreneurialism, bringing people together, marketing and delicious food. DKC is part food incubator, part network weaver, part business accelerator, part test kitchen and all good. With DKC, Devita is helping the city's food entrepreneurs serve up economic development, a thriving community and tasty cuisine.

All that hard work is starting to pay off. In one year, 13 brand new businesses have opened their doors with the help of Detroit Kitchen Connect. And people are starting to take notice. When Oprah's The Life You Want Weekend rolled in to the Palace this past weekend, Oprah honored Devita with a “Standing O-Vation” for not only making the world a better place, but also motivating others to spark their own journey of personal change.

We're glad to have Devita Davison back home creating in the D and we can't wait to hear her idea worth spreading at TEDxDetroit. If we're lucky, we also might have a chance to sample some of the creations to hatch out of Detroit Kitchen Connect.