Madhavi Reddy is a Detroit-based community builder whose work centers around leveling the playing field of public participation and creating opportunities for people across sectors to develop shared strategies for change. Her community-building practice includes multi-sectoral collaboration, creating strong civic infrastructure, and developing cross-cultural processes and initiatives. 

 Her commitment to inclusion is connected to her experiences as the child of immigrants. She learned from a very early age about the importance of creating systemic change, decreasing barriers to access, and finding ways to share space with people from all over the world. Madhavi has worked in one of the most diverse communities in the world during her tenure in Toronto, where she managed complex community processes designed to create the civic infrastructure required to build stronger and more connected communities. 

Madhavi’s understanding of the complexity of urban spaces has led to her focus on developing high-impact collaborative solutions needed to create systemic change. She is experienced in developing co-creation processes that center the experiences of residents in multi-sectoral community building efforts, including the design and implementation of a neighborhood voice and advocacy framework, leading critical block-level land use planning, and supporting the development of a multi-service community hub.

Madhavi currently serves as executive director of Community Development Advocates of Detroit, a membership-centered organization serving the community development ecosystem in Detroit. She has taught community development courses at the University of Detroit Mercy as well as Wayne State University.

Madhavi received her Master of Community Development from the University of Detroit Mercy. When she is not working you can find her spending time with her family, trying to learn life’s lessons through a good pair of headphones, or getting covered in paint on her quest to screen print the perfect t-shirt.