Pamela Lewis

Pamela Lewis is the Director of the New Economy Initiative (NEI), one of the nation's largest philanthropic partnerships, funded by 12 national and regional foundations and managed by the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. It is in its eighth year of innovative funding and the development of public/private partnerships that have helped create more than 17,000 jobs and 1,600 companies throughout the region. As a highly talented economic development expert, Lewis brings vision and process to guide the NEI team in strategic grant making and program development. Lewis, who has an engineering degree from Michigan State University and a Masters of Business Administration from Spring Arbor University, served as deputy team leader of NEI before being named director. She joined the initiative in 2011 as senior program officer, after serving as a member of the Kauffman Foundation's Detroit team, overseeing national entrepreneurial programs. She was recently named as one of the top 25 women in technology in Michigan and one of the 100 most influential women in Michigan by Crain's Detroit. Lewis began her career at DTE Energy, spending 15 years in roles ranging from analyst to manager of process management and continuous improvement initiatives. At NextEnergy, she managed entrepreneurial programs focused on accelerating clean energy startups. Lewis has been a resident of Metro Detroit all of her life.