Research Day 2026 Keynote Speaker

Ashley Williams Clark is the Chief Strategy Officer of Detroit Future City (DFC), a nonprofit think tank driving research and strategies to promote a thriving and resilient Detroit. She also leads DFC’s Center for Equity, Engagement, and Research, which produces actionable research and policy recommendations focused on advancing economic equity, while engaging Detroiters to shape and use this work.

With nearly 20 years of experience in public policy research, community engagement, and program development, Clark has dedicated her career to improving outcomes for communities through bridging data and community experience to create actionable solutions.

Before joining DFC, she worked for the City of Detroit’s Housing and Revitalization Department, supporting public-private partnerships, and previously served as director of outreach and strategic partnerships at the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute, a nonpartisan applied community research organization. There, she also led research on housing and homelessness and helped lead an integrated community data system.

Earlier in her career, Clark interned with Self-Help, was a research associate at the Urban Institute, and managed operations for the Urban Institute Academy for Public Policy Analysis and Research (now known independently as The Policy Academies), a training program for emerging scholars from underrepresented communities.

Clark’s work has earned recognition from Crain’s Detroit 40 Under 40, the Michigan Chronicle’s Women of Excellence, and the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership’s Impact Award, among others.

She holds a master’s degree in city and regional planning from UNC Chapel Hill and a bachelor’s degree in urban studies from Washington University in St. Louis.

Clark will be the keynote speaker at Lawrence Technological University’s annual research day. She will draw upon her background and research experience at DFC to highlight the importance of applied research driving meaningful change in people’s lives.

We invite the public to join us and listen to Clark speak about her research experience and view faculty and student research.

When: April 24, 2026

Where: Lawrence Technological University Campus, S100, Science Building (Building 7)

Campus Map

Ashley Williams Clark will be speaking from 9:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.

Faculty and students will present their research in the atrium from 12 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.