The Southwest Detroit Business Association (SDBA) has recently announced that Laura Chavez-Wazeerud-Din has been named Vice President of Programs and Compliance. 

In this role, she will be responsible for making sure that the organization’s programs run effectively and get sufficient funding, while engaging with the community. 

Chavez-Wazeerud-Din will also provide support for the budget on grant/fund development initiatives for other programs, connect with the philanthropic and business sectors, and develop strategies to stay engaged with key stakeholders. 

“We’re very excited to welcome Laura to the SDBA and are confident her leadership will provide a strong foundation for our organization as we look to the future,” said SDBA Interim President & CEO Alicia Ramon.

She added, “Laura has a long track record of improving the financial profile of the organizations she leads, as demonstrated by the many high-level roles she has held in the banking industry. Laura understands what it takes to build financially successful businesses while also mentoring and motivating the talented individuals she leads – a skill set that will benefit the SBDA immensely.”

According to its website, SBDA “is a coalition of businesses and community interests committed to facilitating the continuation and enhancement of a stable, economically healthy Southwest Detroit. [They] accomplish this by employing strategies that support existing business and industrial enterprises, enhance the climate for public and private investment and economic growth, and act as a vehicle for cooperative ventures that support economic development in Southwest Detroit.”

Chavez-Wazeerud-Din graduated from Wayne State University with a Bachelors of Arts in Bilingual/Bicultural Education. 

She currently works as the President of Prospanica’s Detroit Chapter. Prospanica is a non-profit “to empower and enable Hispanic professionals to achieve their full educational, economic, and social potential.” 

Chavez-Wazeerud-Din is also a National Black MBA Association’s Detroit Chapter board member, Bound Together board member, and the Chamber Music of Detroit’s Executive Board Member Committee member.