Biography

Dennis has spent more than 25 years in the community economic development movement and currently serves as the president of Northern Initiatives (NI). NI helps people start and grow businesses, strategizes with communities to develop public-private partnerships and promotes entrepreneurship, tourism and regional collaboration. It provides technical assistance, training and consulting to over 100 businesses annually. It has built region-wide collaborations in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan around nature and cultural tourism and food systems. NI is a community development financial institution, focused on supporting small business owners and entrepreneurs who create jobs and enable the people and communities of Northern Michigan to thrive.