Community Tech Consultants keep Detroiters competitive in online economy
Community tech consultant Martina Hinton-Jones (left) works with Monique West on Nov. 19, 2025, at Detroit Sip. (Poverty Solutions at U-M)
How U-M is scaling community-based tech support to narrow the digital divide for Detroit small business owners
By Lauren Slagter
DETROIT – Martina Hinton-Jones tilted her laptop screen so Monique West could see the mockup of her company’s logo adorning a black T-shirt.
“I’m going to put that on everybody,” West grinned at the first merchandise design for the STEAM education business she incorporated three years ago — WesTec Possibilities .
West met Hinton-Jones on a Wednesday afternoon in mid-November for a recurring tech consultation for her business, which aims to bridge the technology gap by connecting elementary and middle school students with robotics and other Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) educational resources.
West is passionate about diversifying the tech industry and capturing children’s imaginations with digital tools. After taking coding and web development courses, she saw tech as a way to combine her skills from working as an accountant, on the assembly line at General Motors, and as a property manager.
“(Martina) is helping me merge my gifts that I have all over the place and incorporate them into me. Because that’s what my business is – it’s me,” West said. “I learned that all I’ve done, … it can be used in tech. I want to help other people see that.”
West arrived at her meeting with Hinton-Jones unsure whether to accept an invitation to table at an upcoming Black Tech Saturdays event. An hour later, West left with a plan for what to showcase at her table, how to gather contact information from potential clients, and design options for a T-shirt to wear at the event.
The conversation between the two Detroit natives was part pep talk, part marketing strategy session, and part technical assistance with using digital tools to design merchandise.
“I want you to go out there and be the star that you are,” Hinton-Jones smiled at West across a sunny window table in Detroit Sip, a coffee shop in the West McNichols corridor on Detroit’s north side.
These consultations are free to Detroit small business owners through a Community Tech Consultants program run by the University of Michigan in partnership with Jefferson East Inc and Live6 Alliance . The program equips local residents to provide tech support and digital skill development for small business owners, while strengthening community ties.
It’s proving to be an effective way for Detroiters to close the digital divide and remain competitive in the online economy.