Dug Song, co-founder and president of the Song Foundation, and Khalilah Burt Gaston, its founding executive director, are driving a vision to empower Michigan entrepreneurs and bridge the gaps that exist in the state’s innovation ecosystem. Focused on fostering diversity and inclusion, the Song Foundation supports initiatives that give Michiganders a pathway to participating in the growing innovation economy.

One Detroit contributor Zoe Clark, political director for Michigan Public, spoke with Song and Gaston at the 2025 Detroit Policy Conference about growing the state’s innovation economy.