Amanda Elias leads the Office of Neighborhood Economic Development. In this role, she leads a team focused on advancing an economic development strategy for commercial corridors in the neighborhoods, including shepherding development projects through the City permitting and entitlement process. Amanda joined the Duggan administration in June of 2014, working for veteran economic development attorney Tom Lewand, Duggan's former Group Executive for the Jobs and Economy Team. Then in 2018, she moved over to the Mayor’s Workforce Development team as an Employee Engagement Manager overseeing the retail and hospitality sector of the City before she came back to the Jobs and Economy Team as a Senior Advisor in 2019.  In 2021, the federal government was getting ready to pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure bill, unlocking billions of dollars for public infrastructure. Stepping into a newly created role – Senior Advisor for Federal Affairs and Strategy - Amanda was responsible for securing federal and state funding for the City of Detroit’s infrastructure priorities. At a time of unprecedented public investment at the federal and state levels, Amanda played a leading role in pursuing and securing vital support for the City’s most important initiatives. In 2023, the Mayor tapped Amanda to lead the newly created Office of Neighborhood Economic Development.