Project overview
This write-up covers my pro-bono contributions to Compass and Compass Detroit through the public sites that support their programs: conference and event sites, the statewide hackathon, and the organizational web presence. Together they tell a story of repeatable event branding, tight timelines, and expanding who can update content as the team grows beyond a few people with deploy access.
My professional practice centers on a long-term commitment to community-driven technical leadership and mentorship. This trajectory began in 2011 with the Toledo Web Professionals, where I helped cultivate the local design and development scene. This foundational work evolved into teaching and organizing roles with the current iteration growing out of Toledo Codes and GDG Toledo, where I bridge the gap between technical complexity and community empowerment.
My recent pro bono work for Compass Detroit—managing complex deployments for conferences like Build with AI work at Michigan DevFest and BHMSummit—serves as a high-impact extension of this decade-long arc. By mentoring student volunteers through real-world pull requests and modern development workflows, I integrate my expertise as a Web Developer with a dedicated focus on building local talent and accessible digital infrastructure.
Why do all this? I might say, that I believe in the mission of Compass and Compass Detroit and I want to help them succeed. While that is true, my intention is broader. My plan was to use this work to expand my portfolio and network. It is critical to my success. I must raise awareness of my talents and attract colleagues and employers to bring my services to their organizations.
About Compass and Compass Detroit
Compass is a nonprofit ecosystem focused on growing inclusive tech and leadership capacity in Michigan. Through meetups, conferences, mentorship, and hands-on programs, it helps people see a path into product, engineering, and community leadership who might not otherwise have those networks.
Compass Detroit is the Detroit anchor of that work. It matters because it meets people where they are: it exposes participants to leadership (speaking, organizing, shipping real projects), networking (peers, sponsors, and mentors across companies and backgrounds), and AI and modern technology in practical, approachable ways — not as hype, but as tools and literacy for careers and civic life. Compass Detroit recruited me due to my expertise in accessibility and performance, with the level of effort I put into the work, and the impact it has on the community.
About Greg’s Leadership Experience and Commitment to Community
The early foundations of my leadership style formed within the Junior Chamber of Commerce throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Starting with the Bowling Green Jaycees, I engaged in structured leadership development that emphasized civic duty and organizational management. This period provided a rigorous introduction to coordinating community initiatives and managing diverse teams, establishing a blueprint for the collaborative project management I utilize today.
During my graduate studies, I extended this commitment to service through OP600 work weekends at YMCA Storer Camps. Partnering with the College of Technology Construction Management group, I participated in intensive hands-on restoration projects. This work required immediate problem-solving and physical labor, ranging from repairing horse feed wagons and cleaning tack to completing essential roofing projects on camp structures.
One of the most significant achievements of this tenure involved the technical construction of water program infrastructure on Devil’s Lake. Our team engineered and built the decking and diving platforms, providing critical assets for the camp’s recreational programs. These experiences at Storer Camps bridged the gap between my academic pursuits and practical application, reinforcing a career-long practice of applying technical skill toward community-focused infrastructure.
Sites at a glance
These sites were built over the course of two to three weeks, leveraging the skills and knowledge I gained from my previous work on the Michigan DevFest website. My focus for this work is to deliver a minimum viable product that meets the high level of detail and quality expected by the Compass Detroit team. While beauty and aesthetics are important, the focus is on delivering a product that meets the needs of the event and the community.
| Site | Role in the story |
|---|---|
| bhmsummit.com | Black History Month summit — conference site and branding baseline |
| iwdsummit.com | International Women’s Day summit — sibling event, shared patterns and iteration |
| hackmichigan.com | Current Michigan hackathon site — evolved program, tighter content surface |
| compass-detroit.com | Organizational home |
Black History Month AI Summit at DTE in Detroit — what went into the website
- Purpose: Promote and support the BHM summit — schedule, speakers, sponsors, registration paths, and trust-building visual design aligned with the event’s audience.
- What was done: Information architecture for a one-off conference; responsive layout; performance and accessibility; coordination with organizers on deadlines. I also built the logo and designed the visual identity for the event.
- Stack: React, JavaScript, HTML, Tailwind/CSS
- Fonts: BioRhyme + Montserrat
International Women’s Day AI Summit at Little Caesars’ Global Resource Center in Detroit — what went into the website
- Purpose: Same family as BHM — IWD summit storytelling, program visibility, and sponsor/partner presence.
- What was done: Reused and refined patterns from BHM while respecting IWD-specific content, which allowed faster iteration where templates already existed. A teammate initially took this on and extended the earlier work into something spectacular. Leading up to the event, I provided guidance on content, design, accessibility, performance, and deployment. His stronger aesthetic direction raised the level of effort required for testing and identifying areas for improvement.
This work pointed to the need to completely overhaul the navigation and structure. Other work is needed to automate some aspects of the site architecture, utilizing stronger reliance on AI automation tools. 
- Stack: React, JavaScript, HTML, Tailwind/CSS
- Font: Montserrat
Michigan Hackathon — current site and what’s next
I am the most proud of this project. It came together in 10 days. Early on, it was a solo effort, where I was able to leverage my favorite stack, tools and creative juices. It was a great feeling to see the site come together and be able to share it with the community. Members of the team have joined me to refactor and improve the site components.
- Purpose: The current public face for Hack Michigan — teams, awards, prizes, schedule, and the narrative of a statewide competition.
- Work to date: Created the site, architecture, design, animations, selection of fonts, and the overall look and feel. Initial feedback from colleagues was “Phenomenal work!”
- Stack: Astro + Three.js, and Modular CSS on Vercel
- Tools: Sanity CMS and n8n for deploys
- Fonts: Tiny5 + Nunito Sans
Planned: headless CMS + broader editing
The next step is a headless CMS so other team members can update per-team content — who is competing, what they’re building, award categories, and prize details — without needing direct access to the repo.
n8n for deploys without Vercel or GitHub
Not everyone who should trigger a publish will have Vercel or GitHub access. The plan is to use n8n as the automation layer for the deploy step: approved content changes flow from the CMS through a workflow that builds and deploys (or triggers your hosting pipeline) in a controlled, repeatable way. That keeps governance with the core team while distributing editorial work. Update: Read more about it in Sanity, n8n, and Hack Michigan: letting organizers ship during the event.
Compass Detroit Organizational Home — honest status and intended direction
compass-detroit.com is one of the four latest sites in this 2026 family, but it is based on a conference microsite, so it is not a durable organizational home.
The upcoming evolution of the Compass Platform aims to transform our digital presence into a comprehensive community ecosystem. This next phase focuses on bridging local commerce and professional development through a dedicated minority business directory and a multifaceted marketplace for jobs, books, and regional products. We are streamlining the member experience by centralizing speaker and volunteer applications within a unified portal, while also launching a shared community calendar to synchronize events across all partner organizations. Furthermore, the platform will introduce tiered access to livestreams and event replays, creating a sustainable model for community donations and sponsorship management that strengthens our regional tech infrastructure.
I believe we will need to deliver an entirely new stack, website, and theme to support the new features and functionality. I do not see myself taking this on this year as I need to focus on my own business and projects.
- Stack: React + JavaScript + Tailwind/CSS on Vercel
- Fonts: BioRhyme + Montserrat
Tags / SEO notes
- Consider tags like:
pro-bono,compass,detroit,astro,vercel,n8n,headless-cms,community,hackathon.