SONYA MAYS
Board Member, Detroit Riverfront Conservancy
President and CEO, Develop Detroit
Sonya S. Mays is the founding President and CEO of Develop Detroit – a nonprofit real estate and housing development firm focused on improving housing stability and creating economic opportunities across Detroit. Over the past eight years, Develop Detroit has built, renovated, or planned nearly 800 new housing units, representing over $245M in community investment. She previously served as Senior Advisor to the Emergency Manager of Detroit, Michigan. In her role as Senior Advisor, Ms. Mays played a key role in guiding the city through the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. She was responsible for a diverse range of legal, financial, operational, land use and economic development activities across Detroit’s restructuring efforts.
Earlier in her career, Ms. Mays was a Vice President in the Global Industrials Group within Deutsche Bank’s Corporate & Investment Bank Division in New York City. Ms. Mays provided capital markets expertise and M&A advisory services to large US and global automotive and construction products companies. Before attending graduate school and becoming an investment banker, Ms. Mays spent several years as a non-profit management professional in Chapel Hill, NC. She began her professional career as a middle-school mathematics teacher for the Board of Education in Detroit.
Ms. Mays earned three degrees from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Biological Anthropology, a Juris Doctor and a Master’s in Business Administration. She is admitted to practice law in New York. She is a current board member of Detroit Public Theatre and the Detroit Regional Chamber, and also serves on the executive board of Real Estate Association Developers (READ). In November 2020, Ms. Mays was overwhelmingly re-elected to a second four-year term on the Board of Education for the Detroit Public School Community District.