GSSEM's Tough Enough Breakfast

Telva McGruder
Executive Director of Global Body Manufacturing Engineering, General Motors

As the Executive Director of Global Body Manufacturing Engineering at General Motors, Telva leads the next phase of transformation toward an increasingly automated and digital manufacturing approach for body and paint systems at General Motors. The team embraces technology focused on predictive analytics to run safely, sustainably, and efficiently while ensuring operational excellence and quality for the global portfolio.

Previously, Telva was the Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer, where she championed the progress toward a high-performing, inclusive culture while shepherding global impact in diversity. The team fostered partnerships and initiatives that promoted equity inside and outside of the company.

Her passions for culture and sustainable solutions for people and processes fueled notable impacts while leading facility engineering, facility management, and energy strategy in the GM Sustainable Workplaces organization. Earlier in her career, Telva held positions of increasing responsibility and influence within manufacturing engineering and at several manufacturing locations, where she motivated teams to rethink the possible in project execution, maintenance, quality, operations, and labor negotiations. Telva earned her BS and MS degrees in electrical engineering from Purdue University.

Along with her professional accomplishments, Telva is dedicated to teaching and leading others inside and outside of General Motors. Telva is a member of the Executive Leadership Council, a member of the Catalyst Advisory Board, and a member of the Inforum Board of Directors.

Telva is a lifelong Girl Scout. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors for Girl Scouts of the USA. She served as a board member (2016–2018) and Chair of the Board of Directors of Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan from 2018–2023.

The Honorable Megan Cavanagh
Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice

Justice Megan Cavanagh is a lifelong Michigander who grew up in East Lansing and lives in metro Detroit. She graduated from the University of Michigan College of Engineering and Wayne State University Law School. Before joining the Michigan Supreme Court in January of 2019, she had over fifteen years of experience as one of Michigan’s top appellate attorneys and was a shareholder at Garan Lucow Miller P.C. in Detroit.

Justice Cavanagh is the Supreme Court Liaison to Tribal Courts, Child Welfare Services, the Well-Being in the Law Task Force, the Attorney Grievance Commission, and the Judicial Tenure Commission. She also serves as the Co-Lead to the Child Protective Legal Representation Task Force and on the Attorney General's Elder Abuse Task Force.

Justice Cavanagh has served as Chair of the Appellate Practice Section of the State Bar of Michigan, as a council person for the Negligence Section of the State Bar of Michigan, as co-chair of the Michigan Bench Bar Appellate Conference Foundation, and as a member of the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission.

Before her election to the Court, Justice Cavanagh was rated as one of Michigan's Super Lawyers. Michigan Lawyer's Weekly honored her as Lawyer of the Year in 2006 and a Woman in the Law in 2017.

Justice Cavanagh and her husband have four children.

JoAnn Chávez
President and CEO, The Michigan Hispanic Collaborative

JoAnn Chávez is the founder, President/CEO, and Director of the Michigan Hispanic Collaborative (MiHC), a Michigan non-profit that focuses on economic equity and provides opportunities for first-generation students to graduate from college. JoAnn sits on the Boards of DTE Energy Foundation, Invest Detroit, Kalamazoo College, and Tiffin University. She is the past chair of the Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce board of directors. She also sits on the Notre Dame Law School Advisory Council.

JoAnn is a champion of inclusion, serving as executive sponsor of Somos DTE, the Hispanic employee resource group, and leading the Summer Talent Exposure Program (STEP) to support underrepresented college students. She also advises Notre Dame Law School and the University of Michigan School of Education.

A frequent speaker in Hispanic communities, JoAnn has been recognized by Latino Who’s Who for her leadership and advocacy in advancing Latino representation in business and education. Her recent honors include Forbes 50 over 50, an Ilitch Holdings Game Changer, and a 2021 Crain’s Detroit 100 Most Influential Women in Michigan.

Khali Sweeney
Founder and CEO, Downtown Boxing Gym

Deprived of academic resources, support, and access to basic needs, Khali's journey to adulthood was fraught with systemically induced obstacles. These challenges were further compounded by adults whose lives and realities had been shaped through their own experiences within these systems. When adults internalize pervasive narratives and wield them as fact, they become the bleak inheritance of the children who surround them.

While many biographies of DBG's Founder and CEO have emphasized his remarkable efforts to radically transform the trajectory of his adult life, few have explored his deep commitment to recognizing and nurturing those early parts of himself that resisted the dominant narratives of his youth. Khali's instinct for coalition-building and his drive to create a sense of belonging across communities took root long before adulthood.

DBG's current approach to student mentorship reflects this complexity. From the start, Khali has approached the community with intention—bridging social divides long before broader society caught up. At DBG, the perspective remains clear: there are no "bad kids"—only young people, much like Khali once was, still waiting to be heard.

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