“I truly believe I was built for what I do.” Tiffany Gunter, General Manager of Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART), joins Detroit is Different for a conversation rooted in family legacy, Detroit grit, and the future of regional transit. From her great-great-great grandfather coming north from Columbia, South Carolina for automotive opportunity, to her father’s 30-year career in the airport industry, Tiffany’s life connects “planes, buses and automobiles” through generations. A proud Northwest Detroiter from Seven Mile and Outer Drive, she reflects on walking through the neighborhood and learning entrepreneurship early selling Kool-Aid cups and cookies during backyard basketball tournaments. Her mother’s lesson—“you can’t make me your supplier and then don’t cut me in on a deal.” She shares how working in a church office at 13 taught her compassion, listening, and patience with people facing real life issues. Now leading SMART, Tiffany sees beauty in 3 a.m. bus pullouts and the scale of service that moves workers, families, and communities. This interview connects Detroit’s past mobility struggles to a future built through understanding, service, and regional cooperation.
