Doctor Chiamaka Enemore interviews for DITA board seat, highlights small‑business and workforce experience

Doctor Chiamaka Enemore, owner of Livestone Healthcare Assisted Living, interviewed before the Duluth personnel committee for a seat on the DITA board, saying she would bring small‑business experience and a focus on workforce and housing to the authority.

Enemore told the committee she has lived in Duluth for more than 20 years, holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a doctorate in health care, and that she started Livestone from her kitchen table. “I would be bringing the same experience, resilience, [and] skills that I used to create a thriving healthcare business that employs over 12 employees right now,” she said.

The interview included questions about Enemore’s interest in DITA and potential conflicts of interest. She said she was motivated by DITA’s mission to support a prosperous local economy and described priorities that would help businesses invest in Duluth: workforce development, housing and access to child care. “You can’t attract workforce and talent if they don’t have a place to stay or if they don’t have…childcare access,” she said.

Enemore told councilors she currently serves on several local boards and commissions, including the City of Duluth workforce board of directors, the Duluth YMCA board of directors, and she said she is the board chair for the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce. She said she also owns a real‑estate company and would consult the city attorney and recuse herself from votes if a specific conflict of interest arose.

Councilors asked logistical and policy questions during the interview. Councilor Kennedy asked how Enemore connects business to community; she cited community outreach and mentoring of minority businesses. Councilor Forsman raised DITA’s taxing authority and the trade‑offs of raising revenue versus taxpayer burden; Enemore said attracting and retaining businesses would be necessary to grow the tax base.

The personnel committee did not take a formal vote on the appointment during this session. Council staff told Enemore that a resolution to place the appointment on a future council agenda will be filed in the next council cycle. Enemore said the timing was right for her to serve and that she planned to leverage her chamber work to support economic development within DITA’s mission.

The interview concluded without a formal action; councilors said they would consider the appointment at a later meeting when the resolution is placed on an agenda.

Enemore’s remarks came during a personnel committee interview that ran earlier in the evening; the full council will consider a resolution to place the appointment on a subsequent agenda.