Detrese was born and raised in Baltimore City and has been working as a tenant advocate since May 2013 when she joined Right to Housing Alliance as a volunteer. In 2022 Right to Housing Alliance merged with and became Baltimore Renters United. Detrese has testified at both the city and statewide levels during the legislative session, advocating for renters rights.
In March 2014, Detrese, along with other tenants,
filed a class action lawsuit against her landlord Sage Management. The lawsuit addressed the company’s use of “fee churning”, a process of charging many small fees that keeps renting families constantly guessing at what they owe in any given month, constantly falling farther 'behind' on the landlord's ledger and constantly facing eviction. The lawsuit was successful with tenants winning nearly a one million dollar settlement for past and current tenants.
Detrese is the proud recipient of the 2014 John P. Sarbanes Courage Award from the Public Justice Center for her work in housing justice. A 2022 fellow of the
Level Up Movement Law Lab and alumni of Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity (BOLD) class of 2022.
After her experience of being impacted by housing injustice and predatory rental practices herself, Detrese is passionate about educating and helping renters by giving them the power to thrive and stand up against housing injustice because she believe impacted voices should be leading and becoming leaders in their own right to build a tenant-led movement.
