Board Member Archives - Page 2 of 3

New Board Members Appointed

January 05, 2021

Affinity Mentoring today announced several new appointments to its board of directors, including Marcia Boyce, Abigail Bruins, and Christine Mwangi.

Marcia Boyce	Marcia received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Yale University and her Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law. Marcia practiced as a Corporate Banking and Finance attorney for over 15 years. She is licensed to practice law in the states of Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania and recently completed both General Civil and Domestic Relations Mediator training. Marcia has taken a hiatus from the practice of law to focus on her family but remains active in the community. Marcia is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and the Grand Rapids Bar Association, currently serves on the PTO Board of her daughter’s school, Ada Vista Elementary, and is the Treasurer and a member of the Greater Grand Rapids Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. In the past, Marcia served on the Fundraising Board of the Kent District Library and as Treasurer of the Board of the Grand Rapids African American Health Institute. Marcia and her husband, Hayden, have two children, Christian and Morgan. Marcia enjoys reading, traveling and spending time with her family.
Abigail Bruins	Abigail was born and raised in Grand Rapids, and currently resides in the Baxter neighborhood. She has a background in community engagement, sales and development, and environmental chemistry. Abigail spends her days working as the Director of Business Development for local company Canopy Resources. She also owns and operates her own pet sitting business. Abigail is a graduate of Michigan State University where she received a degree in Earth Science. In her early 20s, Abigail spent time teaching middle school science, which is, in part, what drew her to Affinity Mentoring. Abigail is eager to support Affinity Mentoring in driving forward the mission to create equitable learning opportunities throughout our city.
Christine Mwangi	Christine is a change agent who has utilized her entrepreneurial background to establish a charitable organization that has helped educate hundreds of marginalized women on critical women’s health matters. As a global citizen who has lived, worked in and been educated in 3 continents (Africa, Europe and N.America), Christine also possesses a global lens that she skillfully uses to facilitate courageous conversations about race, privilege and culture. She lends her expertise and thought-provoking leadership to non-profits, educational institutions, foundations, and public sector organizations. Christine is the proud founder of Be a Rose, Inc., Grounded in Equity, LLC and the Pulsing Black Podcast.

A full list of board members can be found at https://affinitymentoring.org/about/the-team/.

Affinity Appoints New Executive Director

By Rachel Humphreys

Affinity Mentoring’s Board of Directors has named Cassandra Kiger the new Executive Director. Cassandra will begin Wednesday, May 20, 2020.

Cassandra has dedicated her career to advocating for equitable opportunities for youth in settings with refugee and immigrant youth, in child sexual abuse prevention, and in education support. She has her Master of Social Work from Grand Valley State University and brings a decade of experience in program development and management; research and data utilization; development and sustainability work; and diversity, equity and inclusion training, programming and leadership to the team.

Cassandra leans into the quote from Lilla Watson, an Indigenous Australian artist and activist, “[i]f you have come to help me you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up in mine, then let us work together.”

Cassandra believes, “Every person within our community brings valuable history, experience, knowledge and expertise to contribute to making our community great, from the youngest to the oldest. I want to work at Affinity to have a greater opportunity to work together with my neighbors, working towards our mutual liberation, and equitably contributing towards a bright and prosperous future.”

Cassandra is prepared to support Affinity in moving forward as an agent of equitable change, focused on the communities in our city that have systematically received less resources and support, and participate in a movement towards integrated diversity, equity and inclusion in our city. This includes a future oriented lens that supports quality, equitable education for the diverse student body that will one day become our local community members and workforce as they learn and grow today.

Cassandra strongly believes in uplifting youth in a supportive network, “the students that Affinity works with are not future leaders, they are leaders today, and I am excited to galvanize the community to support their growth and help them build a prosperous and healthy future for our city,” she explains.

Her past experience includes providing language access services to the community at Hispanic Center of Western Michigan, building system and policy level equity initiatives at the Children’s Advocacy Center in Ottawa County, and supporting refugee and immigrant youth as a Case Manager at Bethany Christian Services.

Cassandra is a homeowner and active participant in the 49507 Garfield Park neighborhood. She is excited to work alongside local residents and schools to support equitable growth and change through Affinity Mentoring. In her free time she enjoys playing soccer in the GR Champs League, reading, urban gardening, salsa dancing, and snuggling with her spouse and puppy.

Help us in welcoming Cassandra to the Affinity family! You can contact her at ckiger@affinitymentoring.org.

Meet Affinity’s New Board President: John Robinson

Past Board President, Susan Lukaart, and her husband Steve Eckert.

By Rachel Humphreys

Three years ago, community leader and lifelong educator, Susan Lukaart, stepped into Affinity Mentoring’s newly developed Board President role. Susan, a retired educator (teacher and principal), has led other nonprofits, both regional and international.

Executive Director, Laura Ward, explains, “Susan and I built the board together. We met after I presented one day at Mars Hill; she came up and introduced herself and wanted to learn more. It was quickly apparent that her love for children, experience as a teacher and principal and unique passion for governance, would be a huge asset to Affinity in laying our foundation.”

During her time as Board President, Susan has helped Affinity’s team to understand governance and shape the organizational structure and policies. She is incredibly intentional about building a foundation and organizational culture that has set up Affinity well for future growth and sustainability. “Susan is a mastermind when it comes to governance and policy. Her fingerprints are all over the foundations of Affinity. She also mentored me as I have grown into this Executive Director role,” explains Laura.

We are very grateful to Susan for sharing her expertise, insights, and of course, her leadership. She has been an integral member of the Affinity family. “It has been an honor and privilege to work with Laura to help create a solid foundation upon which others can continue to build. I am grateful to God for giving me this opportunity to serve,” remarks Susan. “

As Susan steps away from her President’s role, Affinity welcomes a new leader, John Robinson. Susan says, “Meeting monthly with fellow board members has been very inspiring and satisfying to me. I have enormous hope for the future as Affinity enters a new chapter with John and Laura together at the helm.”

Affinity’s new Board President, John Robinson

John is an experienced education professional focused on the power of relationships, and currently the Parent, Family & Community Engagement (PFCE) Manager at Head Start for Kent County (HS4KC). Prior to HS4KC, John spent 20 years in K-12 education in various roles: teacher, teacher coach, curriculum specialist, athletic coach, assistant principal, assistant director, principal, executive director and superintendent. Outside of his work with Affinity Mentoring and HS4KC, John is a Life and Leadership Coach, a member of Pi Lambda Phi (a fraternity dedicated to Leading Courageously and the Elimination of Prejudice), an actor and musician, a husband, a step-dad and a grandfather.

He was introduced to Affinity Mentoring by Susan, and he joined the board in April 2018. He was appointed a Co-Vice President in June of that year, and has continued to serve as Vice President. Now stepping into the President role in January 2020, John is excited about helping the board and the organization continue to grow and blossom. “I’m so very grateful for the foundation Susan has built at Affinity, and for the mentorship she has provided all of us along the way. I am happy she introduced me to the great work being done. Moving forward, I very much look forward to working more closely with Laura. I am so appreciative of, and impressed by, her skill in her role, her care for the staff, and her passion for how Affinity Mentoring serves the community,” says John.

John really believes in Affinity Mentoring’s work to interrupt the cycle of poverty through mentoring relationships that improve students’ academic skills, social skills and self esteem. This past fall, John became a mentor for an elementary student at Burton Elementary. “I appreciate John’s passion for Affinity’s work, his ability to be a big picture thinker and also understand how to operationalize those big visions. He’s a compassionate and wise leader and I’m excited to have him leading the board,” says Laura.

Affinity invites mentors, supporters, and community partners to attend our upcoming Mentoring Appreciation Night on Tuesday, January 28 at 6:30pm at the Listening Room. You will have the opportunity to thank Susan for her leadership and welcome John to the helm.

Interested in joining Affinity’s Board of Directors? Learn More.

Affinity Welcomes New Board Members: Jatnna + Veronica

Affinity would like to introduce our two newest board members, Jatnna Abreu and Veronica Bradford.

JATNNA was born and raised in the Dominican Republic and moved to Grand Rapids at the age of 14. She has a Bachelors in Business Administration from Grand Valley State University and a Masters in Organizational Development from Western Michigan University. Jatnna currently works at Amway as a Senior Talent Management Specialist in Human Resources. She is the Vice Chair of Amway’s Multicultural Inclusion Network and will be the incoming 2020 Chair. Jatnna was recently recognized by the Grand Rapids Business Journal as a 2019 GRBJ 40 Under 40 Honoree. During her free time she mentors through Affinity Mentoring at Southwest Community Campus and serves on the board of a small international non-profit organization called Changing Thirsty Lives. Jatnna loves spending time with her husband and three year old son.

VERONICA is the Diversity & Inclusion Specialist at Gordon Food Service where she supports the delivery of the North American Diversity & Inclusion strategy. Veronica is active in her community, as evident in her work and commitment to organizations such as Jack and Jill of America Inc. where she is a member and serves as Program Director for the Greater Grand Rapids Chapter, and member of Women United – Heart of West Michigan United Way. Veronica has supported Affinity’s work as a partner through her work at Gordon Food Service as well as Jack and Jill of America Inc. She is a 2011 graduate of Heart of West Michigan United Way Project Blueprint as well as 2016 graduate of the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce Leading Edge Program. Veronica and her husband, Derek, have two sons Grayson and Easton. In her spare time, she loves to enjoy time with her family and travel.

We’re thrilled to have these amazing and talented community leaders join our board of directors, welcome! If you’re interested in joining our board get more information here.

Affinity Welcomes New Board Member

We’re pleased to welcome our newest board member, Mia Jankowiak! Mia is the Director of Marketing & Events at the Grand Rapids Chamber where she oversees the day to day operations of the marketing and events team and over 150 chamber events/programming, all while working to tell member stories and impact across the region.

With a background in non-profit and real estate, Mia is passionate about community work and volunteers her free time to be a Lead Graduate Coach for Dale Carnegie, sits on the Communications Strategy Council at Ronald McDonald House of Western Michigan, and chairs the Next Gen Council for Silent Observer. Outside of Chamber and community work, Mia works as a professional photographer and enjoys spending time with family. Welcome to the Affinity family, Mia!
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If you’re interested in learning more about joining our board of directors, please contact lward@affinitymentoring.org and check out our Board Opportunities.