New Team Member Archives - Page 2 of 3

Affinity Announces New Board Members

August 25, 2021

Affinity Mentoring today announced several new appointments to its board of directors, including Dr. Andrea Blue and Fuad Hasanovic.

Joined: August 2021	DR. ANDREA BLUE \| Blue Pathways Dr. Blue hails from Baldwin; MI. Dr. Blue is a mentor, personal and business coach, entrepreneur, author, and educator. Her education includes a Doctorate of Management and Organizational Development and Change in Higher Education Organizations; Colorado Technical University; 2 Masters Degrees; Ferris State University in Business Administration and Career Technical Education with a focus on management, business, and education. Dr. Blue is the Founder and CEO of B & J Enterprises, LLC where Blue Pathways Educational Mentorship Services and Paramount Recruitment Agency were birthed. Her focus is on corporations, business owners, and individuals that operate a business that works with underprivileged and underrepresented populations both locally and globally. Andrea brings 15 plus years of business, management, and education experience along with DISC Certification Training. She is intentional with our corporations, business owners, and individual clients to help transform lives through mindset mentorship and coaching strategies.
Joined: August 2021	FUAD HASANOVIC \| Kamps Pallets Fuad is the Brand Manager at Kamps Pallets, one of the nation's largest pallet recycling and manufacturing companies. He manages and supports the company-wide branding and communications strategy at Kamps. Fuad is active in his community, and in the past has served on the Emerging Leaders Advisory Council for the Special Olympics Michigan chapter. Moving to the United States as a refugee from Bosnia and Herzegovina, he has a unique perspective on the challenges faced by those growing up with English as a second-language and overcoming cultural barriers. Fuad earned a bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a specialization in Marketing from Davenport University; along with an MBA with a specialization in Strategic Management. In his spare time, he likes to read, watch basketball with his dog, Mia, and travel with his wife, Kelci.

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

New Board Members Appointed

June 24, 2021

Affinity Mentoring today announced several new appointments to its board of directors, including Malaina Weldy and Frank Acosta.

Frank Acosta	Frank Acosta \| Independent Bank Frank is a dedicated and driven young marketing professional focused on making a difference in the community. He currently serves as the Digital Marketing Manager for Independent Bank. When he’s not in the office, you can likely find him outdoors or spending quality time with his family and friends. Frank has volunteered through Affinity Mentoring at SWCC in Grand Rapids for 2 years and is excited to give back to the organization through board service. Frank also serves on the board of directors for the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of Grand Rapids. He is Vice-Chair of the Marketing Committee for the Michigan Bankers Association and a Planning & Strategy Committee member for Habitat for Humanity of Kent County. He earned an Associates in Science and Arts Degree from Muskegon Community College and a Bachelor of Business Administration, Marketing Degree from Davenport University.
Malaina Weldy	Malaina Weldy \| Warner Norcross + Judd LLP Malaina received her Bachelor of Arts in Business from Goshen College and her Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame. She is currently an attorney in the business practice group at Warner Norcross + Judd LLP and focuses her practice on corporate governance, formation, mergers and acquisitions, and commercial financing. She also assists with trademark licensing and domain name dispute resolution. Malaina grew up in northern Indiana and has loved getting to explore Grand Rapids and call it home. Malaina volunteers with her church and enjoys playing soccer, reading, and walking her rescue dog, Vinnie.

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

Meet Affinity’s Newest MSW Intern

May 21, 2021

My name is Lauren and I am currently an MSW student at Grand Valley State University. I have my Bachelors degree in Psychology from Wagner College, in NYC. Although I have worked with adults with developmental disabilities since 2007, I have seen the impact of mentorship within the disability field.

What attracted me to Affinity Mentoring is the personal impact mentoring has had on me. I have always wanted to work in a program that helped young students to develop their sense of identity, through mentorship and support from those around them. I believe Affinity’s mission and goals can have an important impact not only on the students, but on the mentors as well. I am excited to learn alongside the team and develop my social work skills.

Welcome Lauren!

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 Welcomes New Team Member

By Rachel Humphreys

We’re excited to share that we’ve added a new team member, Holly Hetherington! Holly will be filling Affinity’s newly developed role of Office Coordinator. She will assist the Executive Director and Development Director in their new headquarters in the Goei Center. This new role will help increase the teams’ capacity to serve more students in more schools.

Holly holds a Bachelor’s in English, Elementary Education from Grand Valley State University. With a desire to provide social emotional and hands-on learning opportunities for youth and children, she turned her efforts away from the traditional classroom and invested her career in out-of-school time programming. Her passion for equity is at the root of all her work. Holly is currently seeking a Master’s in Social Innovation at GVSU. In her free time she loves to play soccer, eat delicious food, and kayak.

Welcome, Holly!