Staff & Board
Our Staff
Milinda Ysasi
Chief Executive Officer
Kelli Smith
Chief Operating Officer
Maximiliano Velasco
Intake Specialist
Paola Mendivil
Business Development Officer
John Hendershot
Business Advisor
Karen Benson
Portfolio Manager/Business Development Officer
Trevor Sisk
Grants and Finance Manager
Stephanie Suero
Office Support Specialist
2022 Board of Directors
Deborah Phillips, Immediate Past Chair
Consultant and Chief People Strategist, Deborah Phillips & Associates, LLC
LaChaun A. Steverson, Board Chair
Owner, Fibrenew Grand Rapids
Julie Westra, Vice Chair
Steelcase
Assistant General Counsel
Legal Strategies Team
Debra Van Hevele, Secretary
Senior Vice President, Comerica Bank
Shannon Cohen
Principal/Founder, Tough Skin Soft Heart by Shannon Cohen
Zara Smith
Senior Project Manager, Emergent Holdings, Inc.
Veverly Austin
Owner/Founder, Confidentwear Boutique / Rock the Runway GR / Veverly Austin Enterprises
Floriza Genautis
CEO, Management Business Solutions
Damian Ciavattone
Branch Manager, Assistant Vice President, PNC Bank
Janis Petrini
Owner and Operator, Express Employment Professionals
Tracey Burke
President, Burke Professional Consultants, LLC
Catherine Kloska
Retired CFO, Muskegon Public Schools
Kim Suarez
Community Member
McKenzie Jackson
Good Food Systems Program Manager,
Access of West Michigan
