Deirdre Jimenez BIFMA President + CEO Deirdre Jimenez AIA, NCDIQ joined BIFMA, the North American Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association, in July 2020 as its first President and CEO with a mission to elevate the work BIFMA and its members contribute to the industry, expand outreach and collaboration to industry stakeholders, and create a…
Mayor Rosalynn Bliss became the City of Grand Rapids’ first female Mayor when she took office on January 1, 2016. She was re-elected for a second term in November 2019. She previously served as a Second Ward City Commissioner for 10 years. Mayor Bliss also is serving as the Frederik Meijer Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurship…
Katie Appold, Executive Director Katie’s professional experience includes over fifteen years of marketing and leadership in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. She has earned a Bachelor’s of Business Administration from Grand Valley State University and later completed a Master’s of Public Administration with an emphasis in Nonprofit Leadership. Under Katie’s leadership, nonprofit organizations have developed new…
Louis leads content at Firstbase, an NYC-based, global software platform that helps founders launch, manage, and scale their businesses. Previously, he served as Head of Marketing at Farel, a YC-backed software company for regional airlines with offices in San Francisco, Turkey, and Kazakhstan. Louis served as a Princeton in Asia Fellow in Kazakhstan and then spent 5 years…
Todd Cioffi joined Calvin College and the CMS department in the fall of 2009.Director Professor Cioffi's work in the CMS department focuses on Missions, Community Development and Congregational Studies. He is also the director of the Calvin Prison Initiative. Prior to coming to Calvin, Professor Cioffi taught at Whitworth University. He completed his B.A. in…
During the February 17th, SASy Lunch we will work together on a special project for the Children’s Advocacy Center of Kent County. The Center’s mission is to assess and support child victims of suspected sexual assault and educate children and the community to prevent such assaults. More than 1,000 children suspected of being sexually abused…
Evelyn Esparza-Gonzalez is the Executive Director of the Hispanic Center of Western Michigan. She graduated from Grand Valley State University with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and General Business and recently completed a Master of Accountancy from Davenport University. During her time as Finance Director at the Center, she was able to restructure and stabilize…
Lisa Posthumus Lyons is a life-long resident of Kent County and is serving her second term as Kent County Clerk / Register of Deeds. Prior to serving at the county level, Lisa represented her community in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2010 to 2016. She was elected to the Clerk's Office in 2016 and…
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"Tim Gortsema is editor of Gemini Media, publisher of Grand Rapids Business Journal and Grand Rapids Magazine, both of which have been based in West Michigan for more than 35 years. "Tim is a graduate of Hope College. He started his journalism career in 1982 as a freelance writer for a chain of West Michigan…