Grand Rapids Business Journal 03.22.21

MUSEUMS focus on inclusive programming.

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MAR 22, 2021 VOL. 39, NO. 6

The Business Newspaper of Metro Grand Rapids, Holland, Muskegon & West Michigan

THIS WEEK

PROFESSOR COMES FULL CIRCLE WMU-Cooley’s Tracey Brame knew from an early age her voice could make a difference for underserved populations.

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Local entrepreneurs advance food justice Founders of Malamiah Juice Bar, South East Market plant and water seeds for a more inclusive ecosystem.

Rachel Watson

rwatson@grbj.com

Giving back Law firms use pro bono, internal trainings to further DEI discussion.

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Pursuing racial justice Funders reexamine their roles and processes as community calls for more equitable decision-making.

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SYSTEMIC INCLUSION Southwest Michigan nonprofit helps hospitality industry foster LGBTQfriendly environments.

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THE LIST

The area’s top college and university online courses.

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The movement for a more equitable future within the food industry is growing, and two local players are among those planting and watering the seeds.

Alita Kelly is owner of the South East Market at 1220 Kalamazoo Ave. SE in Grand Rapids, which Kelly opened in January, and Jermale Eddie is owner of Malamiah Juice Bar & Eatery, founded in 2013 and now located at 122 Oakes St. SW, Suite 110 at Studio Park.

He also is CEO Eddie of Malamazing

The shelves at South East Market are filled with healthy items for a neighborhood that previously suffered from lack of access to food. Courtresy Ashley Wierenga

Juice Co., a new wholesale coldpressed juice brand.

As business owners and thought leaders in Grand Rapids, Kelly and Eddie both adhere to the triple bottom line objectives of prioritizing social justice and environmental concerns alongside wealth-building.

Both have woven the priorities of community wellness and a more sustainable and inclusive food system into their mission, values and everyday actions as food and beverage sellers, men-

tors and changemakers.

The food justice movement of which Eddie and Kelly are a part has grown over the past few decades and is about communities exercising their right to grow, sell and eat healthy food, with healthy food being defined as fresh, nutritious, affordable, culturally appropriate, and grown locally with care for the well-being of the land, workers and animals, according to the Just Food organization.

“When we think about food justice, we recognize that often-

times, communities of color have historically been left out of that conversation,” Eddie said.

Kelly, whose market is located in the predominately Black and underserved 49507 ZIP code, said any solution has to start with access.

“Access is such a huge part of food justice, and the market doesn’t have great ways for us to empower food justice in the sense of supporting local — and CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

Consultant stresses ‘innovation through inclusion’ Founder of Global Bridgebuilders has multiple projects in motion to create stronger communities.

Rachel Watson

rwatson@grbj.com

Skot Welch is a firm believer that inclusion is a business discipline that leads to stronger organizations and more powerful economies.

Welch seizes every opportunity he is given to create sustain-

able change underpinned by that belief — as president and founder of Grand Rapids-based Global Bridgebuilders, founder of the Mosaic Film Experience, managing partner of the New Community Transformation Fund, Welch and an inclusion consultant on downtown Grand Rapids’ riverfront development project, to name a few of the many hats he wears.

Global Bridgebuilders Founded in 2006, Global Bridgebuilders is a management consulting firm with clients in the U.S. and seven other countries.

The firm’s motto is “innovation through inclusion,” and it focuses on designing and building profitable workplace communities through organizational development, cultural transformation and inclusion.

The firm uses a five-phase process: quantitative organizational, which applies a proprietary, metric-based tool to assess an organization’s culture and diversity and inclusion framework; qualitative individual, which leverages dia-

GRBJ.COM Vol. 39, No. 6 $2.00 a copy. $59 a year © Entire contents copyright 2021 by Gemini Media. All rights reserved.

Inside Track ...... 13 Guest Columns.. 18 Black excellence

CANNABIS leaders push for education, social equity in 2021.

Change-Ups ..... 22 Calendar .......... 22 Public Record ... 23 Street Talk ...... 26

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logue circles to determine how people are feeling within the organization; professional workshops; creating action councils that will work through the metrics of the assessment; and then finally reevaluating the organization within 18 to 24 months to gauge its progress.

“The power of it is that it’s grounded in metrics, it holds organizations accountable, and it empowers their employees to get the work done,” Welch said. “It engages the entire organization, not just one diversity champion.”

Locally, Welch said clients have CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

ALWAYS OPEN FOR MICHIGAN BUSINESSES. As we move through 2021, Michigan businesses will continue to adapt. And the Michigan Economic Development Corporation will be here, helping to connect businesses to new resources, meet new partners and access the additional capital they need from the start. If your business needs support to reach its new potential, the MEDC is available to help in any way we can.

Find customized business assistance at michiganbusiness.org/pure-partnership

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

MAR 22, 2021

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Museums focus on inclusive programming Law firms Exhibits, book clubs pitch in to and educational materials show promote DEI visitors how we got here.

Miller Johnson, Varnum use pro bono services, internal training to further discussion.

Danielle Nelson

dnelson@grbj.com

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West Michigan museums are giving the public a chance to look at the past through art exhibitions, educational programs and activities.

The Grand Rapids Public Museum, Muskegon Museum of Art and Holland Museum are making a concerted effort to focus on recent history and the social and cultural issues that derived from those times.

GRPM is in the process of developing a curriculum guide with interdisciplinary connections in the arts, social studies and English language arts for students and educators in grades 6-12.

The guide will provide activities and lesson plans that will tackle various matters including race through a Grand Rapids lens so that students can engage in those conversations.

Some of those lesson plans will incorporate the historical events of last summer. Most recently, GRPM purchased three large-scale art pieces that focus on racism from Jalexia Stoutmyre, a multimedia artist; DeVante Barnes, a visual and musical artist; and Guillermo Sotelo, artist and graffiti writer, who all created them last year for the Windows GR project.

The project emerged after the Black Lives Matter protest that later turned into a riot in the streets of Grand Rapids following the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. The

Danielle Nelson

dnelson@grbj.com

mer exhibition program to women artists. Starting on May 27, the museum will be showcasing the “Rising Voices 2: The Bennett Prize for Women Figurative Realist Painters” exhibition. It will feature works of 10 female finalists for the Bennett Prize. The winner will receive $50,000.

“We are more determined than ever to do programming that reflects our community,” said Kirk Hallman, MMA executive director.

The museum also started offering free admission to families who are receiving food assistance through its participation in Museums for All, an Institute of Museum Library Services initiative. As a result, EBT cardholders can receive free admission for four guests per card.

“We can never forget our mission to stimulate learning and creativity through diverse public

Law firms in Grand Rapids such as Miller Johnson and Varnum are using their resources to assist different organizations and institutions that serve underrepresented people.

Miller Johnson recently launched a new initiative called Project Giveback, which is designed to provide pro bono services to Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) West Central Michigan and Rende Progress Capital. Twelve attorneys will be performing 1,200 pro bono hours, which amounts to approximately $1 million in legal fees.

“Project Giveback is intended to serve as part of the firm’s response to the numerous cultural and political events that we have witnessed and participated in throughout 2020 and into 2021,” said Stephen J. van Stempvoort, co-chair of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee.

“Miller Johnson has played a key Van Stempvoort role in our com-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

CONTINUED ON PAGE 25

The Windows GR exhibit at Grand Rapids Public Museum focuses on works created for downtown last summer to further discussion of racism in the city. Courtesy Grand Rapids Public Museum

rioters damaged several downtown buildings.

Stoutmyre, Barnes and Sotelo, all artists of color, used the plywood-covered windows on those buildings to paint pieces that speak out about racism.

Since the protests of last summer, the Muskegon Museum of Art has placed an emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion through its exhibitions, programs and admission.

Its newest exhibition is “Our Voice: Celebrating the Coretta Scott King Book Awards.” The exhibit includes artwork from books that have won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award, which is presented each year by the American Library Association to African American authors and illustrators of books for children and teens.

The museum reintroduced its “SONS: Seeing the Modern African American Male” exhibition in a virtual form. The exhibition

is portraits of Black men from the Greater Muskegon area and it is meant to explore how the Black American male perceives himself and how others perceive him.

Along with returning the SONS exhibit, the museum has produced “Black Man,” a documentary film created and directed by Jon Covington, which chronicles the experiences — past and present day — of 32 African American men ages 18 to 94 from all walks of life and experiences. The film was featured at the 2020 Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles.

The museum also is featuring the work of contemporary Native American artists in “Art of the People: Contemporary Anishinaabe Artists,” “Levi Rickert: Standing Rock, Photographs of an Indigenous Movement” and Jim Denomie’s “Challenging the Narrative.”

MMA will dedicate its sum-

Foundations pursue racial justice in philanthropy Funders reexamine their roles and processes as community calls for more equitable decision-making.

Rachel Watson

rwatson@grbj.com

At a time when the nation is facing a reckoning for centuries of racial injustice, no sector is exempt from the rising calls for change, including philanthropy.

As the Business Journal reported last month, the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University’s 11 Trends in Philanthropy report for 2021 largely focused on the impacts of wealth inequality, systemic racism and the need to address those issues with a better philanthropic model.

Juan Olivarez, Ph.D., is distinguished scholar in residence for diversity, equity and inclusion at the Johnson Center, was president and CEO of the Kalamazoo

Community Foundation from 2008-11 and also previously was president of Aquinas College and Grand Rapids Community College.

He said the complex issues the country and region are facing call for a more collaborative approach by donors, foundations, nonprofits, governments and community members — and that those affected by these pressing problems should be invited to the table and trusted to help make good decisions about solutions.

“We’ve had a long, long history of poverty Olivarez and that somebody rides in and saves the day. Usually, philanthropists have been in that role by giving money out to charity, to people who are hungry, people who need shelter, people who don’t have work, all kinds of ways that we have used charity,” Olivarez said.

“But at the end of the day, people really don’t want charity, especially ongoing. They want to feel like they can get help to help themselves, and so, (we should trust) that the people in our communities, the people who live in these situations, have a good idea of what it would take either to get out of that situation or to better themselves so that they learn how to take care of themselves rather than continue to keep depending on charity or government to take care of them.”

Olivarez co-wrote an essay for the 11 Trends report on reparations, a conversation that dates back to post-Civil War times and is again gaining attention following the racial unrest of 2020.

He said when people hear that word, they react against the idea of direct monetary payments to wronged populations. Cash payments are part of the conversation, he said, but because all of the philanthropic institutions in the nation combined would not have enough money to cover the estimated $13 trillion cost of that, that doesn’t mean they can or should

lens would mean making grants do nothing, he said. to nonprofits led by Black, Indig“For hundreds of years, people enous and people of color (BIof color and immigrants have been POC); educating donors so that used, wealth has been built on they know where their backs, and the greatest if we think about “We do not have all needs lie before how do we now the answers as a they make rehelp them catch stricted gifts; and up, that’s when community foundahuman it’s a good thing tion; the community building capital through for philanthropy has those answers. … affordable hometo think that they have a role in rep- We need to make sure ownership, child care, education arations, not in that the actions we and workforce terms of handing money directly take, and the policies development. said to a person, but and procedures that oneOlivarez of the issues how can we help we have really in America today our community? is the decrease in How can we help reflect that.” upward mobilthese families do ity. His parents better?”

OlivaDiana Sieger did better than rez said. “Maybe his grandparents, it’s through their and he did better than his parents, children, maybe it’s through embut statistics show only about half ployment, maybe it’s through caof today’s young people — a more pacity building, helping them get diverse bunch than the nation has training so that we’re … bringing ever seen — will do better than them forward so that they can their parents financially. This is compete in the marketplace.”

He said building a philanthropic model with a social justice CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

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GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

MAR 22, 2021

Cannabis leaders push for education, social equity in 2021 Many are actively seeking workers from underserved communities.

Ehren Wynder

ewynder@grbj.com

The relatively recent entry of cannabis retailers into the market is an opportunity for new avenues of education and employment.

Courtesy Exclusive Brands

West Michigan’s recreational cannabis industry burst through concrete overcoming the challenges of 2020, but last year’s priorities still are the primary focus for 2021.

The cannabis boom in 2020 was driven by an increase in the

average purchase size among consumers. In Michigan alone, recreational cannabis sales rose by 482% between January and December 2020.

Tom Benson, CEO of Fluresh, which opened West Michigan’s first adult-use provisioning center in Grand Rapids in October 2020, said the company had to adjust in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure employee and customer safety, while meeting customers’ needs.

Once the state approved cannabis delivery service, Fluresh quickly set up its own, with online

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ordering, packing of orders and pickup, so customer contact was limited as much as possible.

“Truthfully, for us, we wish we could do more in-person time with the consumer,” Benson said.

“It gives us a better opportunity to discuss the industry and the new products and everything, but every business has had to adjust, so for us it was challenging, but I think in the long run, a lot of the adjustments are with us, and they’re going to stay.”

As more consumers come into the market, education is going to be important, Benson said, particularly for dosage and activation time. People may consume cannabis products for insomnia, anxiety, pain, recreationally or a number of other reasons, and therefore, want to understand what they’re getting.

“When somebody’s enjoying the benefits of marijuana or THC, they want to know, ‘How much should I be taking? Should I expect something to have an effect in 30 minutes or an hour?’ So dose control and fast-acting products, we feel, are going to be important,” Benson said.

Fluresh has two products that address that demand. One is a fast-acting drink enhancer that allows consumers to make their own cannabis-infused drinks with complete dose control and an accelerated onset of 10-15 minutes.

The other product is Fluresh’s Be Well soft gels formulated to sleep, anxiety, pain and inflammation. The gels take effect in 10-30 minutes.

“As cannabis matures, that customization and personalization is going to be really important,” said Fluresh Chief Marketing and Sales Officer Lindsay Levin. “There’s still a market for traditional products. Bulk cannabis has been sold in the majority of all of the provisioning centers across the state, but we’re seeing more of a return to pre-packaged flower.”

Bulk sales of cannabis flower usually come from provisioning centers, which then process the plant and break it down into smaller doses for medical and retail customers, Levin added, but the process of bringing pre-packaged flower to customers means there are fewer hands touching it, ensuring more cleanliness and freshness, as well as reducing the labor cost for retailers.

“We sell both, because the market enjoys both sides, but I think one of the things we’re going to see in 2021 is more and more brands coming online with pre-packaged flower,” she said.

COVID-19 consciousness also is leading to more recreational users choosing edible products.

While smoking or vaping is Michiganders’ primary mode of consuming cannabis, concerns about sharing or inhalation are leading to consumers choosing other formats.

Fluresh also has been intentional about bringing social equity to its operations. Fluresh and the Black and Brown Cannabis Guild (BBCG) sponsored the National Expungement Week Drive-Up Clinic in Grand Rapids in September to provide expungement resources for those who have been CONTINUED ON PAGE 23

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

MAR 22, 2021

Celebrating women in construction, Rockford calls for workforce diversity Almost 50% of builder’s executive leaders are women.

Ehren Wynder

ewynder@grbj.com

Were it not for the COVID-19 pandemic, Rockford Construction would have been participating in a number of activities and luncheons throughout West Michigan and across the state in observance of Women in Construction week. But to keep the spirit alive, the company offered its team – both men and women – a number of webinars and virtual meetings that celebrate the achievements of – and inspire more – women in construction.

Jennifer Boezwinkle, Rockford’s executive vice president of construction, has long been an advocate for women representation both in construction and architecture. She said the importance of Women in Construction Week is to highlight current women in construction, thereby inspiring more women and minorities to enter construction as a viable career.

“I think so often we tend to stereotype industries and roles as being either feminine or masculine … and I think that does a disservice, both to the individuals who have a passion for that kind of work, and for the industries that need that diversity of thought, that diversity of background, because we’re a problem-solving industry, and we know more problems are solved when you have diverse voices at the table,” she said.

Christa Amalio, senior project manager at Rockford, has a teenage daughter who is on the cusp of deciding what her own career will look like. For Amalio, Women in Construction Week, InternaAmalio tional Women’s Day and other events highlighting the achievements of women are important to inspiring future generations.

“With what I do, I provide this other career opportunity, and not just for (my daughter), but her friends have seen me in this role for many years, which has been just another opportunity to showcase that this is another place where you can go and be successful,” Amalio said.

Rockford Senior Superintendent Sylvia Latson echoed Amalio’s sentiment, saying her children see her working in the field with men, reading blueprints and leading the project schedule.

“They see I’m not just in Latson an office, I’m out in the field with the guys,” Latson said. “They say, ‘Hey, if my mom can do it, I

can do it too.’”

Rockford employs 10 female field workers, two of whom are fabricators, Latson added.

Recently, Amalio and another woman were setting up a reroute for construction traffic in front of an elementary school of about 500 kids, many of them girls witnessing two women on a construction project.

“Without us really realizing it, that’s part of this — showcasing women in construction,” Amalio said. “These girls were sitting in this building looking at us going, ‘Wow, there’s girls out there putting this together!’ And that’s a great opportunity for them to see that.”

With a formal degree in business, Amalio actually stumbled into her current field while working for a construction company as a teenager during the ’90s. She was sent to go pick up plans from an office, where there were several men trying to figure out the new email system.

“You have to remember this was the ’90s, and all these Windows system and email was just coming into play,” Amalio said.

“They looked at me and said, ‘Can you work this?’ and I said, ‘yeah,’ (laughs) so they continued to just encourage me, and it was a great opportunity, and I fell in love with it.”

Latson also ”stumbled” into construction from a background in public administration and policy, but she was introduced to construction through an internship.

“I just said, ‘Hey, this is a male-dominated field,’” Latson said. “The engineers were all males, the construction crews were all male, and I said this might be something I want to get into.”

Latson wanted to get into construction, but the dean of her college told her they didn’t have a construction program, so she had to sit down and write a thesis and get it approved to pursue her desired career path.

“I love the planning process. I love searching for permits, inspections, doing the regulations and I just like getting my hands dirty in the field,” she said. “And I think being diverse in our background, it brings another sense to it as well — (Amalio) being in business and me being in public administration — we have a unique viewpoint … we might look at the drawings differently or contracts differently, and we can interpret them as well.”

Rockford Construction also teaches women how they can advance their careers and forms mentorships for women and minorities to help them determine their long-term career goals.

“Construction has a wide range of paths to consider, whether that’s in the office or out in the field as a trade contractor, as a superintendent, as a craftsperson,” Boezwinkle said. “We really want to make all of those roles available to women moving forward, so there is lots of conversation around what education is required, what experience is required and the variety of paths people can take within the construction industry.”

While the construction labor

force as a whole took a hit from the pandemic and subsequent government freezes on construction work, the issues also pushed forward technology that supports remote work.

Boezwinkle said Rockford reconfigured itself in the midst of the pandemic to adapt to more and greater remote work among its staff.

“While in the short term it’s challenged a lot of women in their careers, with child care, schooling and those kinds of things that traditionally impact women … there is technology in place that will make work life more flexible and more adaptable for men and women, and the ability — as we like to in West Michigan — to find that work/life balance.”

Celebrating those working for diversity, equity and inclusion in our community.

11.4% ... Grand Rapids exceeds the national average for women representation in construction. Although only 10.3% of workers in the U.S. construction industry are women, 11.4% of construction workers in Grand Rapids are women, accounting for 608 workers out of a 4,722-person workforce.

A report from Construction Coverage in October 2020 found Grand Rapids exceeds the national average for women representation in construction. Although only 10.3% of workers in the U.S. construction industry are women, 11.4% of construction workers in Grand Rapids are women, accounting for 608 workers out of a 4,722-person workforce.

Boezwinkle said there has been great improvement in achieving diverse representation in construction, although it is an ongoing journey. Many young women and minorities still are not aware of the opportunities a career in construction can give them.

Boezwinkle also touted Rockford’s demographics, saying nearly 50% of the company’s executives are women.

“I think it’s important to show that career path and trajectory, that it’s not just a supporting role, although we need supporting roles within construction, that’s for sure,” she said. “It’s not just in the field — and we’ve got great field representation among our own carpenters and trades team — but it’s also at a leadership level, and there’s a really long, robust career path for women and minorities in construction.”

Amalio said she’s sat in on about 10 interviews in the past several weeks and noted the industry as a whole still is starving for talent, and the more women who can enter the field, the more readily that shortage can be filled.

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MAR 22, 2021

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

Local entrepreneurs advance food justice CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

I’m talking about the economic market as a whole. It doesn’t really speak into supporting Black business, Black farms, diverse farms in general, local farms or local businesses,” she said.

Eddie agreed.

“I think access to good, quality, fresh food is a human right, as well access to fresh, quality, untainted water,” he said. “I also believe that we can do a lot better by coming together as a community to try to solve these issues. We need to ensure that as we set the table, it includes people from all different socioeconomic statuses, and it can’t be a top-down answer. It has to be a true collaborative.”

That’s why Eddie and Kelly have gone all in — not only to support themselves and their families, but to push for sustainable change within the food ecosystem.

Malamiah Juice Bar Eddie’s business idea was born after he watched a documentary on the nutritional benefits of juicing in 2012. He became an advocate for the practice and discovered there was enough community interest in healthy fruit- and vegetable-based drinks to start a juice bar at the newly opened Grand Rapids Downtown Market in 2013.

He and his wife, Anissa Eddie, christened the business after the

combined names of their three sons, Malachi, Nehemiah and Josiah. They always knew they wanted Malamiah to be a legacy they could someday pass to their children — but there was more to it than that.

“We cared about the triple bottom line before we knew it was a thing,” Eddie said.

Malamiah’s mission as formalized today is to elevate community wellness through healthy products, local partnerships and youth employment.

Eddie said under the “people” pillar of the “people, planet, profits” philosophy, his goal is to treat employees kindly and fairly and to pay them well, to spread joy and health among the customers and communities Malamiah serves, and to cause people to leave there feeling better than when they arrived.

But Eddie’s work with people goes a few layers deeper through what he calls “food evangelism.”

He encourages and teaches customers how to grow their own food and what to do with it after harvest through demonstrations, classes, recipes and/or connecting them with community organizations that can help with those goals, to give them more control over what they put in their bodies.

He gives away plants and herbs each year on Earth Day to help people grow their own gardens.

He works to create relationships within his neighborhood by hosting block parties and front-yard barbecues that connect people with each other through food. The block parties and cookouts have helped foster a closer-knit community through which people lean on their neighbors to find jobs, services, babysitters and friendships.

When COVID-19 hit, he went door to door asking people what their needs were and offering to use his bulk purchasing power to get people discounts on PPE and other supplies.

Eddie also pushes retailers and other businesses to diversify their suppliers by pitching not just his own products to them but by bringing samples and a list of other minority- and women-owned suppliers with him to meetings, such as Daddy’s Dough Cookies, Luxe Artisan Preserves, Mosby’s Popcorn and Daddy Pete’s BBQ. “One thing that we get tired of hearing, and we don’t want to hear anymore, is that so-and-so cannot find any qualified candidates for positions (who) are people of color, or they can’t find a certain product or a certain item or a certain service. When I hear that, I say, ‘Let me give you a few right now, and then I’m going to email you another list when I leave,’ and that way the excuse is gone. No more excuses,” he said.

Eddie practices what he preaches when it comes to using diverse suppliers.

New City Urban Farms — which is located a little more than 2 miles from Malamiah — has grown all of the juice bar’s leafy greens for the past three or four years, and twice a year, it sends youths who work at

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the farm to learn customer service at Malamiah Juice Bar. Eddie partners with Wormies Vermicompost to offload produce and paper pulp to be composted. He sells granola bars at Malamiah from the Grand Rapids-based woman-owned business Granola Goddess, candles from the woman- and Blackowned business 5:14 Candles in Interlochen and honey from another woman-owned business.

To make widespread and lasting change in the food industry, Eddie said he would like to see more mentoring of young people who want to enter careers in the food ecosystem, customers supporting local diverse-owned companies, foodservice establishments reducing waste by finding a way to serve surpluses to those who have little access to consistent food sources, and health care providers willing to prescribe fruits and vegetables to patients in a food-as-medicine approach.

South East Market Alita Kelly had been passionate about food justice and planning to open a socially conscious market for years before she co-founded the South East Market with Khara DeWit in 2020 and opened the store to the public in January.

“The South East Market was created out of seeing a lack of food access in my community, and that’s how the dream was really started,” Kelly said. “I finished my degree last May, and I had been thinking about this concept for quite some time, but COVID really expedited the need, and it uncovered some hard truths about health disparities, food access, food insecurity (and) the fragility of a globalized food system. That kicked us into gear, and we have always been operating out of that space. … We’ve been able to set up our systems in light of COVID and informed by how COVID has changed things.”

Kelly said her vision to operate a market with a sustainable and equitable lens was by no means radical, as West Michigan has an abundance of smart, talented people of color and women in Grand Rapids who could just as well have been the ones to achieve this if not for the barriers they face, including lack of access to land and opportunity to secure supply contracts with major organizations, among other hurdles. Kelly and DeWit were able to make their dream come true through a combination of crowdfunding and a business model that allows customers to donate funds to bring down the price of goods in the store.

“We have a pay-it-forward program that anyone can donate to (where) we take those funds, and we apply it to all of our meat, which is mostly local pastured meat, and we also apply it to reducing the costs of produce from local, Black, organic farms. That allows us to one, reduce the price of the produce and two, be able to sell all of the meat at cost to our customers” at prices such as $3.99 a pound for ground beef and $6.99 a pound for big, thick-cut, high-quality bacon, she said.

Kelly said she would be remiss to try to address food justice without a climate justice focus, as well.

That said, the South East Market offers a produce subscription service to reduce waste (and that has a “soul to soul” option in which people can pay for a food-insecure neighbor’s produce), “take me as I am” cases of nearly expired pro-

duce at the door, and a bin of food compost that goes to Wormies Vermicompost.

On a macro level, the market strives to keep its carbon footprint low by sourcing as much food as possible from local suppliers, with the exception of some items such as oranges and mangoes and outof-season items brought in from other states during the winter.

The South East Market sources its products first from Black, brown, indigenous, local or women-led farms and businesses, particularly those that respect environmental sustainability, and then from larger food distributors to keep prices affordable. Some current suppliers include Groundswell Farm, Agape Organic Farm, Full Hollow Farm, Shady Creek Farm, Hehlden Farm and Green Wagon Farm.

The market also offers some prepared foods, and its four employees help educate customers on how to use and cook with unfamiliar ingredients. Kelly said she is planning to eventually lease the building behind her store and convert it into a demonstration kitchen to teach the community more about healthy cooking.

The South East Market is rooted in 49507 and offers free delivery in the ZIP code because it is one of the most diverse spaces in the city and has been estranged from resources and opportunity as a result, Kelly noted. Residents of 49507 tend to have higher instances of stress- and dietary-related conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity, and therefore there are abundant opportunities to lift up and empower the neighbors who live there.

Kelly said she would like to see people become uncomfortable with the way things are in the food industry right now and begin to challenge the status quo in the spaces they occupy.

“I’ve been encouraging people to take note and take stock of the spaces that you hold power and influence and start challenging those spaces in ways that move the dial on equity and sustainability,” she said.

For example, she recently spoke to students at Grand Valley State University on the topic of food sovereignty and challenged them to persuade the university to switch to local and diverse food suppliers.

Kelly said food sovereignty also requires access to fertile, safe soil in order to learn to grow food, and she is working to secure a larger patch of land on which to operate the MLK Freedom School Program for MLK Park neighbors.

She said she doesn’t expect overnight change, but she is determined to keep moving forward.

“When we’re talking about true justice work, you have to plant those seeds and water them for years and years to see the fruits come from that, and so I just really hope that people realize what we’re embarking on specifically at South East Market. It’s going to take a long time for our community and this neighborhood to fully understand that we’re here for them and what we’re doing. …

“I’m just so grateful that so many people here are interested in what we’re doing, and I think it really speaks to the hunger for justice work in this community. The more that we can get innovative and creative and support each other, the faster we’ll see it happen.”

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8

MAR 22, 2021

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

Consultant stresses ‘innovation through inclusion’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

included Founders Brewing Co. and the law firm Warner Norcross + Judd. He said Founders — which faced a reckoning after being sued by an employee for racial discrimination in 2018 and settling the suit in 2019 — has embraced the work resolutely.

“They’re doing an amazing job and really dialing in our processes into their business, and they’re not just barely doing it. They are doing it wholeheartedly. So, I think they’re a wonderful example.”

Warner Norcross, Welch said, has been building on DEI work it has been doing for years by adding the metric-based framework and focusing subcommittees around certain competency areas that were needed to move forward.

Welch said the ideal end result of the five-phase process is that the clients improve — creating better talent attraction and retention strategies, a more diverse employee and leadership team, and incorporating DEI into the supply chain, purchasing habits and decision-making — but also that the client becomes a teacher and an example to other organizations.

“We don’t need another diversity program,” Welch said. “We need diversity, equity and inclusion processes that are sustainable and that are long-term.”

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Mosaic Film Experience Ten years ago, Welch heard about the need for talent pipeline development among young people, so he founded the Mosaic Film Experience, a film and interactive media experience for high schooland college-age youths focusing on the four C’s: creativity, collaboration, critical thinking and career preparedness, using the platform of mobile filmmaking.

Mosaic has engaged over 3,000 young people in West Michigan since its inception, and because everything went virtual in 2020, it was able to expand to five other states, as well.

He started the program not just to offer specific skills for a career in media and film, but to equip them with innovative, creative thinking and leadership abilities, and to do it in a diverse setting where kids can see others who look like them succeeding.

“We have some folks who have gone on to get full-ride scholarships to Columbia Film School … but my interest is really in helping give them the problem-solving abilities that they need to be successful in whatever area they end up in,” he said. “That’s tied to the Global Bridgebuilders work because our motto is innovation through inclusion.”

New Community Transformation Fund Welch said while Global Bridgebuilders connects companies to their employees and to the community, and Mosaic Film Experience connects kids to creativity and the marketplace, another project he is working on will create upward mobility for entrepreneurs who have not previously been given a chance.

As the Business Journal has

previously reported, Welch and the former president and CEO of The Right Place, Birgit Klohs, in 2018 together came up with the idea for a fund that would connect business founders and entrepreneurs of color to capital in order to create a more diverse economy and build wealth. They sought out and secured seed funding and leadership support from Bank of America and Consumers Energy, and in January 2020, the New Community Transformation Fund was born.

Further investment commitments have been secured from notable local businesses, and the fund is well on its way to hitting its $10 million goal, after which point it can begin making investments.

Grand Action 2.0 riverfront project The business-based, private economic development nonprofit Grand Action 2.0 commissioned a Venue & Attraction study by Convention, Sports and Leisure (CSL) International to explore possible riverfront developments that will make Grand Rapids a destination for more events, tourism and a higher quality of life for its residents.

As part of the process, the international urban design and planning firm Populous, based in Kansas City, Missouri, was hired to create a conceptual plan for development of the 201 Market Ave. SW property along the Grand River south of Fulton Street, in partnership with Grand Rapids-based architectural firm Progressive AE. The process was led and funded by Grand Action 2.0 working together with the city of Grand Rapids. It began in October 2020 with a public engagement period that included 26 one-on-one interviews with community groups, foundations, elected officials and a variety of other downtown stakeholders.

The group also partnered with Global Bridgebuilders to conduct four, community-only virtual focus groups, each engaging 15 to 20 participants from diverse backgrounds.

“In order for it to be successful, we’re going to have to allow communities of color to participate in the business that is generated as a result of putting something on the river,” he said. “Our job was to engage those various constituents and get their voices heard, because we want to make sure they feel included, and they stay included. That’s where the whole idea of welcoming versus belonging is a big deal. I tell people that welcoming can happen through a sign but belonging can only happen through human beings. The goal of these conversations is to help communities of color feel like they belong and can participate, not just socially, but financially.”

Welch said all of the endeavors he is working on are rooms he wants to walk into and find them ethnically diverse.

“This is about creating an ecosystem in West Michigan where everybody can see themselves doing well and generating wealth for their families and for their legacy,” Welch said. “That’s the focus.”

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

MAR 22, 2021

9

Pandemic exposes technology gap for higher education Local colleges and universities had to scramble to meet the needs of students near and far.

Danielle Nelson

dnelson@grbj.com

Although local colleges and universities have been offering online classes for years, the pandemic revealed one common problem when it began over a year ago.

According to representatives from Grand Rapids Community College, Calvin University and Davenport University, access to technology was a major challenge when their students and faculty members were forced to quickly pivot to virtual learning.

David Murray, communications director for GRCC, said the college had to provide students with hundreds of loaner laptops, web cameras, headphones and portable Wi-Fi units.

“We extended Wi-Fi into the parking lot behind the administration building on the DeVos Campus and in the lot near the new GRCC Lakeshore Campus while it is undergoing renovations,” he said. “The college also formed a partnership with the Kent District Library to give students Wi-Fi access in branch parking lots.”

While some students at GRCC could use Wi-Fi to complete

course work in different parking lots, Amy Miller, executive director for university communications and public relations for Davenport University, said officials were surprised by the lack of connection their students had to Wi-Fi and general technology when they returned home.

While students in the U.S. were struggling with internet access, Kevin den Dulk, associate provost for Calvin University, said they were worried about international students who make up about 15% of the student body.

Some of the international students were in their home countries like China, South Korea and Ghana during the height of the pandemic and were unable to return to the U.S. because some borders were closed.

“We were already looking at good, solid pedagogy for online teaching, so as soon as we recognized that we would have to offer some courses that would have to meet the needs of international students in different time zones, we were able to put together asynchronous courses that students would participate in by creating a list of top courses that many of these international students needed in their course rotation so that we could meet them where they were at,” said Rob Bobeldyk, assistant director for teaching and learning for Calvin information technology.

Den Dulk said initially it was feared firewalls established by the different countries would be a

Calvin University installed and expanded wireless internet throughout campus, particularly in residence halls, and even set up shop in the school’s art gallery. Courtesy Adrian Van Stee

big challenge in sending international students their coursework, but that wasn’t much of an issue when compared to overall internet quality.

“We had to figure out how to get them the knowledge and access that they need in order to learn remotely, and for many of the students it was a challenge,” he said. “Some students didn’t necessarily have access to the best internet capacity. So, what that would mean when you are delivering a course and you are trying to do that remotely and you don’t have the best internet where

you happen to be, then what we would do is try to accommodate that with how we designed the courses themselves so they don’t require a lot of bandwidth.”

One item that requires a lot of bandwidth and the right equipment for international students is the teaching platform Microsoft Teams. As a result, Calvin had to create alternative ways to get the course work to those students through email in smaller files.

In addition to Microsoft Teams, Brian Paige, associate vice president for IT and chief information officer at Calvin, said staff

and faculty also decided to use another learning management system called Moodle to create an added option.

Back in Grand Rapids, Paige said they installed and expanded wireless internet throughout the campus, particularly in the residence halls.

There were 170 teaching and learning spaces at Calvin that were modified because of the pandemic to ensure that professors had the ability to deliver their coursework. Bobeldyk said some of those teaching and learning spaces will become permanent.

“One of the most fun places that we converted (into a teaching and learning space) was the university art gallery,” Paige said. “We converted that to a classroom, and I can’t think of a better metaphor for the liberal arts. Computer science professors teach some of their classes in the university art gallery. The students that are there sit socially distanced. Professors are also able to broadcast him or herself to remote students on a camera whether they are in the dorm or across the globe.”

As students are returning to campus and schools move forward, Murray said GRCC staff still are determining long-term plans on how to bridge the technological gap. For the fall semester, GRCC will continue to provide loaner laptops, web cameras, headphones and portable Wi-Fi units to its students.

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10

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

MAR 22, 2021

THE LIST

Top Area College & University Online Courses (RANKED BY NUMBER OF ONLINE COURSES OFFERED) President 1

Western Michigan University 1903 W. Michigan Ave. Kalamazoo 49008 p (269)-387-8400 wmich.edu

2

Grand Rapids Community College 143 Bostwick Ave. NE Grand Rapids 49503 p (616) 234-4000 grcc.edu

3

Year Number of established in online W. Mich. courses

Board members

Number of online students

Public or private

Degrees offered

Online courses offered

Edward Montgomery

1903

3,346

9,203

Public

Undergraduate programs: Aviation, child and family development, communications, criminal justice, cybersecurity, interdisciplinary health, nursing, psychology, religion, university studies. Graduate programs: Cybersecurity, coaching, education, nursing, science education, spirituality culture and health, vision rehabilitation therapy

Bill Pink

1914

1,257

DND

Public

Associate, certificate, apprentice and job training Wide variety in the School of programs; 2+2, 3+1, and many other transfer options with Arts and Sciences, and School the Michigan Transfer Agreement of Workforce Development

Central Michigan University - Grand Rapids 1633 East Beltline Ave. NE Grand Rapids 49525 p (616) 361-4160 f 361-4170 cmich.edu/grandrapids

Robert Davies

1995

1,200

445

Public

Bachelor's, master's, certificates at undergraduate and graduate levels, doctoral degrees

DND

4

Grand Valley State University 1 Campus Drive Allendale 49401-9403 p (616) 331-5000 gvsu.edu

Philomena V. Mantella

1960

985

DND

Public

96 undergraduate, 43 graduate degree programs, including doctoral degrees in nursing practice and physical therapy, occupational therapy; more than 200 areas of study

DND

5

Baker College 1116 W. Bristol Road Flint 48507 p (855) 487-7888 f 766-2051 baker.edu

Bart Daig Lesa Louch

1911

900

DND

Private

Bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in business, information technology, cybersecurity, health science, social science, engineering and education

DND

6

Cornerstone University 1001 East Beltline Ave. NE Grand Rapids 49525 p (616) 949-5300 f 222-1528 cornerstone.edu

Joseph Stowell

1941

658

1,890

Private

Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, Bachelor of Arts, DND Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Science-Engineering, Bachelor of Social Work, Doctor of Education, Master of Arts, Master of Business Admin, Master of Divinity, Master Religious Education, Master of Science, Master of Theology

Davenport University 6191 Kraft Ave. SE Grand Rapids 49512 p (800) 686-1600 davenport.edu

Richard Pappas

7

8

Muskegon Community College 221 S. Quarterline Road Muskegon 49442 p (231) 773-9131 muskegoncc.edu

8

Northwood University 4000 Whiting Drive Midland 48642 p (800) 622-9000 northwood.edu

10

Grace Christian University 1011 Aldon St. SW Wyoming 49509 p (800) 968-1887 f 530-7763 gracechristian.edu

11

Hope College 141 E. 12th St. Holland 49423 p (616) 395-7000 hope.edu

12

Aquinas College 1700 E. Fulton St. Grand Rapids 49506 p (616) 632-8900 f 732-4489 aquinas.edu

13

1866

500

2,011

Private

Online courses are offered in many subjects and disciplines at all levels of study

Bachelor's and master's degrees in business, technology, DND health and urban education

Dale Nesbary

1926

285

3,100

Public

Six associate in science and arts degrees, 36 associate in In response to COVID-19, applied science degrees and 32 certificate programs there are 523 course sections and 285 courses currently being offered online. 86% of the students are taking an online course

Kent MacDonald

1959

122

DND

Private

Bachelor of Business Administration, MBA, MSOL, MSBA, DND MSF and DBA

Ken Kemper

1961

95

DND

Private

Associate of Arts and Bachelor of Science in leadership and ministry, human services, business, psychology, criminal justice; A.A. in general studies

Matthew Scogin

1866

90

1,000

Private

Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science, Multiple disciplines across Bachelor of Science in nursing curriculum. Note that online numbers this year are actually higher than this as Hope has shifted traditionally in-person classes to online or hybrid formats due to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic

Kevin Quinn

1886

84

1,347

Private

63 majors in associate, bachelor's and master's degree programs, as well as continuing education classes for adult learners, veterans

Course in accounting, art, business, communication, counseling, computer science, English, education, economics, history, kinesiology, music, management, mathematics, philosophy, political science, sustainable business, sociology and more

Calvin University 3201 Burton St. SE Grand Rapids 49546 p (616) 526-6000 calvin.edu

Michael Le Roy

1876

80

829

Private

Bachelor's degrees in accounting, biological and physical sciences, communications, computer science, engineering, environmental studies, finance, fine arts, marketing, nursing, social work, special education, therapeutic recreation and nearly 75 other fields; master's degrees in education, speech pathology, accounting, media and strategic communication, geographic information science

Geographic information systems, graduate courses in speech pathology and education, summer courses in several disciplines including sciences, business, communication, education, languages and history

Michigan State University College of Human Medicine 15 Michigan St. NE Grand Rapids 49503 p (616) 233-1678 humanmedicine.msu.edu

Aron Sousa, MD

1969

DND

DND

Public

M.D., M.D.-Ph.D., M.D.-MBA, MPH

Master of Public Health

Aaron Maike

1911

DND

DND

Private

Bachelor's and associates degrees in culinary arts and baking and pasty

DND

The Culinary Institute of Michigan 1903 Marquette Ave. Muskegon 49442 p (231) 777-6644 f 777-6630 baker.edu

DND

The Grand Rapids Business Journal list of top area college and university online programs, ranked by number of online courses offered, is the most comprehensive available. The list is based on responses to Business Journal surveys. The Business Journal surveyed 32 schools, 15 responded and 15 are listed. To be considered for future lists, email dnelson@grbj.com. DND = Did not disclose

Dale Nesbary, president of Muskegon Community College, and Bill Pink, president of Grand Rapids Community College, have joined the Lakeshore Advantage board this year.

Master’s program

Calvin University launched its new Master of Arts in media and strategic communication program this semester. It is a one-year program.

Military and veterans program

Grand Valley State University’s new Peter Secchia Military and Veterans program will be providing more resources to veterans and active-duty military servicemen and women.

New dean

Amy Mansfield is the new dean of the Donald W. Maine College of Business and the College of Technology at Davenport University.

ListStore

@ GRBJ.com

Download this list now at GRBJ.com in Excel or PDF format.

The Book of Lists and other lists are also available.

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12

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

MAR 22, 2021

OutCenter strives for systemic inclusion Southwest Michigan nonprofit helps hospitality industry foster LGBTQ-friendly environments.

Rachel Watson

rwatson@grbj.com

An LGBTQ advocacy nonprofit is offering to help the restaurant industry do better creating safe spaces for diverse patrons.

MaryJo Schnell, executive director of the OutCenter of Southwest Michigan, said inadvertent or intentional instances of discrimination can be reduced or even eliminated if restaurants will commit to helping their employees understand bias and the harmful impacts of hostile environments.

Schnell has Schnell over 30 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. During her nearly nine-year tenure at the OutCenter, which is based in Benton Harbor and covers Berrien, Cass and Van Buren counties, she

has created systemwide organizational change initiatives based on education and institutional partnerships and served LGBTQ at-risk youth.

While inclusivity training is needed in all industries, Schnell said it is crucial to create change in the restaurant industry, which is full of people-facing roles — whether it be customer to customer, server to customer, or staff to staff.

One example of a training the OutCenter did for a restaurant company was conducted for Moersch Hospitality Group in Baroda (south of Benton Harbor) in 2019 by volunteer Caroline Jones, whose wife is on the board of the OutCenter. Jones applied a systematic approach to ensure the inclusivity training targeted the needs of the restaurant group, which owns Tabor Hill Winery & Restaurant, Free Run Cellars, and Round Barn Winery, Brewery & Distillery.

Jones worked with Kathryn McBride, the former OutCenter program coordinator, to develop experiential learning scenarios from restaurant-related LGBTQ discriminatory instances.

Schnell said the 45-minute training was powerful because it met the company leaders, managers and supervisors where they were at, encouraged team build-

ing, and involved them in identifying and shaping the conversation rather than lecturing them.

“There was a focus on the impacts of discrimination and understanding or becoming more aware of when your attitudes and behaviors are out of sync … or when you’re in that place where you don’t know what you’re talking about or you don’t understand what messages your attitudes and behaviors are sending that are potentially harmful to an LGBTQ person,” Schnell said.

Jones had participants in the training session break into three or four smaller groups to go over case studies of discrimination, then role-play how they would respond as a manager or supervisor in those scenarios.

“It allowed them time to be creative in their responses versus us standing up and talking about what they should and shouldn’t do,” she said. “It’s a much healthier conversation if they’re actually involved in trying to figure that out.”

Topics in the training included using the correct terminology and pronouns for various gender identities; being aware of LGBTQ regulations, issues and challenges; adding inclusive bathroom signage for transgender or nonbinary individuals; examining customer service, company culture

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OutCenter also serves the community through the Safe Schools Collaborative, a multi-faceted project providing workshops on sexual orientation and gender identity to school staff. Photo by iStock

and human resource policies; and creating safe spaces, whether it be through posted written anti-discrimination policies, changing job application forms to add “nonbinary” or “other” gender checkboxes, or having a reporting process in place whereby individuals can address instances of discrimination.

Schnell said the OutCenter also serves the community through the Safe Schools Collaborative, a multi-faceted project providing workshops on sexual orientation and gender identity to school staff and assistance to schools, youth and their families. The program is funded by the United Way of Southwest Michigan and in 2020 alone served 11,000 students in over 20 schools, resulting in 220-

plus policies being overhauled, Schnell said.

The OutCenter also works with towns, courts and law enforcement officials on anti-discrimination and inclusion action steps. In 2019, the nonprofit was instrumental in helping the city of St. Joseph develop a non-discrimination ordinance that added employment, housing and public accommodations protections for the LGBTQ community.

Schnell noted the OutCenter serves conservative rural areas where LGBTQ children and adults often face isolation, disconnection and hostile attitudes.

When the OutCenter provides training for businesses and emCONTINUED ON PAGE 23

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

INSIDE TRACK

MAR 22, 2021

13

Professor comes full circle WMU-Cooley’s Tracey Brame knew from an early age her voice could make a difference for underserved populations.

Danielle Nelson

dnelson@grbj.com

B

orn on the heels of the civil rights movement, Tracey Brame, an associate dean and professor at West Michigan University Cooley Law School, always had a passion for activism.

The first time she felt that her voice needed to be heard was when she was about 10 years old.

Brame led a demonstration by her lonesome for higher wages.

“I went on strike at my house because I thought I should have gotten a larger allowance,” she said. “I made a picket sign and walked up and down, in front of my house. The picket sign read ‘equal rights for kids.’ I was doing typical kids’ chores like washing the dishes, vacuuming the house on Saturday mornings and dusting the furniture. I am sure my mom was giving me a nominal amount of allowance to teach me the value of money, but whatever the amount was, I didn’t think it was enough.”

Even though her protest didn’t result in any major changes, she realized the importance of her voice, which she has used ever since to create a successful career.

That success has not gone unnoticed. Brame recently was named Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s 2020 Lawyer of the Year. She is the associate dean of Experiential and Practice Preparation at Cooley, as well as director of the law school’s Access to Justice Clinic, which provides legal representation to those seeking to expunge their criminal convictions.

Most recently, she became director of the law school’s Innocence Project, which is a part of the Innocence Network. It provides legal assistance to individuals who are imprisoned for crimes they did not commit by working to obtain post-conviction DNA testing of material evidence and unreliable forensics.

Brame said her success was molded by her parents. Her father was an airman who retired last year after working for 53

years at Ford Motor Co. Her no-nonsense mother worked at a bank and later at Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Brame was raised on the northwest side of Detroit during a “tumultuous” period in the nation when it was grappling with the crack epidemic in the ’80s and early ’90s.

“Two blocks, one way, was a housing project and two blocks the other way was an upper-middle-class neighborhood and we lived right in the middle of those two areas,” she said. “I had friends that span the spectrum and as I got older, I had friends in the neighborhood, some of them I remain good friends with and they are doing great things, but quite a few of them didn’t make it. They were stereotypically imprisoned or died violently. Some of the guys that I grew up with, in particular, are no longer with us, so I had a mixed upbringing.

I grew up in the middle of that but didn’t fall victim to it in large part because of my parents. My mom was serious business. I had to be home before the streetlights came on. She didn’t allow me to hang out with certain people or do certain things and, of course, I thought she was so strict, but she tried her best to keep us out of trouble.”

Brame’s parents remained overly protective of her even after she went off to the University of Michigan on a full scholarship, where she had the intention of pursuing journalism.

When she was a sophomore, however, Brame said she took a class that focused on African American female literature, which was taught by Professor Buzz Alexander, who changed her life.

“I walked into class and the professor was about 6-foot-2, a hippy-looking white guy,” she said. “I said to myself, ‘What in the world is Buzz Alexander going to teach me about Zora Neale Hurston, William Attaway?’ Like, how in the world is this guy going to teach me anything about African American female writers?

“I loved the class. I loved the class so much that I became so

TRACEY BRAME Organization: West Michigan University Cooley Law School Age: 50 Position: Associate Dean of Experiential and Practice Preparation Birthplace: Great Falls, Montana Residence: Grand Rapids Family: Husband, Kenyatta; son, Kamau and daughter, Kimani Business/Community Involvement: Immediate past president of the Grand Rapids Bar Association, board member of LINC UP, board member of Samaritas, president of Greater Grand Rapids Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, member of Michigan Indigent Defense Commission Biggest Career Break: Getting a job at the Public Defender Service office in Washington, D.C.

Tracey Brame currently serves as director of WMU-Cooley’s Innocence Project.

Courtesy Julie Balgavy

close to him. I took just about every course he taught. In the second semester of my sophomore year, I became one of his youngest teaching assistants for a class he taught called ‘Vietnam and the Artist.’ That was a life-changing class for me in a couple of ways. He taught the class from a totally left-wing, hippy perspective. We studied the Vietnam War from the perspective of the Vietnamese and of the Black soldiers who were drafted into the war. We read books and poems, we watched documentaries and films like ‘The Deer Hunter,’ so we studied the Vietnam War from a very liberal perspective. It was eye-opening for me. We learned about Black history as kids, but this class was in-depth. We watched a documentary called ‘No Vietnamese Ever Called Me Nigger,’ which was about the Black experience of being a soldier in Vietnam and coming home to discrimination and racism. The content was just mind-blowing.”

Between taking Alexander’s classes and classes about constitutional law, the 14th amendment, and seeing the outcry that followed the Rodney King beating, Brame found her passion for using the law to help people.

She went on to the University of Michigan Law School where she met Bryan Stevenson, a civil rights lawyer who represented individuals on death row in Alabama. He also is a social justice activist and the author of “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption,” which was turned into a movie, “Just Mercy,”

in 2019.

Brame said he talked about the death penalty, something she didn’t know much about because Michigan doesn’t have the death penalty. That, she said, was the life-changing part of law school.

She wanted to do what Stevenson was doing, work with people on death row. She took an internship in Alabama at Stevenson’s office.

“It was everything I thought it was going to be,” she said. “I got to do everything. I got to watch attorneys from his office argue in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. I got to visit former jurors and interview them. I got to do research on the cases. I got to meet Walter McMillian, who was the subject of the movie ‘Just Mercy.’ He was released just before I got (to Alabama). I took paperwork with me to his house. I just really got to work alongside Bryan for three months and it was life-changing.”

Brame also got the opportunity to draft racial-justice legislation for the state of Alabama.

With her mind made up about becoming a public defender, Brame was determined to return to Alabama after graduation.

That was wishful thinking, however, because her mother, who is family-oriented, didn’t want her to go so far and Brame was respectful of that.

She settled back in Detroit where she clerked for Judge Julian Abele Cook Jr. in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan. She was a public defender for about nine years, working with individuals who were convicted of crimes.

Brame was an assistant defender

with the State Appellate Defender Office in Detroit and she later became the research and writing specialist at the Federal Defender Office.

Brame later became a staff attorney for Public Defender Services for the District of Columbia. She returned to Michigan after a few years and moved to Grand Rapids where her husband grew up. She worked as a family attorney for Legal Aid of Western Michigan, helping low-income families with legal issues.

Brame got the opportunity to join WMU-Cooley Law School in 2006 and since then she has taken on numerous roles. She was initially involved with family law and then she ascended to become a member of the administration, becoming associate dean and a professor at Cooley’s Grand Rapids campus.

In January, she took on the additional role of director for WMU-Cooley Innocence Project, which is the only post-conviction DNA innocence organization in the state. The school’s organization has been responsible for the exoneration of five men, most recently in February.

“I am really excited about that,” she said. “This has brought me full circle, back to the social justice work I was doing at the State Appellate Defender Office.”

14

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

MAR 22, 2021

Foundations pursue racial justice in philanthropy CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

for many reasons, including the systemic inequities young people of color face, the college debt crisis and the lack of career preparedness.

“I don’t want to (imply) that everybody needs a Ph.D. and that everybody needs to go to a fouryear college for a degree. What I’m talking about is getting educated to have a career, a skill, a vocation where you are certified or you have some sort of a credential that makes you employable, that makes you attractive to employers and that opens doors for you,” Olivarez said.

He said philanthropy can effect social change in this area by supporting people at the very beginning of their lives — by investing in mothers and prenatal and infant health and development, so that children are ready and stay on track from preschool all the way up through post-secondary education.

Olivarez noted funding isn’t the only role foundations can play when it comes to creating change in communities. If an institution is small and underfunded, it can leverage its assets by partnering with bigger organizations (businesses, schools, local governments); it can participate in community roundtables on who is funding what and where the needs lie; it can be a catalyst by seeding initiatives that will grow over time; it can be a thought leader; it can spread information using

its platform; and it can be a convener by calling meetings with other organizations.

“When a foundation calls a meeting of different sectors — health, education, and so forth — they’ll come, because it’s a foundation, and there’s definitely respect there,” Olivarez said.

Teri Behrens, Ph.D. and executive director of the Johnson Center, said local organizations such as United Way and groups Behrens like the Council of Michigan Foundations have been working to make equity the centerpiece of their work — gathering to review their processes, reducing obstacles for smaller nonprofits led by people of color when it comes to grantmaking by streamlining the review process, loosening reporting requirements, simplifying applications and providing general operating support instead of only program-specific support, especially now that the pandemic has wreaked havoc on nonprofits’ budgets.

At the same time, foundations are starting to ask nonprofits applying for grants to supply evidence that the vulnerable communities they serve will have input into the funding to make sure it goes where the needs are.

Diana Sieger, president of the

Grand Rapids Community Foundation, said while GRCF has long had a focus on racial equity, the foundation has “leveled up in recent years.”

“The historic and entrenched racial inequities that exist in our community (have) truly intensified over the past year,” she said, noting as a result, the foundation is increasing its focus on addressing structural racism through equitable education opportunities, health care access, workforce and economic development, environmental justice and the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Erika VanDyke, program officer with GRCF, received the Business Journal’s 2020 Newsmaker of the Year award in the nonprofit/philanthropy category for her work convening Latinx community partner organizations to establish the La Lucha Fund, which provided hundreds of thousands of COVID-19 relief dollars to about 1,200 undocumented and mixed-status Latinx families in West Michigan.

A year ago, Sieger convened a group of the region’s largest foundaSieger tions and Heart of West Michigan United Way to brainstorm how to meet basic needs while also addressing racial inequity in

the philanthropic sector.

“The key thing that we’ve really done and will continue to do is walk alongside the community,” Sieger said. “That’s not just words; it’s developing the networks that we have in the community and developing a trust that we’re going to do what we say we’re going to do … (and) that we are listening to people.

“We do not have all the answers as a community foundation; the community has those answers. … We need to make sure that the actions we take, and the policies and procedures that we have really reflect that.”

During the past few years, GRCF has forged convening, listening and funding partnerships with a plethora of West Michigan organizations led by people of color, including the region’s first racial equity lending firm, Rende Progress Capital; the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Public Agency at WMCAT; the Women’s Resource Center; the Latina Network and Latino Network; Urban Core Collective; and Heart of West Michigan United Way. The foundation currently has over 800 funds, some restricted and some donor-advised, and its team is working with the donors to understand what is happening in the community. The donors “have really stepped up,” Sieger said.

“We have a lot of work to do in this community, and as a community foundation, we need to con-

tinue to actively move on supporting Black-led and Black-founded organizations, so we’re doing it,” she said.

Olivarez said he is encouraged to see that same level of openness from corporate, family and community foundations all over the region.

“I was on a call (recently) with a foundation CEO who said to me, ‘I’ve looked at our numbers and where our money’s going. I feel good about it, but we can do better.’ I was really pleased with that because it’s that ‘We can do better’ attitude that’s important.

Any good businessperson should never be satisfied with what we’re doing; we should always be looking at ‘How can we do better?’ It’s called continuous improvement.

Things change, life changes, markets change, and what that means is you’ve got to always be on top of what’s going on and ‘What does that mean for us?’

“For foundations to be more successful, it is learning what haven’t we done, where have we misstepped and being honest with (ourselves). Our foundations in this community are really trying, and they have done and continue to do good things. Are there issues, and can we point to areas of improvement that they need to make? Yes. But their willingness to own up to it and to figure it out together is what I’m seeing, and it’s going to take time. … Life is changing, and all of us, including philanthropy, have to continue to learn and to stay with it.”

Museums focus on inclusive programming CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

minority and women business database owned Connecting Minority and Woman Owned Businesses to Opportunity ™

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and educational programming, and enhance community involvement and support in a safe, accessible and welcoming environment,” said Marguerite Curran, MMA director of marketing.

Holland Museum is continuing its Cultural Lens Series after its traveling exhibition “THEM: Images of Separation” concluded in January 2020.

The series was a big part of the exhibition, which showcased the negative stereotypical imagery on postcards, license plates, games, souvenirs and costumes toward Asian Americans, Hispanics, Jews and poor whites, and people of different sexual orientation and body type.

There is a virtual program at least once a month where experts talk about different topics, some of which are geared toward adults and others toward families.

The museum is focusing on fair housing and the history behind some policies this month.

Michelle Stempien, education and community programs manager for Holland Museum, said over the past few months they’ve had discussions about allyship.

“We are doing programs that focus on Black, Indigenous and people of color, LGBTQ communities, to explore topics that are important … and that we all need

to know about,” she said. “It is so important that we are having a dialogue with our community about these topics. The museum has been very focused on telling particular stories. We need to broaden the stories that we are telling at the museum with our collections (and) exhibitions so that we are a museum for everyone, that we are connecting with everyone in the community — with all cultures and groups who live here in this area — and programming is one way that we can do that. It is one way that we can do it more immediately.

To change exhibitions and add to the collections takes time, but programming is a way that we can start connecting and having an impact immediately.”

Another initiative that Holland Museum rolled out is its Diversity and Culture Celebration Book Club. There are about 200 available books and individuals can check out books for a couple of weeks. The books focus on Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) innovators and people who have made change happen.

“Like all organizations, we are trying to get back to normal or have some sense of normalcy, but I can say that this focus on DEI is going to be a part of our normal going forward,” Stempien said.

“It is going to be a very big part of what we’ll do here.”

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16

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

MAR 22, 2021

Public dental system works to expand equitable access to care Preventive dentistry could save hospitals $1.7 billion.

Ehren Wynder

ewynder@grbj.com

My Community Dental Centers is sounding the alarm on disparities in dental health among West Michigan residents.

Dr. Eric Cao, a dentist serving out of MCDC’s Kentwood office, has been in the public dental practice for more than eight years. He has served numerous communities throughout Michigan, including Greenville, Big Rapids, Hart and Muskegon. Cao said much of the same racial and class disparities in medical care carry over into dental care as well.

“In West Michigan we’re blessed to have a lot of resources and organizations that are able to help — Bethany Christian Services, the Catholic Diocese, God’s Kitchen, Mel Trotter — all of those are really great entities that help funnel patients into our offices for care,” Cao said. “But we still have a lot of disparities with language barriers.

A lot of refugees are coming over.”

In MCDC’s Kentwood office alone, there are 17 different languages spoken by patients in a given day, Cao said. Transportation reliability, especially during the winter, also is a barrier to accessing quality dental care.

“We don’t fault the patients when they call saying, ‘Hey, the

buses are running late.’ I get it,” Cao said. “We don’t want to have that as an obstacle for patients to come in.”

In many cases, patients don’t even know they have certain coverage, Cao said. Part of MCDC’s mission is to educate patients about their existing coverage options.

“We get a lot of referrals from Spectrum and Metro Health hospitals for dental-related emergencies,” Cao said. “A lot of that could have been easily mitigated if the patient knew they had coverage … instead of thinking, ‘Oh no, I can’t afford this,’ in reality they had coverage all along.”

Access to dental care doesn’t just impact the health of one’s teeth. Good oral health is critical to one’s overall health and wellness, and dental professionals for the past few decades been pushing for preventive care, rather than just reactive care, Cao said.

“A toothache can ruin your day,” Cao said. “We see it all the time where patients are like, ‘Oh, I had a toothache three months ago, and I kind of put it off.’ And it just got to a point where it’s affecting their daily life. They can’t think straight. They’re missing work. It affects more than the one tooth. It affects the entire body.”

MCDC’s Kentwood office sees a number of minority groups seeking emergency care, Cao said, and the office has refocused its efforts into educating the community to come in before greater problems happen.

In MCDC’s Kentwood office alone, there are 17 different languages spoken by patients in a given day. Courtesy MCDC

Providing the best possible care for underserved communities also promises financial returns for health care overall. According to a 2010 study from the American Dental Association (ADA), 20% of emergency visits to hospitals were dental in nature, accounting for $2.1 billion in health care funds.

The ADA estimated if those dental emergencies could have been prevented, it would have saved about $1.7 billion.

“We could have done quite a bit to increase benefits and made it a little bit more sustainable to see patients with Medicaid, non-cover payers and stuff like that, so we

could to a lot with $1.7 billion,” Cao said. “And that’s just one thing we can do to keep patients out of the ER.” Environment and lifestyle also factor in to one’s overall dental health. Cao said people who use city water, which contains fluoride, have a lower chance of developing cavities than those who use well water.

Additionally, people who already are missing teeth tend to go for more chewable foods that are higher in sugar and carbohydrates, thus exacerbating their poor dental health.

“It’s kind of a vicious cycle

that’s detrimental to your teeth,” Cao said. “Because the bacteria that live in your mouth love that type of environment, and that’s where the cavities come from.”

Lack of access to proper nutrition, particularly fresh fruits and vegetables, is a problem in urban cores, Cao said. It’s harder for residents of these communities to reach an actual grocery store, as opposed to buying cheap, high-carbohydrate food from a convenience store.

MCDC also works to address these multiple barriers to equitable dental health on the state level. The company’s chief of governmental and community affairs, Kim Singh, has been working to expand access through increasing budgets for Medicaid and the Healthy Michigan plan, as well as cross-collaborating with state and local partners to create awareness and education.

“Each community we serve is different,” said MCDC Marketing Manager Ashley Bodien.

“We know that it takes not only the state level but also local — local level being education, breaking down some of the barriers of education, creating pathways to connect with local organizers, whether it’s Mel Trotter, Bethany Christian Services, local schools — where we can create an access point about the importance of preventive care.”

Cao said while it can be improved upon, West Michigan does CONTINUED ON PAGE 23

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02 OF 11

Guiding Light. John had been aware of the nonprofit through the support groups he continued to attend and reached out to Board Chair Ed Postma to learn more about the specific work Guiding Light was doing through its addiction Recovery program.

An offer to join the Board followed, which John called “an absolute blessing.” He serves on the Executive, Finance and Advancement committees, sponsoring clients as they begin their sobriety journeys and attending support group meetings at Guiding Light’s headquarters in Heartside before the pandemic chased everything online.

THE NEXT RIGHT THING: Board Member John Harrington and His Commitment John Harrington still vividly recalls his 60th night at Jellema House—because that’s the night his prayers were answered.

Alcohol had the Grand Rapids native firmly in its grip.

He ruined relationships with his children, family, friends and coworkers. John clocked several stays in intensive care and paid monthly visits to his “detox of choice” for several months until he was told he needed long-term recovery or he would not live through the rest of the year.

“I prayed the whole time I was there that somehow something would change,” John recalls. “I was afraid if something didn’t change, I was going to leave recovery and the first thing I would do would be to drink again.

“On that 60th night, I was praying and, when I awoke the next day, the anxiety, fear and everything that had consumed me was gone. I stayed another 19 days because I still didn’t believe it. I never thought about a drink again—and I haven’t had a drink since then.

“My obsession to make and find happiness in money got me drunker and drunker. When I got out from under that, my whole world changed. It’s a testament to what can happen when you’re not being driven by anything but doing the next right thing.”

That’s a creed John has lived by for the past 17 years —including the last four as a Board Member with

“I only hope I give as much to the organization as I receive from the miracles it produces,” John explains.

“Knowing the work the staff does and what they have been able to accomplish over time has been unbelievable.

“I have been around people who have gone through other treatment programs, and I have gone through them myself. I look at the success we have and then look at other programs, and there’s simply no comparison.”

John attributes that to the unique structure of Guiding Light’s program, which has five key differences. The first is the upfront screenings by Recovery Director Brian Elve, who makes sure the men they are talking with are ready for “no-joke” recovery.

“Recovery isn’t just about putting down the bottle—it’s about learning to live on life’s terms, something most alcoholics have failed miserably at doing,” John notes.

“It requires a huge commitment on the part of clients for them to get the benefits of the program.

“We don’t allow it to become a respite. This is not getting a few weeks off; this is a long-term commitment. I don’t think recovery can occur unless you live it. At Guiding Light, we give the men a chance to begin that life in earnest.”

John sees the spiritual nature Guiding Light invokes in its program as the second factor important to its success, noting “you’re not going to do it by yourself, you’re going to have to rely on a higher power outside of your control” which to John is God. The residential program offers spiritual direction, life-coaching, therapy and support groups in combination with evidencebased practices and the resources to equip men to stay sober and live life in a new way.

Those support groups are the third critical component, John says, equipping men with the tools they need to address their addictions and establish a new and better path. The men in Recovery attend as many as 12 support group meetings a week, which give them

an opportunity to connect with others walking a similar path and build community.

John notes that Iron House is the fourth factor and “key to the continuing success” of the program. Men who successfully complete the four- to six-month residential program can then transition to Iron House, Guiding Light’s sober-living apartments that offer a safe and secure environment in a residential area in Kentwood. Whether clients choose to move into Iron House can make a big difference in their recovery journeys. In fact, 77% of men who move to Iron House stay sober for a year or longer.

Guiding Light reports that men who do not move to Iron House after the Recovery program have a lower rate of continued sobriety and a higher rate of relapse.

“Finally, and most importantly, the true difference is the staff,” John explains. “The Recovery and Back to Work staff have all been to the party. They know the difference between idiocy and the truth—and that makes a huge difference to the clients.

‘‘

The people who are trying to help them have been there themselves. They know what it’s like to be in their shoes.

So does John. His troubles began with alcohol when he was 14. He spent two decades building a career in banking before going through recovery. Today he runs his own consulting firm focused on nurturing distressed businesses back to success.

“Many of the same principles I learned in recovery and through support groups are applicable to how I approach my clients – they need recovery in many of the same ways,” John says.

Giving back through Guiding Light and his board role with the Refugee Education Center is part and parcel of who he is after recovery.

“I can see the change in people who come through the program,” John says. “I know where they’ve been.

I know the challenge and difficulty they have of even getting to the point of wanting to take that step.

“Guiding Light is there to provide these men with the opportunity to get out from under all those things that have been destroying them. The same thing happened to me – someone gave me an opportunity to find a new way of life. I’m truly blessed to be part of an organization that gives in the same way that keeps me coming back.

“I have to give it away to keep it.”

Through the guiding light of God’s Spirit, Guiding Light partners with individuals to fulfill their God-given potential through rescue, recovery and re-engagement in the community.

GIVE SECURELY ONLINE AT GuidingLightWorks.org/Give

18

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

MAR 22, 2021

COMMENT & OPINION

GUEST COLUMN Carissa Patrone and Daniel Schoonmaker

Celebrating Black excellence in sustainability and business

A

month ago, Robert Cloy was introduced as an Emerging Leader fellow at GreenBiz 21, the world’s premier event for sustainable business leaders.

Cloy started his career as an intern with our organization and is now the urban forest coordinator for Friends of Grand Rapids Parks, where he is working to increase Grand Rapids’ urban forest and connect our community to the cultural, social, economic, public health and environmental benefits of trees. Cloy worked with volunteers to plant 800 trees in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic and is now leading a pilot workforce development program that will train local youth to maintain newly planted trees.

The GreenBiz Emerging Leaders program aims to elevate, cultivate and support the next generation of BIPOC leaders in sustainable business — a goal shared by our organization and one that we had the privilege to reflect on recently through a series of 18 interviews with local Black leaders dedicated to advancing a more sustainable, inclusive and just future in West Michigan. You can find the three-part series on our website at wmsbf.org.

Cloy is one of many Black leaders working to improve our community through greening or growing, including Lisa Oliver King of Our Kitchen Table, James Moyer, and Crystal Scott-Tunstall of GVSU. Along with food entrepreneurs such as Alita Kelly of South East Market and Jermale Eddie

of Malamiah Juice Bar, they are working to plant seeds, educate students and neighbors, increase access to local and healthy foods, cultivate partnerships and forward business models that prioritize their relationship with the community. They recognize the intentionality of sustainability, and the promise of sustainable business as a fusion between businesses and the communities they reside in.

“It is important for people of color to choose careers in the sustainability field,” said Scott-Tunstall, an affiliate professor in the Environmental and Sustainability Studies Program at GVSU. “People of color suffer the most from environmental issues. I believe that representation in sustainability is key to bringing awareness to the environmental injustice that plagues Black and brown communities.”

Andrew Oppong is a justice mobilization specialist for the Christian Reformed Church’s Office of Social Justice, where he focuses on creation care and climate change and co-leads its Climate Witness Project. He works with congregations to prepare them to be better stewards of Earth’s resources through training, energy assessments and introductions to renewable energy opportunities.

“As a member of an impacted community myself, if I could leave a legacy, it would be that I empowered and encouraged more BIPOC leaders and champions in this work,” said Oppong. “In terms of

bringing others into this journey, I believe I will continue to emphasize the point that a vision for the future rooted in sustainability and equity benefits everyone; from the small business owner to the Indigenous community, we all have a stake in this.”

According to Kareem Scales, administrator of operations for Greater Grand Rapids NAACP, there is a “loneliness in onlyness” when you are the only person at

the table who looks like you and comes from your background.

Black, brown and others from under-resourced communities have not historically been included in sustainability initiatives. Today, people of color are increasingly sought out for their expertise and innovative ideas, including Dee Jones of Jump Ahead L3C, Synia Gant-Jordan of Legacy of Love CONTINUED ON PAGE 23

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Tim Gortsema: tgortsema@grbj.com DIGITAL EDITOR

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Danielle Nelson: dnelson@grbj.com Rachel Watson: rwatson@grbj.com Ehren Wynder: ewynder@grbj.com STATE LEGISLATIVE REPORTER

MI VIEW WEST Garth Kriewall

Michigan journalist, kriewall@hotmail.com

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GUEST COLUMN Lou Glazer

State needs high-wage jobs and racial equity

E

conomic development — particularly expanding the availability of high-wage jobs — and racial equity are twin priorities.

Both are essential to a Michigan that has a growing economy and as it grows benefits all.

Unfortunately, all too often, they are viewed as competing priorities.

Particularly when it comes to central city efforts to retain and attract mobile talent.

Today’s economic development reality is that quality of place attracts talent, and talent drives economic growth. Concentrated talent is what attracts high-wage employers. Talent also is entrepreneurial, so where it is concentrated are the places with the most high-wage business startups.

That means placemaking should be central to Michigan’s economic-growth strategy. The data is clear that the most prosperous places across the country are those with

the largest talent concentrations.

And that mobile talent is choosing to live in places with quality basic services, infrastructure and amenities.

Far too often, cities have chosen to focus on providing service and amenities to downtown and near-downtown neighborhoods so as to retain and attract affluent/ college-educated households. This needs to change.

Atlanta and Austin are prosperous and growing regions driven in large part by being national talent magnets, particularly their central cities. The new Austin transit system and the Atlanta BeltLine provide models for how to do placemaking in a way that benefits current residents and attracts mobile talent. Both initiatives provide expanded services to both downtown and neighborhoods and make affordable housing a funding priority.

Improving the quality of life of current city residents and attracting new residents to the city was the dual mission of the new Austin transit plan. Transit Now — the cross-sector supporters of the initiative — described the benefits of the light rail plus initiative this way: “It’s time we invest in a new future for Austin that gives our transit-dependent neighbors dignity, that gives everyone else a viable option to sitting in traffic, that helps prevent climate change and protects the quality of our air and water, that prevents displacement and creates complete communities with expanded access to opportunities to all residents, and that

keeps our economy humming now and for decades to come.”

The Atlanta BeltLine also is explicitly deigned to both improve the quality of life of current city residents and to attract new residents to the city, particularly mobile young professionals. This dual purpose is how placemaking should be done everywhere.

The BeltLine is 33 miles of multiuse trails, parks and a network of pedestrian-friendly transit links. It serves 40 neighborhoods, not just downtown. Light rail is a central design feature of the BeltLine.

Atlanta Beltline’s website describes it this way: “As one of the largest, most wide-ranging urban redevelopment programs in the United States, the Atlanta BeltLine is the catalyst for making Atlanta a global beacon for equitable, inclusive, and sustainable city life.”

The story of the Atlanta Beltline is told in Ryan Gravel’s highly recommended “Where We Want To Live: Reclaiming Infrastructure for a New Generation of Cities.” Gravel first proposed the BeltLine a little more than 20 years ago in his master’s thesis at Georgia Tech.

From its inception, the BeltLine was designed to be far more than a walking and bike path with light rail running alongside the trail. It

features include 33 miles of multiuse urban trails; $10 billion of economic development; 30,000 permanent jobs; 22 miles of pedestrian friendly rail transit; 5,600 units of affordable housing; 1,100 acres of environmental cleanup; 1,300 acres of new greenspace; 46 miles of improved streetscapes and the largest public art exhibition in the south.

Gravel calls it catalyst infrastructure. A catalyst for economic development, community development, affordable housing, etc.

The BeltLine is infrastructure that creates the kind of amenities where people prefer to live and thus drives where development occurs. It changes the nature of that development from what academic and developer Christopher Leinberger in “Option of Urbanism” calls drivable suburbanism to walkable urbanism.

Turns out that both current residents, across race and class, as well as potential new residents all want walkable urbanism and both/and placemaking. And when communities do that, the result is a place that both improves the quality of life of current residents and attracts mobile talent that drives future economic growth.

Lou Glazer is president of Michigan Future Inc.

Elissa Stong Katrina Peshka

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GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

MAR 22, 2021

19

GUEST COLUMN Elisabeth M. Von Eitzen and Robert A. Hendricks

Help for distressed cannabis businesses

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inancially distressed cannabis businesses do not qualify for federal bankruptcy protection, but the Michigan Legislature is opening a new remedy: receivership.

Under recent legislation signed

by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency now can authorize a cannabis business experiencing financial difficulties to be transferred to a state court-appointed receiver. This is an important step in normalizing the cannabis industry and making it easier for financial institutions to make loans to cannabis-related businesses.

Cannabis remains illegal under federal law, which means federal bankruptcy protection isn’t available to cannabis businesses or their creditors. The lack of bankruptcy court supervision and control of financially troubled cannabis businesses is one of many reasons lenders have been reluctant to lend to this industry.

Now, a state court-appointed receiver can help preserve and maximize the value of an operating cannabis business for the benefit of those who may have an interest in it. This follows established state law for other types of regulated industries, requiring the receiver to act for the benefit of those who may have an interest in the business and to hold assets for the court vs. the debtor or the creditor.

While a receiver doesn’t have

all the rights and powers of a bank- complying with state law and with ruptcy trustee, it can take control federal enforcement priorities. of a financially struggling cannaAs stakeholders wait for the bis business. The receiver can buy Marijuana Regulatory Agency to and sell assets, as well as sell the establish procedures and stanentire company. This is especially dards for approving a court-aphelpful if a creditor can’t own the pointed receiver to operate a business because of licensing re- licensed cannabis business, they strictions — and it benefits all of can be hopeful that some federthe company’s creditors, making al bankruptcy protections might more assets available to pay them soon be available. This undoubtoff.The receiver edly will make it also can solicit easier for banks

claims from varto decide to get

ious creditors, in the marijuaand those credna industry and

itors can particmove Michigan

ipate in whatevdown the path er distribution

toward treating of assets is es- the cannabis tablished. This industry like all

other industries keeps everything structured

in the country. under one law-

suit in one court Elisabeth M. Von

Eitzen is a partvs. multiple lawsuits in multiple ner and Robert c o u r t s . Fi n a n Hendricks is A. cial institutions a senior counsel

considering in the law firm lending to canWarner Norcross

nabis business+ Judd LLP. Von

es should conEitzen practices sult with legal in banking, bankcounsel to ensure lending docu- ruptcy, restructuring and insolvency ments allow them to fully leverage and real estate. Hendricks practices receivership in case the borrower in business and corporate services, defaults on the loan. Lenders also with a concentration in cannabis. will want to ensure loan agree- They can be reached at evoneitments include provisions that zen@wnj.com and rhendricks@wnj. address the special nature of the com. business and enable them to confirm on an ongoing basis they are

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GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

MAR 22, 2021

GUEST COLUMN Monica Sparks

A financial transaction tax would hurt Main Street

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ollowing the recent GameStop trading frenzy, Congress is finally taking steps toward a long-overdue reckoning on Wall Street. Recently, members of the House Financial Services Committee heard from major hedge funds, GameStop, Robinhood and Reddit to figure out what happened last month and how to protect retail and small traders from Wall Street’s greedy antics.

Already, some lawmakers have called for actions against Wall Street in the aftermath of the GameStop saga, with progressive members of the caucus resurrecting the idea of a tax on Wall Street trading known as the financial

transaction tax. Proponents argue that a small tax — 0.1% — would reduce high-frequency trading practices that only benefit the wealthy. This may seem like a noble cause, but it is a misguided policy with big unintended consequences in practice.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that a financial transaction tax could generate $777 billion over the next decade.

Sure, this is a lot of money, and it could help to fund many programs or cancel debt. But, what lawmakers fail to consider is Wall Street would not be footing the bill. Anyone who relies on a (401)k, pension, 529 account, or retirement

GUEST COLUMN

he COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way employers view a lot of things, especially health care for themselves and for their employees. One trend that has expanded during this time is the use of virtual health care, which can be a solution for getting and monitoring care without having to schedule an in-office doctor’s appointment, making this a convenient, efficient and affordable option for all.

Virtual care medical professionals are the same doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants you would find in a doctor’s office and most of their care is delivered via smart phone or tablet, video or even by email. There are a

Dr. James Forshee

Virtual health care offerings

T

fund to provide for themselves in old age or to further their children’s education would be a casualty of this tax.

In fact, my constituents are most likely to feel the biggest impacts of a financial transaction tax.

However, they are not bankers on Wall Street or the hedge fund managers whose power and influence we are trying to reel in with this tax. Instead, they are hard-working Michiganders, small business owners and productive members of Kent County.

I ran for county commissioner because I saw that the people of my district were struggling and needed help. I know that they work

hard and rely on their employment to support themselves and their families and to save for their future.

They should not be penalized for responsible financial practices, nor should they be penalized for sensibly saving for retirement. And not only does this tax have the potential to put a dent in their own savings, but it puts their children at a disadvantage too. Many of these folks have saved for years to send their children to college with 529 education accounts.

If a tax were to be levied on these investments, parents might have to decide between deferring some of their children’s dreams or delaying their retirement, despite

preparing for both.

Michiganders are just trying to make an honest living and save for major investments like retirement and college. After more than a year of the pandemic we have all suffered through, the last thing we need is something that makes it harder for small business owners and working-class people to save.

I hope that lawmakers in Washington will reject the notion of a financial transaction tax, and instead focus on policies that will put families and small business owners back on their feet.

variety of online applications specifically designed for virtual care including MyChart, MDLive or Teladoc.

One of the crucial benefits of virtual care is 24/7 access to quality health care, meaning employees can contact a board-certified doctor on their time and often without taking time off. Within the time it would generally take for an employee to log off work, drive to their doctor and wait to be seen, a virtual care doctor can discuss their symptoms, make a diagnosis, and provide a prescription if necessary.

The providers can be requested to send documentation to the patient’s primary care physician.

From a cost-savings perspec-

tive, the cost of virtual care services is usually less than a non-emergency trip to an urgent care clinic or the emergency room. For example, the cost to visit the ER for a sinus infection could be as high as $740, while a virtual visit for a sinus infection usually costs around $50 or even less. Due to the pandemic, many health plans, including Priority Health, are offering $0 cost share for most virtual care visits through 2021 to meet the needs of their members. Employers should check with their health insurance provider to see if this is being offered.

Virtual care services extend beyond seeing a provider for common conditions such as a sore throat, ear infection or runny nose.

Several providers offer behavioral health and substance use virtual care to meet the specific needs of patients. If a patient is hospitalized for whatever reason, virtual care may be set up to monitor for any post-discharge or long-term needs making a more streamlined recovery time.

Employers who are interested in seeing what virtual care options are available through their health insurance should contact their health insurance agent or log into their provider’s account for more information. Priority Health is committed to assisting employers and their members by offering $0 cost

Monica Sparks is a Kent County commissioner.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 23

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Treasury and Finance Trends for 2021

W

hile much about what 2021 will hold is uncertain, there are a few trends that are easier to forecast. Trends in the payments space are among them.

The digitization of payables and receivables functions has been underway for some time now, and the pandemic has only accelerated this trend. Adoption had been slow, but COVID-19 has served as a seismic wake-up call for the treasury space, spurring the business community to action. A good example of this is the rapid adoption of electronic businessto-business (B2B) payments. A recent EY report found approximately 60% of survey respondents indicated that the adoption of electronic payments is the most meaningful change in the B2B space.1 Over the past few years, digital transformation has allowed treasury professionals to take on an increasingly important role providing invaluable insights into their organization and support for strategic growth objectives. As new innovations continue to reengineer the treasury function, the coming year holds tremendous opportunities for treasury departments to demonstrate further value to the overall organization.

The Evolution of Managed Services for Payment Processes One area that shows real promise for treasury in the near-term is managed services related to payment processes. The overall global managed services market is growing rapidly. Valuate Reports’ recent study suggests managed services will grow from more than $178 billion in 2019 to greater than $309 billion by 2025.2 That’s a CAGR of 9.6%.

“We believe the continued evolution of managed services around the movement of money will be a game-changer for corporate treasury,” explained Bridgit Chayt, Senior Vice President and Director of Commercial Payments and Treasury Management for Fifth Third Bank. “This trend is moving corporates from a transaction processing-centric relationship with banking partners to one that focuses more on back-office integration that delivers invaluable treasury insights, along with greater automation and efficiency.”

As 2021 unfolds, managed services in the cash management space will continue to be seen as a transformational option that enables treasury organizations to take advantage of

the latest cloud-based, digital technologies without having to invest in complex and costly infrastructure. The managed services model means adopters always have the latest version of the technology, thereby reducing reliance on legacy platforms. It also means not having to focus on maintaining the security of on-premises systems.

Innovative managed services are offering on-demand convenience, which is crucial as many job functions have shifted to a remote, work-from-home posture. And these next-generation solutions also provide a seamless user experience that is seen as increasingly vital for keeping today’s digitally-native employees happy. Perhaps most importantly, managed services enable treasury to focus more of their energy on core business matters and strategic imperatives for the organization.

Leveraging New Layers of Analytics to Improve the Treasury Function Many treasury organizations have begun to recognize the potential value of data related to the cash management function.

Emerging technologies are making it possible to leverage this data to power analytics-driven decisions that will dramatically improve treasury efficiency, automation and the customer experience.

“New digital tools are increasingly relying on next-generation technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), to analyze patterns, and then factor in policies and risk tolerances to make highly-effective liquidity recommendations,” stated Chayt. “Over the next few years, I think we can expect a much greater reliance on AI, data analytics and robotic process automation (RPA) to help realize tremendous opportunities to achieve straightthrough processing and reconciliation. These technologies will become indispensable to clients as businesses begin to find ways to monetize them as well.”

As more and more of the treasury function becomes interconnected, data and analytics will enable treasurers to add value and make faster, better decisions.

Treasury Will Be Counted on to Deliver Greater Value Ever since the “Great Recession,” the role of treasury professionals has continued to

evolve. Treasury has elevated its stature as a thought-leader within the organization, increasingly participating as a decision-maker at the highest levels. In the years to come, treasury will be relied on for the vital task of managing liquidity, forecasting cash flows, and supporting the bottom line. And the current pandemic has only served to raise treasury’s profile as a vital organizational resource.

To meet the constantly changing demands of the business, treasury will need to continue to build relationships across the organization in order to expand their understanding of company needs and priorities.

By partnering with cross-functional stakeholders, treasury can broaden its impact, while increasing its credibility. At the same time, treasury can tap into the deep bench of experience found within banking partners to ensure the organization’s strategic objectives are being fully supported.

Innovation: Driving Tomorrow’s Treasury Today Greater efficiency with less manual intervention will continue to drive advancements in treasury. “Many of these technologies are available today, enabling treasury to manage liquidity more effectively, forecast more accurately, and leverage data and analytics to improve the customer and supplier experience,” concluded Chayt. “In the near-term, we envision new innovations coming as banks, Fintechs, and other thirdparty providers continue to partner, bringing niche solutions to the marketplace to meet the evolving needs of treasury organizations.”

Chayt cites the example of real-time payments, which, in addition to speeding up payment processes, is also delivering critical remittance information that opens the door to advancements in back-office reconciliation. There is also the opportunity to introduce new ways of handling the negotiation of terms and discounting at the time of payment. The efficiencies made possible by these types of initiatives will bring tremendous value to the organization.

As 2021 unfolds, corporate treasury professionals can expect innovation to continue to be the watchword, as they strive to deliver greater efficiency and value to the organization.

End-to-end payment services that are changing the way you do business 53.com/TreasuryManagement

Three ways COVID-19 is changing the payments industry, EY, America’s Payments Consulting Leader. October 1, 2020 Valuates Reports, Global Managed Services Market Size, Status and Forecast 2021-2027 This content is for informational purposes only and may have been derived, with permission, from a third party. While we believe it to be accurate as of the date of publication, it does not constitute the rendering of legal, accounting, tax, or investment advice or other professional services by Fifth Third Bank, National Association or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates, and it is being provided without any warranty whatsoever. Please consult with appropriate professionals related to your individual circumstances. Fifth Third Bank, National Association. Member FDIC. CS 21-02 1

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GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

MAR 22, 2021

Beyer joins Independent Bank Gary Beyer joined Independent Bank as vice president, commercial lending for the West Michigan lakeshore market. He previously worked at Chase Bank, for a total of over 30 years of experience in commercial banking and wealth management. Beyer also serves on the board of Good Samaritan Ministries in Holland and is active in volunteering with Kids Hope USA, as well as Hand2Hand, a nonprofit that mobilizes churches and schools to provide food for children on weekends. Independent Bank’s total assets are approximately $4.2 billion. It was founded as First National Bank of Ionia in 1864.

AWARDS

The city of Grand Rapids’ Plaster Creek Family Park, 2401 Buchanan Ave. SW, received a 2020 Park Design Award from the Michigan Recreation & Park Association.

representative, two-year term). Officers for 2021: chair: Sean P. Welsh, Western MI, PNC Bank; vice chair: Tina Freese Decker, Spectrum Health; and treasurer: Bill Pink, Grand Rapids Community College.

BANKING

CONSTRUCTION

Kalamazoo-based Arbor Financial Credit Union announced the additions of Jeff Kalmbach and Robert Merrill as mortgage loan originators.

BUSINESS SERVICES

BIFMA appointed Steve Kooy as technical director, health and sustainability.

Brandon Bissell has been named president of Imperial Clinical Research Services.

Lisa Young joined the JetCo Federal team as director of administration.

The Right Place Inc. appointed new board members to the 2021 board of directors: Luke Cherveny, tax reporting and strategy partner, PwC; Jeffrey Connolly, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan; Patrick Greene, Cascade Die Cast Group Inc. (The Right Place/The Center-West Manufacturers Council representative, two-year term); Tony Sarsam, SpartanNash; and Darrel Schmalzel, city of Walker (suburban

MAR 22-24 Grand Rapids Public Museum AfterSchool Education Classes. For students in grades 3-5. The museum will serve as a learning lab, while interacting with artifacts and specimens, and conducting experiments to explore science, history, culture and more. Museum educators will lead small-group, hands-on learning experiences tied to classroom curriculum objectives. 4-5:30 p.m., GRPM, 272 Pearl St. Capacity limited to eight students per session. Cost: $20/members, $25/nonmembers, per class. Information/registration: grpm.org/educlasses.

MAR 22-APR 24 Lakeshore Museum Center Quilt Exhibit.

Displaying the work of the late Rosie Lee Wilkins in Who is Rosie Lee Wilkins: Piecing Together Her History. Cost: free/ members and those living in the area, $5/non-Muskegon County residents.

Information/registration: (231) 722-0278 or lakeshoremuseum.org.

MAR 22 World Affairs Council of Western Michigan Great Decisions Series 2021 Live Stream. Topic: China in Africa and The Case of Ghana, by Elizabeth Aseidu, professor of economics, the University of Kansas. 6-7:15 p.m. Cost: free/members, $10/nonmembers Registration: world michigan.org/greatdecisions2021.

MAR 23 Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce Live Broadcast. Topic: Health Care Summit 2021: The Future of Health Care and What the Pandemic Has Taught Us. 8-10 a.m. Cost: $50/members, $75/ nonmembers. Information/registration: grandrapids.org/event/2021-health-caresummit.

MAR 23 Wedgwood Christian Services State of the Child Online Panel Discussion.

Event will bring local teens together with

Builders Exchange of Michigan appointed the following to its board of directors: president: Jodi van Haren, Advantage Mechanical Refrigeration; Dave Moore, Grand Rapids Gravel Co.; Adam Tweedy, Owen-Ames-Kimball Co.; and Jason Ruud, S.A. Morman & Co.

EDUCATION

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appointed East Grand Rapids private practice attorney Noreen K. Myers to an eight-year term on the Grand Valley State University board of trustees.

The Grand Rapids Board of Education unanimously approved the following to serve in new roles: Jen Schottke, president; Kimberley Williams, vice president; Rev. John Matias, treasurer; and Katherine Downes-Lewis, secretary.

WMU-Cooley associate dean and professor Tracey Brame has been appointed director of the WMU-Cooley Law School Innocence Project, succeeding professor Marla Mitchell-Cichon who

experts to talk about the challenges kids and families are facing because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 4 p.m. Information/ registration: wedgwood.org/sotc.

MAR 25 Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce Business Growth Series Zoom Meeting.

1-3 p.m. Cost: $15/members, $25/nonmembers. Information/registration: grand rapids.org/event/business-growth-series.

MAR 25 GVSU Padnos/Sarosik Civil Discourse Program Virtual Symposium. Topic: The Global Battle for Truth in the Fake News Era, featuring journalists Alejandra Matus and Vandana Pednekar-Magal.

6:30-8 p.m. Information/registration: gvsu.edu/civildiscourse.

MAR 25 Grand Rapids Young Professionals Webinar. Topic: Understanding The Effects of Poverty. 6-7:30 p.m. Cost: free. Information/registration: bit.ly/ PovertyWebinar2021.

MAR 25 The Institute for Supply Management Greater Grand Rapids Virtual 18th Annual Midwest Supply Chain Management Conference. Gain exposure to over 200 West Michigan manufacturers and suppliers; promote your products/services. 8:30 a.m.-1:45 p.m.

Registration: ismggr.org/meetinginfo.php.

MAR 29 Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce Breakfast With Legislators Zoom Webinar. 8-9 a.m. Cost: $25/members, $35/nonmembers. Information/registration: grandrapids.org/event/break fast-with-legislators-2.

MAR 29 World Affairs Council of Western Michigan Great Decisions Series 2021 Live Stream. Topic: The Saudi Arabian-

will continue to work with the project on a part-time basis, serving as legal counsel. Brame most recently served as associate dean at WMU-Cooley’s Grand Rapids campus and is the director of the law school’s Access to Justice Clinic.

The WMU-Cooley Innocence Project is part of the Innocence Network, which has been credited with the release of over 375 wrongfully accused prisoners through the use of DNA testing.

FOOD & BEVERAGE

Saranac-based Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch President Greg Herbruck has been elected to the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Poultry & Eggs board of directors, which works to improve poultry and egg sustainability. Herbruck will serve a three-year term as a grower representative on the board.

GOVERNMENT

State Sen. Jon Bumstead, R-Newaygo, announced he has brought in Diane Schindlbeck to assist with his district operations. Schindlbeck, who now serves as the senator’s district representative, is from the Fremont area and brings to the senator’s office years of experience working as a small business owner in West Michigan.

The Kent County Board of Commissioners unanimously selected Mandy Bolter Bolter (District 5) as chair and Stan Stek (District 6) as vice-chair for the 2021-2022 term.

GRANTS

The Children’s Advocacy Center of Kent County is the recipient of a $30,000 grant from the Commercial Alliance of REALTORS CARWM Cares Campaign to support child sexual abuse survivors and their families.

CHANGE-UPS & CALENDAR

to Start Garden; $15,000 to Community Homeworks in Kalamazoo; $10,000 to Degage Ministries; $10,000 to Trauma Recovery Associates; and $5,000 to Urban Roots.

Ryan Colvin in the program. He is one of only seven Health Rosetta Advisors in the state of Michigan and the first in Southwest Michigan.

TCF Bank awarded Spectrum Health System $40,000 to support frontline and essential workers who provide vital services amid the COVID-19 crisis; Inner City Christian Federation $5,000 to support its mission of delivering affordable long-term and emergency housing; and the Downtown Market Grand Rapids $5,000 to support its education foundation.

Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge announced the election of the following attorneys as shareholders: Michael E. Doversberger; Krista A. Jackson; Ashley C. Quackenbush; Rachael M. Roseman; and Ryne J. Takacs.

Kids’ Food Basket recently received a $25,000 donation from Amazon on behalf of the company’s 1,500 associates working at the Gaines Township fulfillment center.

HEALTH

Holland Hospital Bariatric Services in partnership with Grand Health Partners has opened a Grand Rapids-based practice for healthy weight loss. The new partnership offers access to nutrition, exercise, behavioral health and surgical support to lose weight. Bariatric surgeons Drs. Randal Baker and Jeremy Bushman work with a multidisciplinary team of experts to provide weight-loss solutions including minimally invasive bariatric surgery at Holland Hospital.

Wyoming-based Metro Health – University of Michigan Health consolidated two governance boards – Metro’s and Michigan Medicine - into one to support its growing role as a leader of health care innovation. The two separate boards with 23 members, some serving on both, were merged into a single board with 15 voting directors.

INSURANCE

LEGAL

Warner Norcross + Judd partner Jeffrey S. Battershall has been named among Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s Michigan Go To Lawyers for 2020. He was selected for the program’s inaugural class of leading attorneys in business law in this peer-nominated award.

Warner Norcross + Judd attorneys Thomas M. Amon and Kelly R. Hollingsworth recently were made partners.

MEDIA

Zenger News, the world’s first digitally native news wire, owned and operated by journalists, hired Buzzfeed quiz contributor and Grand Rapids native Rachel McMahon as Zenger’s new Quiz Master.

NONPROFITS

Guiding Light announced it received for the third consecutive year a $20,000 grant from the SpartanNash Foundation that will help support the nonprofit’s Back to Work program.

Kyle Hinton, a licensed marriage and family therapist addressing trauma, substance abuse, behavioral health and mental health, joined Guiding Light’s board of directors.

The Consumers Energy Foundation recently conferred the following grants to support those working on the front lines to directly meet basic needs: $30,000

Kalamazoo-based Gibson announced an expanding partnership with Health Rosetta after Brian J. Bellware was selected as one of 214 benefits advisers in the nation to be accepted to the Health Rosetta Advisor program in recognition for his work to better manage clients’ health benefits spend. Bellware joins Gibson colleagues Ray Korson and

CHANGE-UPS POLICY: The Business Journal welcomes submissions to the Change-Ups section. Send announcements concerning personnel changes, new businesses, changes of address etc. to Change-Ups Editor, Grand Rapids Business Journal, 401 Hall St. SW, Suite 331, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 or email bjchangeups@grbj.com.

U.S. Relationship: Decades in the Making,

by Thomas Lippman, former Middle East bureau chief, The Washington Post.

6-7:15 p.m. Cost: free/members, $10/nonmembers Information/registration: world michigan.org/greatdecisions2021.

APR 12 Wyoming-Kentwood Area Chamber of Commerce Government Matters Zoom Meeting with Elected Officials. 8-9 a.m.

Information/registration: (616) 531-5990 or michelle@southkent.org.

rooms, showcase presentations and a $25 drawing. 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Cost: $10/ members, $5/showcase presentations.

Information/registration: (616) 531-5990 or bob@southkent.org.

MAR 30 Wyoming Business Leaders Meeting.

8-9 a.m., Marge’s Donut Den, 1751 28th St. SW, Wyoming. registration: (616) 2614500 or d.kuba@instantcashmi.com.

APR 13 Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce ATHENA Leadership Forum Zoom Meeting. Topic: Maximizing Your Money Mindset, by Tara Jones-Williamson, founder, Your Pretty Pennies, followed by a self-selected breakout session with fierce females in finance. 10:30 a.m.noon. Cost: $15/members, $25/nonmembers. Information/registration: bit.ly/ MaximizeMoneyMindset.

MAR 31 Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce Leadership Lesson Series Via Zoom.

Nkechy Eker Ezeh, founder and chief executive officer, Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative, shares her top five leadership lessons that guided her through an improbable journey.

8-9:30 a.m. Cost: $15/members, $25/ nonmembers. Information/registration: grandrapids.org/event/leadership-lessonseries.

MAR 31 The Institute for Supply Management Greater Grand Rapids Webinar Series.

Topic: When Supplier Selection is Influenced by Pressures Within Your Organization. 1-2 p.m. Cost: free/members, retirees, students, $35/nonmembers.

Information/registration: ismggr.org/ meetinginfo.php.

APR 6 Wyoming-Kentwood Area Chamber of Commerce New Member Breakfast.

7:30-9 a.m., YoChef’s Café, 34 44th St. SE, Kentwood. Cost: free, limited 20.

Information/registration: (616) 531-5990 or bob@southkent.org.

APR 8 Meeting Professionals International Michigan Chapter Global Meetings Industry Day Virtual Meeting. 9:30 a.m.

2 p.m. Information/registration: bit.ly/ 2021IndustryDay.

APR 13 Michigan West Coast Chamber of Commerce Zoom Meeting. Topic: The Secret Sauce of Employee Retention, by Ed Amaya, president, Kenowa Industries, and Brett VanderKamp, CEO, New Holland Brewing Company. 10-10:45 a.m.

Cost: free/members, $20/nonmembers.

Information/registration: (616) 928-9101 or Colleen@westcoastchamber.org.

APR 14 The Institute for Supply Management Greater Grand Rapids Webinar. Topic: When Supplier Selection Is Influenced

By Pressures Within Your Organization.

1-2 p.m. Cost: free/members, students, $35/nonmembers. Information/registration: ismggr.org.

APR 15 Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce Business Exchange Via Zoom. 10:30 a.m.noon. Cost: $15/members, $25/nonmembers. Information/registration: bit.ly/ GRBusinessExchange.

APR 16 Wyoming-Kentwood Area Chamber of Commerce 3rd Fridays Networking Luncheon Via Zoom. Includes breakout

APR 20 Disability Advocates of Kent County 3rd Annual Absolutely Accessible Kent Technical Virtual Workshop. Speakers include award-winning architect and advocate Karen Braitmayer and Rosemarie Rossetti, founder, Universal Design Living Laboratory in Columbus, Ohio. 9-11:30 a.m. Cost: $35. Information/ registration: bit.ly/ 30xTdDt. APR 22 Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce Policy Tap Via Zoom. Mingle with elected officials across the political spectrum over drinks. 4:30-6 p.m. Cost: free/members, $25/nonmembers. Information/registration: bit.ly/PolicyOnTap. APR 22 Michigan West Coast Chamber of Commerce Network Live Zoom Happy Hour. 4-4:45 p.m. Information/registration: (616) 392-9720 or keegan@west coastchamber.org.

CALENDAR POLICY: The Business Journal welcomes submissions to the calendar section. Send items to Calendar Editor, Grand Rapids Business Journal, 401 Hall St. SW, Suite 331, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 or email bjcal endar@grbj.com. Submissions must be received at least three weeks prior to the event.

The Business Journal calendar posted on the publication’s website (grbj.com) includes listings for events extended beyond those printed in the weekly publication that are limited by space restrictions.

PUBLIC RECORD

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

Dental system expands access CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16

benefit from a better transportation system, compared to communities like Big Rapids or Hart, which have no bus systems at all.

“Even if it’s negative three degrees out, we have patients that walk to our offices, because there’s no other way to get to us,” Cao said.

“We’re blessed, and we’re also kind of cursed for that, because it’s one of those things where patients know they can get to us, but it’s trying to make it more of a priority … going back to that education of being preventive, rather than reactive.”

In West Michigan alone, patients have almost a dozen dental offices, not just MCDC, to choose from if they have Medicaid or no coverage at all, Cao said. But because of that choice, the urgency on the patient’s part isn’t there until it’s too late.

“One of the things I’ve noticed — traveling and being around different areas — in Greenville, for instance, patients know if they’re coming in for emergency care at 8 o’clock, they’re lining up at 7:30,” Cao said. “Within Kentwood and Grand Rapids, patients get there anywhere between 8 and 2. They’re not lining up unless there’s a true emergency, and at

that point, those patients are calling and banging down your door trying to get in sooner than later.”

Access to care also requires having the clinical staff to support the need for care, Bodien added, particularly as the state continues to suffer the ripple effect of COVID-19 and unemployment issues.

“Often it’s breaking down the myths and misconceptions of public, mission-driven care,” Bodien said. “Just because we are a mission-driven organization doesn’t mean we don’t provide quality care, doesn’t mean we don’t provide great technology, doesn’t mean we don’t provide these great benefits and opportunities for our staff and our patients.”

“A lot of dental students do rotate through offices within community and public health, and they get to see the disparities firsthand,” Cao said. “But to get those individuals to also serve in those communities, because of the outrageous and unbearable amount of student loans kids are coming out with nowadays … unfortunately you can’t focus on the amount of money you’re making at the end of the day. Being able to provide good, quality care for patients … everything else will fall into place.”

Celebrating Black excellence in sustainability and business CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18

LLC and Lynn Todman of Spectrum Health Lakeland.

Ana Jose, program manager for Transformando West Michigan at the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, highlighted the meaningful change happening through the Community Collaboration on Climate Change (C4), an initiative recently launched by city of Grand Rapids with support from the Wege Foundation that is providing the means for organizations such as the chamber, NAACP and sustainability advocates such as ourselves to collaboratively advance solutions for climate change.

“The more diverse the company, the more ideas will be generated to enhance all the sustainability efforts and thus the company,” said Misti Stanton, diversity, equity and inclusion officer for Mercantile Bank of Michigan. She is one of several change-makers we celebrated who are helping to redefine sustainable business in West Michigan. This group includes Jonathan Wilson of DTE Energy, Andrew Simms of Michigan Mi-

nority Supplier Diversity Council, Jeffrey Byrd of GRCC and Zachary Verhulst of Pure Architects, who was recently named West Michigan’s “Young Architect of the Year.”

Collectively, the business leaders and community advocates we had the privilege to celebrate recently are working to make sure resources, education and sustainability practices are accessible for all. They also are elevating important and necessary perspectives in various spaces.

“We need to value lived experience in the same way we value CEOs or any other type of ‘professional,’” said Eleanor Moreno, Cook Arts Center director with Grandville Avenue Arts & Humanities. “We have talked so much about sustaining the Earth and fixing the Earth and doing better for the Earth, but the Earth will be here once you and I move on, so how do we look at building a relationship to each other?”

Carissa Patrone is the equity program manager and Daniel Schoonmaker is the executive director of West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum.

Virtual health care offerings CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20

share ahead of deductible for virtual care and telehealth services, including medical and behavioral health telemedicine on many fully funded plans in 2021.

Dr. James Forshee leads clinical and

pharmacy programs, the development and coordination of population health programs and chronic disease management strategies at Priority Health.

He also steers strategic planning to further the company’s mission of improving health, enhancing patient experience and effectively managing cost.

MORTGAGES

Selected mortgages filed with Kent County Register of Deeds BANTA, Theodore W. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Ada Twp., $430,431 SINGH, Vikramuit et al, Highpoint Community Bank, Parcel: 412217202012, $818,000 WELLS, David et al, Northern Mortgage Services, Cannon Twp., $384,000 LOWSMA, David L. et al, NBKC Bank, Ada Twp., $420,900 RIZZI, Thomas J., JPMorgan Chase Bank, East Grand Rapids, $988,000 BROUGHTON, Katrina et al, Better Mortgage Corp., Ada Twp., $404,481 RADFORD TRUST, First Technology Federal Credit Union, Parcel: 411405276022, $1,245,000 RAZZAG, Rabia A. et al, Mercantile Bank, Cascade Twp., $387,232 EINFELD, Kevin J., Lake Michigan Credit Union, Parcel: 411411402031, $1,529,618 CROSS, Alan R. et al, Independent Bank, Walker, $369,000 DIXON, Todd A. et al, Benchmark Mortgage, East Grand Rapids, $753,600 DEBOER, Megan et al, Union Home Mortgage, Nelson Twp., $363,000 BIRD, Jason T. et al, Grand River Bank, Parcel: 411413476003, $405,000 TASSONI TRUST, Union Home Mortgage Group, Cascade Twp., $706,000 DEVLIEGER, Robert W. II et al, Lake Michigan

Credit Union, Cascade Twp., $706,000 LOTT, Ann et al, Amerisave Mortgage Corp., Cascade Twp., $476,000 HUMBAD, Parag et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, $877,000 LUCCHESE, James G. et al, Quicken Loans, Courtland Twp., $488,000 PANNU, Sukhvir et al, Huntington National Bank, Byron Twp., $367,650 GOLEMBIEWSKI, Mark et al, Independent Bank, Plainfield Twp., $750,000 DEPHILLIPS, Caroline J. et al, Morgan Stanley Private Bank, East Grand Rapids, $840,000 WILSON, Steven et al, Team Mortgage Co. LLC, Cannon Twp., $451,250 TURNER, John et al, Old National Bank, East Grand Rapids, $504,000 ORME, Kyle T. et al, Neighborhood Loans, Walker, $360,000 JOHNSON, Gary R. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Grandville, $380,000 HUGHES, Joel A. et al, Home Point Financial Corp., Algoma Twp., $356,250 VEENEMAN, David G. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Byron Twp., $510,400 RADEMACHER, Judy S., PFCU, Oakfield Twp., $352,000 LEMIEUR, David L. et al, Old National Bank, Parcel: 411411402018, $669,000 PILPOVIC, Amanda et al, Envoy Mortgage, Byron Twp., $404,814 MCKNIGHT, Darren et al, Old National Bank, Parcel: 411433352008, $493,500

MAR 22, 2021

23

CLOSE, Alison G. et al, Huntington National Bank, Parcel: 411005126050, $711,000 LEWIS, Sarah B. et al, Benchmark Mortgage, Parcel: 411411202074, $354,000 CHILCOTE, Randy et al, United Bank, Oakfield Twp., $712,800 SCHMIDT, Daniel P., Northpointe Bank, East Grand Rapids, $667,250 WAYBRANT, Michael et al, Neighborhood Loans, East Grand Rapids, $486,640 MACGUIDWIN, Mary S., Neighborhood Loans, East Grand Rapids, $399,000 HAUGHEE, Stephanie R. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Cascade Twp., $440,000 SHEPPARD, David et al, Finance of America Mortgage, Gaines Twp., $375,250 SOLOMON TRUST, Independent Bank, Byron Twp., $401,250 CHRISTY, Matthew E. et al, Huntington National Bank, East Grand Rapids, $829,500 VANOVER, Kelli M. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Caledonia, $384,448 JORDAN, Shane et al, Quicken Loans, Cascade Twp., $420,000 STEVENS, Donald et al, Greenstone Farm Credit Services, Tyrone Twp., $452,200

PUBLIC RECORD AVAILABLE ONLINE: For the full version of this week’s Public Record, visit the Grand Rapids Business Journal’s website at grbj.com.

OutCenter strives for systemic inclusion CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

ployees, whether it be in the hospitality industry or some other sector, Schnell said she hopes it is reinforced by the other work the center does with children, so that the whole family is being reached with a message of love and inclusion.

“We’re everywhere now,” she said. “… And so, wherever that restaurant or service worker is going, it’s possible they’re going to cross paths with positive and affirming, inclusive messages about LGBTQ people. And the more we do that within systems like health

care, etc., the more likely a systemic change occurs. It’s kind of like a hybrid between community organizing and systems change work.”

There’s a business case to be made for inclusion training, too, Schnell said.

“The more restaurants and service providers (are) aware of the change happening culturally around them, and the more that they want to be a part of positive change, that’s great for a brand, and that’s great for company culture. We always talk about a better brand and a better bottom line when you’re looking at inclusivity

and equity.”

Schnell said the OutCenter would love it if more restaurants would participate in its training workshops, although they would have to be virtual rather than in-person, due to the pandemic.

Businesses can reach the OutCenter to learn more about pricing and availability by calling (269) 934-5633 or visiting outcenter.org/contact.

For companies that are located in other regions, Schnell recommends they contact their local LGBTQ community center to inquire about training workshops and policy consulting services.

Cannabis leaders push for education, social equity in 2021 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

convicted of low-level crimes.

“The state is moving toward automatic expungement of marijuana crimes, but it’s very complicated,” said Chris Anderson, general counsel and chief regulatory officer for Fluresh. “Getting records expunged involves a ton of paperwork. You need a lawyer to weed through it. You need to run updated background checks … it takes time and it takes money, which is why we’ve contributed both time and money, and we continue to work with other partners in the state to push forward on that.”

Fluresh also collaborates with BBCG, LINC UP and Disability Advocates of Kent County to actively recruit and retain a diverse pool of job applicants, especially those negatively impacted by the war on drugs within the 49507 ZIP code.

“Marijuana prohibition has its roots in racist policies of 100 years ago, so there’s been a disproportionate impact in Black and brown communities across the country,” Anderson said. “I think all other companies in Grand Rapids recognize this is a priority.”

Fluresh’s cannabis provisioning center is located in the heart of 49507 and is looking to hire about 100 employees from the area. Anderson said the company is uniquely positioned to have a direct positive impact on

the community.

Fluresh also announced its inaugural Fluresh 5 Accelerator program, which will offer cohorts of five local businesses and entrepreneurs a series of sessions throughout the year touching on accounting, taxation, law, marketing and other important issues in starting a cannabis business.

“We’ll be able to give them hands-on experience … connection to people in the industry, to get them started,” Anderson said.

All of the applicants for the first Fluresh 5 cohort are minority-owned and local to West Michigan, and 57% are women-owned.

Another entry into the arena is Exclusive Brands, an Ann Arbor-based company that opened the first adult-use dispensary in Michigan in December 2018 and recently opened in Grand Rapids for medical and recreational customers.

Narmin Jarrous, chief development officer for Exclusive Brands, agreed cannabis businesses have a role to play in ensuring Michigan’s growing industry is equitable.

“We’ve been committed to social equity, and we believe if we’re intentional about social equity, a lot of other businesspeople will want to be a part of it, too,” Jarrous said.

Besides hiring a diverse workforce, Exclusive Brands also mentors people from disenfranchised communities to help them break

into the cannabis industry, as well as helps with the application process and application fees.

Jarrous also personally helped author Michigan’s Social Equity Program, which is a provision of the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act (MRTMA) meant to promote diverse participation in the state’s cannabis industry.

“We focus so much on legalization, and we finally got there,” Jarrous said. “I think its incredible, because people have access to cannabis and their medicine, but at the same time we’re so far behind, because people are still serving time, and others are making millions of dollars off of this industry.”

While West Michigan municipalities have been slow to roll out licensing for recreational businesses compared to other parts of the state, Jarrous said Exclusive Brands’ Grand Rapids reception has been very positive, and companies likely will always have to navigate detractors in communities where they hope to grow.

“You’ll always meet people who have some resistance to cannabis,” she said. “Ann Arbor is very accepting and liberal, but you’ll still meet people who are very fearful of this plant. I hope with our presence and continued work in Grand Rapids, more people will come to understand cannabis and how much good it does for people.”

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

Law firms pitch in to promote DEI CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

munities’ response to the COVID crisis, and many firm clients have commented on the excellent and valuable work that arose out of the team-based initiatives that Miller Johnson rolled out in response to the pandemic. Project Giveback is intended to build upon those experiences and leverage Miller Johnson’s resources in a way that will enable us to continue to serve our communities.”

The YWCA West Central Michigan focuses on intervention, prevention and support for women and girls who suffer from domestic violence and sexual assault.

Charisse Mitchell, CEO for YWCA West Central Michigan, said the organization serves approximately 4,000 people per year.

Services include emergency shelters, advocacy resources, therapy, supervised parenting time and custody exchanges, counseling, long-term housing and support, rape exams and medical help.

Mitchell said although YWCA West Central Michigan provides legal advocacy and support, it doesn’t have an attorney on staff.

As a result, six attorneys from Miller Johnson who specialize in litigation and family law will perform pro bono services.

They will help YWCA clients prepare and file personal safety

and protection orders, and employment and harassment protection; serve as a representative in child custody proceedings; and advise on housing issues.

“I think when a lot of people think about legal support for domestic violence and sexual assault survivors, they may think about criminal court. And that may certainly be a part of it if they are participating in a case in court, but there are quite a bit of civil and family law issues that domestic and sexual assault survivors need legal assistance with,” Mitchell said. “Some of the issues may involve personal protection orders or poorly negotiated judgments because a person didn’t have an attorney in divorce or custody proceedings when there were questions about parenting time. Having legal representation is hugely important.”

Founded in 2018, Rende Progress Capital (RPC) is a racial equity loan fund and emerging community development financial institution.

It focuses on eliminating the racial wealth gap through providing small business loans and technical assistance services to African American, Hispanic Latino, Asian, Native American and immigrant entrepreneurs who are excluded from traditional lending and investing opportunities for a variety

of socioeconomic reasons.

“Miller Johnson is a law firm that has a commitment to inclusion and diversity,” said Eric Foster, co-founder, chair and managing director for RPC. “Like other firms in the area, I have noted their journey with respect to these issues and given that we are a racially equity-focused lender, we just had discussions on what are the many different things, ranging from capital and business technical assistance to other resources — in this context, social capital — that are all important to help entrepreneurs of color continue to thrive and sustain in this challenging time. Those discussions were brought about by mutual belief that an inclusive economy is equitable for all parts of the community, all organizations. This then led to the idea of providing very critical and important pro bono legal services to our clients and future clients.”

Six attorneys from Miller Johnson will provide RPC clients with pro bono hours in corporate, tax, real estate, environmental, employment and litigation matters, including COVID-19-related legal issues and Paycheck Protection Program loan issues.

Some of the items attorneys will be assisting RPC clients with are entity filing and maintenance; RISE loan applications and compliance training; preparation and review of standard contracts for day-to-day use; reviewing vendor agreements, purchase orders, and terms and conditions; drafting and reviewing leases and purchase agreements; zoning and other land-use approvals; advising on environmental compliance issues;

preparing employee applications, handbooks, policies and procedures; employment law compliance training; day-to-day employee issues, pay disputes and leave issues; litigation avoidance, de-escalation and resolution; contract disputes, regulatory compliance or employee disputes; preparing demand, cease-and-desist and similar letters; reviewing corporate structure and related tax issues; and required state filings and permits.

“We wanted our initial step with this project to target individuals who fall within the justice gap — that is, those who may not qualify for free legal services from organizations like Legal Aid, but who nevertheless cannot access professional legal assistance, often due to other socioeconomic factors,” said Miller Johnson’s van Stempvoort.

Like Miller Johnson, Varnum also is using its experts to provide free legal services to the community.

Last year, the firm provided 1,518 hours in pro bono services on 78 files. Varnum’s pro bono files are through referrals from the Pro Bono Program of Western Michigan, the Mel Trotter Ministries Legal Clinic, and other entities that refer matters for veterans to the firm.

In addition to providing free legal services, Varnum has a steep history of promoting diversity, equity and inclusion within its staff and also in the community. The firm established a DEI committee more than 20 years ago.

Luis Avila, chair for Varnum’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, said the group focuses on four main pillars: recruiting and

MAR 22, 2021

25

retention, education, communication and community impact.

After the events of last summer, Varnum reached out to the community in an impactful way by donating $20,000 to four Michigan-based organizations that “focused on ending racism, eliminating racial disparities in health, education and access to capital, and ensuring social justice.”

The four organizations were the Grand Rapids Urban League, Focus: HOPE, Grand Rapids African American Health Institute and Durfee Elementary-Middle School. They each received $5,000.

In addition to performing pro bono services and giving donations to the community, Avila said the firm launched a book club and started trainings to tackle issues that were the focal point of last summer’s protests throughout the country.

“One of the things that was imperative was internal education, helping our attorneys, helping our staff work through these issues.

They are tough issues — racism, implicit bias and all these things,” he said. “They are not easy topics to discuss so we did a few things.

We launched internally a book club focused on race, equity and inclusion. We are now a couple of books in, and it has been very well-received. Every iteration has had about 50 attorneys and staff that read the books and participated in discussions that are facilitated to talk about these issues. We’ve also launched a couple of trainings.

We recently finished one training that we offered in a few different instances in February on structural racism, and specifically in the legal profession.”

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GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

MAR 22, 2021

Ready for the office?

Home work.

M

ichigan’s top executives are cautiously optimistic about 2021 economic conditions and looking forward to a return to in-person work later this year.

A newly updated and expanded survey of Michigan’s business leaders conducted by the statewide roundtable Business Leaders for Michigan reflects a relatively more confident view of the state’s economy during the next six to 12 months, with most anticipating their employees will be able to return to in-person work during the third quarter of this year.

Around 84% of survey respondents expect the state’s economy to remain the same or improve during the next six to 12 months, a six-point increase from the last survey in Q3 of 2020.

“As vaccine distribution ramps up and economic confidence continues to expand, there’s reason to be optimistic about the future,” said Jeff Donofrio, president and CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan. “We have the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine that adds to Moderna and Pfizer and that continues to show people there’s light at the end of the

BUSINESS JOURNAL STAFF

tunnel. Once we can move past COVID, the economic recovery can really take hold. Yet even with robust growth and continued federal stimulus funds, it could still take years for employment to recover to pre-pandemic levels.”

The three biggest factors influencing Michigan’s future economic growth are the speed and acceptance of vaccinations, the availability of federal stimulus dollars, and employers’ projected future capital investment and employment. The executives surveyed say they anticipate growth in both areas of business investment, with 88% predicting stable or expanded employment and 91% expecting steady or increasing capital investment.

Nearly half (48%) of business leaders expect the U.S. economy to improve during the coming year, with another 35% believing it will remain about the same.

“Despite this confidence, there’s still uncertainty around how quickly we can reach herd immunity, the impact of new COVID variants on the economy and the ability of government to support economic recovery,” Donofrio said.

“I think there’s likely an infra-

structure bill coming right behind (the next stimulus package) that could be a pretty massive amount of spending, and both those things are good news for helping the economy rebound and recover.”

Nearly 55% of executives surveyed say at least half of their staff members are still working remotely, though 84% expect employees to return to in-person work by Q3. While most employees are expected to return, remote work will continue to be a part of doing business, with more than half of employers expecting to have greater than 10% of their workforce working remotely moving forward.

“Michigan’s large employers are planning a return to in-person work,” Donofrio said. “However, many are still evaluating remote work operations for some employees.” He said Business Leaders for Michigan staff have been working from home since the pandemic began and expect to come back to the office in Q3 as well, “right in line with where our members are.”

Donofrio said the likelihood of Michigan’s population being impacted due to the ability for

some workers to live anywhere has not yet been fully studied, but he believes the state could capitalize on the shift to virtual work by touting its natural beauty and vibrant cities through the state’s Pure Michigan destination marketing arm. He added the job market is now bigger for those who want to stay in Michigan but work elsewhere.

“Michigan was one of those states that actually gained population early on (in the pandemic) because of folks either coming back home for jobs or finding places to remote work in Michigan,” Donofrio said. “I think it’s yet to be seen how that’s going to play out and if Michigan can really capitalize on some trends that allow it to bring some new professionals into our state or potentially take advantage of opportunities that might be elsewhere for our residents to be able to grow in their careers.”

HOME HOMAGE To celebrate her recent move to Grand Rapids, national architectural artist Leisa Collins completed the first stage of her Historic Homes of Grand Rapids collection.

She is now displaying these paintings on her website so others can enjoy the “unique beauty of these older homes and to increase awareness of the need to protect and preserve them.”

The series, which includes 70 paintings in total and is broken into neighborhood areas, is now available for viewing on her blog, leisacollins.com. It covers an eclectic mix of homes, from modest bungalows and Cape Cod cot-

STREET TALK tages to regal Queen Annes, Stick Victorians and Italianates in Heritage Hill and Cherry Hill historic districts.

Tudors, Colonial Revivals, Italianates, Mid-Century Modern and Craftsman homes also are part of the mix that spans 20 different architectural styles.

“It was the historic architecture that drew me to Grand Rapids,” said Collins. “I have traveled all over the USA, and I am impressed with the level of pride the residents here display in regards to preserving their architectural past. After all, once these treasures are gone, they can never be replaced and that will be a tragedy for everyone.”

Collins also features Grand Rapids homes in the pages of a coffee table book that will be released next month called “Hand Painted Homes: An Artist’s Pen and Watercolor Journey Across America.” In the book she combines her passion for architecture with her love of travel, exhibiting over 650 paintings of homes and historic building in all 50 states.

Her journey to commemorate American homes began a decade earlier. Alarmed at the hundreds of historic homes and buildings being torn down across the country weekly, she embarked on a mission to use her artistic skill to honor the beauty and legacy of American homes and buildings before it is too late.

To involve herself in the community, Collins has taken on a project to help with the restoration of the 140-year-old Hermitage Church in East Hills and is working with Grand Rapids preservation legend Carol Moore.

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