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Board Members
Below are biographies of the current board members of the Volunteer Management Association of Western Michigan.
Joy Dornbos, President joy.dornbos@beaconhillgr.org
I became the Volunteer Coordinator at Beacon Hill at Eastgate (formerly Michigan Christian Home) about 6 years ago. I am working part time and am in charge of recruiting, training, and positioning volunteers. I also manage the library and store in our facility. Prior to working in this job, I was a teacher in Minnesota and was in charge of volunteers there as well. I volunteer at my church and deliver newsletters in my neighborhood. My husband and I have 2 sons in college and a daughter in high school. I enjoy reading, cooking, gardening and crafts.
Kim Dyer, President Elect kdyer@gsmists.org
I am Sr. Adult Development Manager with Girl Scouts of Michigan Shore to Shore. I have nine years experience in volunteer management including seven years working in the field. I oversee our greater Grand Rapids and Muskegon area volunteer Adult Learning Facilitators and serve on the Volunteer Services staff team. I am a member of the Association of Girl Scout Executive Staff and am an active member of First Church of Christ, Scientist, Grand Rapids. My husband and I are happily married and have two grown children.
Janelle Hill, Advisor jhill@arborcircle.org
I currently serve as the Community Services Coordinator for Arbor Circle. In addition to managing the volunteers and mentors who work with our youth, I also run the youth volunteer program, getting them involved in community service. I have been with the agency for over a decade, but was first introduced as an Aquinas College volunteer back in 1995. Prior to my work at Arbor Circle I was a Direct Care Counselor at St. John’s Home. I currently serve as the Chairperson of the Kent County Mentoring Collaborative, and am on the Mentor Michigan Providers Council. I love being involved in the community! When I’m not working, I’m an avid reader, a hockey fan, a nature buff, and a volunteer at Gilda’s Club and the Grand Rapids Art Museum.
Donna Martorano, Treasurer dmartorano@miblood.org
I entered the Volunteer Management field 3 years ago when I joined Michigan Community Blood Centers as a Volunteer Services Assistant. As a member of the department I recruit, train, and supervise over 200 volunteers. My family moved to Michigan from the Hudson Valley area of New York State three years ago where I worked as a Homebound Instructor teaching students in their homes who were unable to attend school due to a long term illness and suspensions. I've used my college degree in accounting working at various businesses and non-profit organizations for over 16 years. As a long time member of the Girl Scouts of America in New York I truly understand the volunteer's point of view. My roles included recruiting new leaders and girls, organizing large size events for the service unit area, and managing fund raising activities. As a Field Instructor for Paws With A Cause for 6 years, both in New York and Michigan, I helped train service dogs and their new clients to work together. Getting to live in and know the Grand Rapids area has been a pleasure. I am a Friends of the Library member in Cascade, as well as an avid reader. Any spare time available I enjoy spending with family and friends.
Andrea Dunne-Sosa, Secretary Andrea.Dunne-Sosa@kentcountymi.gov
I am thrilled to serve as the Volunteer Services Coordinator for the Kent County Parks Department, where I am responsible for building a stellar program that will connect volunteers to creative and valuable opportunities at 37 county parks. I have a passion for health and environmental
issues, and have been an avid volunteer since 1992 both in the USA and internationally. I am fluent in Spanish and enjoy teaching Latin, Swing, and Ballroom dancing. I obtained a B.A. in Anthropology from Northern Arizona University and a Masters in Public Health from Columbia University in New York City. I'm the proud mother of a beautiful 3-year-old son and am happy to be back in my home town of Grand Rapids! I am honored to have the opportunity to join VMAWM and look forward to both giving back and learning from the organization and our dedicated members.
Maureen Bednarek, Membership Co-Chair maureen.bednarek@metrogr.org
For the last eight years I have had the privilege of networking with volunteer managers throughout the state and sharing trade secrets. Even though I have memberships in statewide organizations the group that presents the most pertinent information by far is the VMA of Western Michigan. After each and every VMAWM meeting I walk away energized and ready to start new processes. I truly appreciate the willingness of volunteer managers to lend their expertise to other managers in the field. After eight years of being a member I felt it time to give back to the organization that has given me so much.
Dawnlynn Suttorp, Membership Co-Chair dsuttorp@amway.com
Connie Edwards,Membership Co-Chair cedwards@ggr.redcross.org
I have been employed at the American Red Cross of Greater Grand Rapids for 28 years, serving in the past as a Caseworker, Executive Assistant, Human Resources Manager, and currently as Associate Director of Human Resources for both paid staff and volunteers. I am the proud mother of 4 children and 2 grandsons. My husband Steve and enjoy boating - especially riding our Seadoo.
Dena Rogers, Education Co-Chair DenaR@wmgleaners.org
My name is Dena Rogers. I just celebrated my 4th anniversary of being part of the Second Harvest Gleaners Food Bank staff. My time here has included working in various departments, which began with a position in the warehouse Reclamation Dept. My position advanced into administrative duties including Front Receptionist, Accounts Payable, and Coordinating Volunteers. I have cultivated my passion for the Food Bank & working with people into my current full time position as the Volunteer Coordinator. This also allows time to be spent speaking to organizations and spreading the awareness of our mission to end hunger. On a more personal note, I enjoy spending time with my teenagers, when they think its cool enough to do so. I also like volunteering and being active in my church. These days I strive for personal accountability, balance and inner peace. I’m looking forward to this opportunity to continue and improve my involvement with VMAWM!
Jennifer Raymond, Special Events Co-Chair jraymond@pilrimmanor.org
I am new to VMAWM. As the Director of Recreation Therapy & Activities for Pilgrim Manor, I am responsible for the management of volunteers. After 15 years of long-term care experience, it is evident that volunteers are a vital asset for connecting with the community and provision of services. I obtained my B.A. degree in Therapeutic Recreation from Central Michigan University and have spent most of my career working with older adults and striving to develop and implement programming to meet the needs of people with dementia. My husband, Kevin, and I live in Grand Rapids and have 3 children. During my free-time I enjoy baking, scrapbooking, camping, organizing and volunteering at church.
Tina Droski, Special Events Co-Chair tina.droski@baruchsls.org
I am the Volunteer Coordinator for Baruch Senior Ministries, a non-profit organization which provides assisted living to seniors in 6 facilities in the western Michigan area. I joined VMAWM last year and decided that the best way to get to know people and improve on my job skills was to become a board member. Baruch Senior Ministries has a number of residents who are not able to meet the monthly costs of living in our homes, so it is important to recruit and maintain as many volunteers as possible. Many of our volunteers have been with us for years and it’s great to see the tremendous passion these people have for our residents! My husband and I have 4 adult children and we like to enjoy a lot of our weekends on the Muskegon River which gives me time to do some reading. I also enjoy riding the various trails on my bicycle. It’s also great fun to be a part of the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus, and mentoring a child once a week through the Kid’s Hope program. I encourage anyone reading this to consider joining this great organization which provides excellent resources and learning tools for recruiting and maintaining volunteers.
Mike Schavey, Ad Hoc Internal Communications Committee Chair mschavey@grcc.edu
I have a deep passion of cultivating agents of change to improve the quality of life in our communities. I do this by working for the last five years at Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) as the Associate Director of the Academic Service-Learning Center. We pride ourselves in developing quality community engagement programs and experiences for our campus.
It is my responsibility to inform the campus about the challenges our community faces, while also building the necessary skills to create individual and/or community change. I am an Alum of GRCC and Grand Valley State University acquiring a double Master's in Social Work and Public Administration. I am a proud father of two children, Joey (6) and Ella (4).
Cindy Dreyer, Internal Communications cdreyer@iccf.org
I was hired at Inner City Christian Federation as their new full time Coordinator of Volunteer Services in August of 2009. My role includes recruiting volunteers for all departments as well as leading groups with various construction jobs, mostly landscaping. I also have the privilege of maintaining ICCF’s new web site which went live in November. In addition, I help with events held throughout the year, coordinate Adopt a Family at Christmas time, and Church Relations. Prior to working with ICCF, I was the Volunteer Coordinator and Special Events Coordinator at Mel Trotter Ministries for a year and a half. I had volunteered with ICCF for over eight years, and I currently volunteer with my church, assisting with maintenance of their web site, working at concerts, and various bible study classes. I enjoy gardening, interior design, photography and reading in my spare time.