KRISTI PLAIN
President of the Board
Joined the Board 7/21/2009
Biography
Kristi D. Plain is a global human resources leader with more than 25 years of business experience spanning from media to manufacturing.
Kristi recently assumed the role of Executive Director of Human Resource for the Components, Accelera and Latin American business segments of Cummins Inc.
Prior to joining Cummins in 2023, she served as VP of Global Talent for BrassCraft, a Masco-owned manufacturing company. She ignited her passion for leadership early in her career as a reporter, editor and human resources leader for Gannett, a print and broadcast media company.
Kristi believes deeply in giving back to her community and serves on the boards of Spaulding for Children and the McGregor Fund. Her work in the community and in support of diversity, equity and inclusion have been recognized by several organizations, including the Oakland County Black Excellence Award, Woman of Excellence by the Michigan Chronicle and outstanding Diversity Business leader by Corp! Magazine.
She lives in southeastern Michigan with her husband, Terry, where they enjoy playing golf, cooking, and spending time with family.
RODENNA MIGGINS
Vice President of the Board
Joined the Board 5/22/2007
Biography
Ms. Miggins is a Manager of Deployment at R1 RCM, a leading provider of revenue cycle services and physician advisory services to healthcare providers. We help transform and manage the commercial infrastructure of care organizations throughout the country.
During her career, she has acquired over 25 years of experience in Business Process Design, Consulting, and Project Management with emphasis in business transformation for Shared Services Centers. She has lead end to end strategy design for multiple Shared Service Center implementations to support various lines of business. Rodenna has been acknowledged for successfully leading business transformation and optimization initiatives with the receipt of multiple recognitions and awards including the Best of IBM and IBM Means Business awards.
Ms. Miggins is involved in various volunteer activities. She servers on the Board for Spaulding for Children, works with the fundraising committee, chairs the volunteer committee and is also with the mentor team. She has a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Business Management and is a certified Project Management Professional.
WILLIE L. SMITH
Treasurer of the Board
Joined the Board 5/21/2002
Biography
Mr. Smith has more than 30 years of banking experience in Branch Banking, Business Development and Small Business Lending. Currently he is a Job Developer and Mentor for the Midnight Golf Program.
He has a degree in Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in Management. Willie serves on several non-profit boards, including Spaulding for Children and the Rolling In Golf Club.
KEVIN EDWARDS
Secretary of the Board
Joined the Board 1/26/2022
Biography
Kevin Edwards has served as Data Analytics Manager for Masco since October 2020, with responsibility for helping Masco develop technology platforms and capabilities to drive data analytics maturity. In April 2023, Kevin was promoted to the Director of Data Analytics and Privacy. Kevin and his team work across the organization to provide data analytics assistance including facilitating an enterprise-wide data analytics community of practice to ensure best practices and strategies are shared.
Kevin joined the team in 2006 after working as an intern for a semester on the IT helpdesk. Over the years, he has held various positions of increasing responsibility within the IT Department. In addition to his professional experience and leadership abilities, Kevin holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Michigan – Dearborn.
Jeffery M. Bryngelson
Board Member
Joined the Board 9/27/2022
Biography
Mr. Bryngelson is an Information Technology leader who has achieved global success throughout his career. His contributions have enabled significant growth, process efficiencies, and profitability at various organizations including American Axle & Manufacturing, Cisco Systems, and Ameritech/AT&T. Presently he manages and directs a team responsible for network communications with the Centene Corporation. Jeff holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Computer Information Management and in Marketing and Management from Northwood University in Midland, MI.
NANCY A. CRAWFORD
Ambassador Board Member
Joined the Board 5/22/2007
Biography
Ms. Crawford is Vice President and Management Supervisor at Berline, a marketing firm located in Royal Oak, Michigan. Highly motivated marketing professional with more than twenty years of experience in consumer marketing, specifically the restaurant industry. Has worked on all sides of the business including agency, field and corporate marketing.
Successful in growing the brand, sales and profits for franchise organizations and implementing corporate marketing initiatives. Areas of expertise include account management, creative development, client relations and strategic planning.
She loves to see ideas come to fruition!
VICKY R. FRANKLIN
Ambassador Board Member
Joined the Board 7/21/2009
Biography
Ms. Franklin is the owner of “Your Financial Insight” has developed financial literacy related curriculums and supplement material for enrichment and after-school programs that serviced over 400 youths in 5 districts in Michigan. Currently doing research in adaptive learning technologies that will help increase academic achievement in low performing students. She provides expertise to Spaulding for children on Advisory Board.
DAVID A. GRAHAM III
Board Member
Joined the Board 9/25/2012
Biography
David Graham is a Private Client Advisor at Chase Bank, at the Detroit Main office branch in Detroit, Michigan. David spends the majority of his time in downtown Detroit, however, he proudly supports the branches and clients of the entire Detroit market.
In his current role as Private Client Advisor, his responsibilities include managing investment relationships with his current clients as well as new client referrals from his branch partners. Through a Goals Based Analysis approach, David gets to know his clients and their personal and financial goals. David thoughtfully customizes a portfolio of investment solutions to help his clients achieve their short and long term financial goals. David is meticulous and strives to create an excellent client experience by consistently meeting with his clients to review their goals, update their analysis, make changes as necessary, and share the insights and thought leadership of J.P. Morgan.
Graham was previously an Advisor for six years with Fifth Third Securities and Merrill Lynch before joining J.P. Morgan in 2017. Prior to his career as a Financial Advisor, David was a Branch Manager for 7 years with Bank of America and Comerica.
Graham is a member of the BOLD BRG within J.P. Morgan. Not only does David strive to make a difference by providing thoughtful financial advice to his clients, he is also heavily involved with non-profits throughout the City of Detroit and holds board positons with Habitat of Humanity Detroit and Spaulding for Children.
Graham is an Eastern Michigan University alumni and received his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Wayne State University and his Masters of Urban Planning in Economic Development. David also a Certified Financial Planner (CFP).
URSULA GRAHAM
Ambassador Board Member
Joined the Board 9/24/2013
Biography
Ms. Graham is a Counselor, Life Coach, and Owner of Create U., an online counseling and life coaching business that helps individuals cultivate joy in life, love, and work.
IAN R. GRANT, SR.
Ambassador Board Member
Joined the Board 7/19/2005
Biography
Mr. Grant graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the College of Business-Marketing. He has been with 3M Corporation since 1984 and is currently a National Account Consultant. In addition he is the President of Umoja Fine Arts and is the Principal/Board of Directors with the IBG Group, L.L.C.
VERNA S. GREEN
Board Member
Joined the Board 5/22/2001
Biography
Ms. Green has successfully utilized her executive experience in broadcast, health care, and automotive industries. She has served as a Spaulding for Children volunteer since 1999. Her community service includes a decade of service as a board member of a Detroit-based charter school, a board member of the YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, and a graduate of Leadership Detroit. She represented the state of Michigan on the Radio Board of Directors of the National Association of Broadcasters. She is a proud graduate of Cass Technical High School, Wayne State University (B.S. in Business Administration), and Michigan State University (Master of Business).
BRUCE A. HENDERSON, JD
Board Member
Joined the Board 5/22/2012
Biography
Mr. Henderson graduated from Wayne State University Law School with a Jurist Doctor degree and from Wayne State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Bruce is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and is currently Assistant General Counsel at the largest health care insurance company in the state of Michigan. He has an expertise in health care and Corporate/Business law.
ALFRED JORDAN
Ambassador Board Member
Joined the Board 5/27/2016
Biography
Mr. Jordan is a career public servant, working 30 years through the ranks from an entry level position on a garbage truck, ultimately retiring a high ranking appointee under 3 mayors in the City of Detroit. He is still serving the public with his consulting firm, A JOR-DAN Consulting, LLC in his support capacity with Green for Life Environmental USA, Inc., a waste hauling company with the largest customer base in Southeast Michigan.
Al and his wife Rita have firsthand knowledge about fostering children by opening their home to children in need for nearly 20 years. They share the core belief with Spaulding for Children that every child deserves a quality home where they are loved and nurtured to have an opportunity for success in life.
Al has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Leadership from Baker College that he obtained while working full time, graduating Summa Cum Laude.
RHONDA JORDAN-PHILLIPS
Board Member
Joined the Board 7/24/2018
Biography
Ms. Jordan-Phillips recently retired from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan after 38 years of service. She is a former mentor and volunteer at Spaulding for Children and a long serving volunteer for Big Brothers & Big Sisters of America.
SANDRA O. KENT
Ambassador Board Member
Joined the Board 11/25/1997
Biography
Ms. Kent has a Master of Science Administration from Central Michigan University and a Bachelor of Science, Nursing from the University of Detroit. She is the former president of Women’s Economic Empowerment Group, Inc. (WEEG), which she founded in 1998. She successfully made the transition from health care to food distribution and contract administration providing services for Detroit casinos, health care systems, jails and the City of Detroit. Sandra has expertise in Health Care, Utilization Review Management, Pioneer Managed Care, Community Affiliation/Grassroots Involvement, Cross Systems – Human Services, Politics, and Nursing Administration. She is the past national president of the CARATS, Inc., a member of Sigma Theta Tau, Chi Eta Phi Nursing-Sorority, Detroit Black Nurses Association, Mercy Women in Management, and the Detroit Chapter of the UNCF.
James Krolik PhD
Ambassador Board Member
Joined the Board 5/23/2000
Biography
Dr. Krolik’s professional background includes over 12 years of Human Resource Management (HRM) experience. Responsibilities included functional areas of HR including Staffing, Employee Relations, Training and Development, Labor Relations, and Employee Health. He has been an Executive Director of an accelerated Bachelor’s Degree completion program and Dean of Graduate Studies at Detroit College of Business, now Davenport University. He is currently an Instructor in the College of Business at Eastern Michigan University (EMU) and the coordinator for the Introduction of Business class, a required class for all business students. Dr. Krolik is involved in faculty evaluations who teach this class and assist new part-time Instructors assigned to this class. At EMU, he has taught the HRM classes including Compensation, Staffing, and Labor Relations. At the Graduate level, taught Strategic Human Resources Management.
Dr. Krolik held a licensed professional counselor certification for a period of time. He received a BS and M.A. from EMU in Ypsilanti, Michigan and a Ph.D. from the Rackham School of Graduate Studies of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
DEANDRE LIPSCOMB, SR.
Board Member
Joined the Board 5/29/2008
Biography
Mr. Lipscomb is the former Executive Director of the Lake Trust Foundation and Community Impact Manager where he leads the credit union’s community engagement and investment programs.
Prior to joining Lake Trust, DeAndre spent 21 years in health insurance, having served eight years as vice president of Marketing and Community Outreach for Health Alliance Plan of Michigan and 13 years at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, most recently as director of Market Communications.
He earned a bachelor’s degree from the Wayne State University honors journalism program and a master’s of science degree in administration from Central Michigan University.
DeAndre is an advocate for lifelong learning and professional development. He holds certifications in Diversity and Inclusion from the National Diversity Council, Reputation Management from the Public Relations Society of America and Corporate Citizenship Management from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College. He’s also a certified website usability analyst through Human Factors International.
He is a graduate and board member of the Leadership Oakland Cornerstone Program which brings leaders together to address regional issues, board of trustee for the Michigan School of Psychology and an advisory board member for the Michigan Diversity Council and Metro Detroit Youth YMCA.
EDWARD LIVERSIDGE
Board Member
Joined the Board 7/24/2018
Biography
Mr. Liversidge began his career with Wendy’s in 1976. He quickly moved to a position of leadership as an Area Director in Cleveland and Akron, Ohio and then Buffalo, New York and Roanoke, Virginia. In 1987 Ed returned to Cleveland and ran that market for 9 years. In 1996 Ed and his family relocated to Michigan to be the Director of Operations for William Sefton. In 12 years Ed and Bill built the business from 18 to 36 restaurants.
In 2008 Ed was able to realize a long held dream and with his equity became an owner of 2 Wendy’s restaurants in Walled Lake and Farmington. In 2012 Ed purchased 7 more locations from Bill and in 2014 Ed was fully approved by Wendy’s as the franchisee of 9 Wendy’s restaurants.
Ed and his late wife, Barbara, had been married for more than 32 years and lived in Rochester Hills for over 22. They have two children, Zachare, married to Felicity and proud parents of Carter and Parker. They live in Chicago and are school teachers. Erin lives in Kansas City and works for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.
Ed has received many national awards from Wendy’s over the years including The Wendy Award, Sparkle Award, QA awards and more. He has served in leadership positions including past president of the Mid Michigan DMA and current president of the Detroit DMA.
Currently Ed serves as President and CEO and directs all administrative and operations functions of Cherry Creek 101.
JOANNE NICHOLSON
Ambassador Board Member
Joined the Board 5/22/2001
Biography
Ms. Nicholson holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Michigan. She has held diverse positions in the human services arena, primarily working with children and adults with mental and/or physical disabilities. Ms. Nicholson retired as the Senior Director of Human Resources for a large non-profit organization in Wayne County. She believes in volunteerism and “giving back” to the community and has served on Spaulding’s Board of Directors since 2001.
DEBORAH A. PEAY WILSON
Board Member
Joined the Board 5/24/2022
Biography
Ms. Peay Wilson is a Mortgage Operation Specialist at Rocket Mortgage, a mortgage loan provider. It is headquartered in the One Campus Martius building in the heart of the financial district of Downtown Detroit, Michigan.
Ms. Wilson passions and knowledge are very much aligned with Spaulding’s organizational focus. As a former foster youth and community advocate in the populations Spaulding often serves, she is able to use her skills to contribute to various projects and deserted outcomes of the organization.
Ms. Wilson has been able to maintain a seat at the table in various forums as an advocate and in a consulting capacity. She has experience in paneling and presenting to and for many non-profit and government functions with a focus of servicing families and the communities in which they reside. Her proven skill as an effective communicator and leader will prove useful to the continued growth of the organization.
Ms. Wilson is involved in various community service engagements and has been a volunteer at Spaulding for Children for many years. She has a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Interpersonal Communications with a minor in Sociology from Western Michigan University, located in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
CRYSTAL T. SMITH
Board Member
Joined the Board 7/21/2009
Biography
Crystal T. Smith, Vice President of Philanthropy, Junior Achievement of Southeastern Michigan, brings over 25 years of Non-Profit Management & Philanthropic experience from a diverse background of major Metropolitan Detroit Nonprofit organizations. She specializes in Major Gifts, Signature Events, and Volunteerism.
Crystal has managed and maximized numerous fundraising campaigns to secure significant financial goals, including a $6 Million Endowment Campaign. Additionally, Crystal has consistently secured 6-figure grants, initiated bequests, increased sponsorships and has led multi-year campaigns to reach aggressive goals.
In her leadership roles, she has served on several Non-Profit Leadership teams to include Henry Ford Health System, United Way for Southeast Michigan, The Children’s Center of Wayne County, Franklin Wright Settlements, The Music Hall for the Performing Arts and the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation.
Crystal is well respected in the community and has been very successful at raising money, creating new partnerships and developing relationships with key stakeholders of major corporations, foundations and individuals throughout her career.
She serves on the Board of Spaulding for Children and was appointed as Fundraising Event chair for the past 10 years. She is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals-Greater Detroit Chapter, Graduate of Leadership Macomb IX, nominated Optimist Friend Member of the year and is a member of the Detroit Children’s Choir’s Fundraising and Marketing committee.
Crystal holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications and Journalism from Western Michigan University and has been married for 30 years. She had 2 daughters who are currently pursuing careers in Healthcare, following their mother’s footsteps in being an advocate for helping others.
ORLANDUS SMITH, SR.
Ambassador Board Member
Joined the Board 7/21/2009
Biography
Mr. Smith attended Detroit Public Schools and is a graduate of Martin Luther King High School. After graduating he entered the US Air Force. After being honorably discharged he returned to Detroit he was hired at the Tank Automotive Command, (TACOM) as a plumber/pipefitter. After ten years he transferred into the Human Resources field. He retired from TACOM as a Human Resources Manager, specializing in Employee Relations, Recruitment and Labor Management.
Mr. Smith Sr. volunteers his time to ministries within his church and has served as a mentor with Spaulding for Children since 2006. He is an adjunct faculty member with the US-Army Training Center and has agreed to provide training to managers and employees within the Federal Government.
CRISTINA (CRIS) ZATEK
Board Member
Joined the Board 9/25/2018
Biography
Ms. Zatek is Director of Account Management for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island (BCBSRI).
Cris most recently came to BCBSRI from sales leadership at Health Alliance Plan and prior to that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan where she was in Sales Account Management and led a Sales Training team. Cris has more than 20 years of experience in the health and welfare benefits field, particularly in the development, analysis, evaluation and implementation of group welfare and benefit programs. She has significant expertise from the purchaser side as a Benefits Manager within the automotive industry; the provider finance side from Henry Ford Health System and the Detroit Medical Center; as well as the insurer side in health care analytics, underwriting and financial analysis with United HealthCare. Prior to her entrance into the health insurance realm, she was an auditor for the Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency, Offices of the Inspectors General.
Cris holds a Master of Health Services Administration from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor as well as an undergraduate degree in Accounting and Finance from Western Michigan University. She is a licensed insurance producer in the State of Michigan as well as Rhode Island.
