Browse All 37 Items
- Collection: Michigan Philanthropy Oral History Project Interviews
Conversation with Patrick Wilson and Marsha Smith
Marsha Smith, Executive Director of Rotary Charities of Traverse City and Attorney Patrick Wilson recall the organization's history and Pat's legal involvement after the discovery of oil and gas at Rotary's camp in 1976 and the development of the…
Agard, Kathryn A., video interview and transcript
Kathryn A. Agard, Executive Director of the Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University, 2006-2010. She discusses her early life, education, family, and work in the Mental Health field, at Planned Parenthood Federation of…
Conversation with Tom Beech and Bonnie Allen
Bonnie Allen, attorney at the Center for Healing and the Law, interviews her colleague Tom Beech, President & CEO of The Fetzer Institute in Kalamazoo, Michigan, about his history in philanthropy and what he's learned along the way, including:…
Esposito, Virginia video interview and transcript
Virginia Esposito (Ginny) is the Founding President of the National Center for Family Philanthropy. She discusses her early life, education, and work as teacher and administrator at the Council on Foundations, and CEO of the National Center for…
Conversation with Rev. J. Louis Felton and Mattie Jordan-Woods
Reverend J. Louis Felton, Trustee of the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, and grantee Mattie Jordan-Woods, Executive Director of the Northside Association for Community Development, talk about their experiences living in Kalamazoo, Michigan and how…
Frey, David, G. video interview and transcript
David Frey is chairman of the Frey Foundation, a Grand Rapids, Michigan based family foundation. He discusses his early life, education, service as an officer in the Navy during the Vietnam War, and work as chairman and CEO of Union Bank, now part of…
Johnson, Dorothy A., video interview and transcript
Dorothy "Dottie"Johnson discusses her early life in Los Angeles and her education in public schools and at UC Berkeley and Harvard. She talks about working for J. Walter Thompson in New York and about moving to Grand Haven, Mich. where she began a…
Mast, Myron D. video interview and transcript
Myron "Mike" Mast, Ph.D., discusses his early life and education in South Dakota, his move to Grand Rapids to attend Calvin College, and his graduate work at the University of Colorado. He discusses the development of public administration as a…
Mawby, Russell G. video interview and transcript
Russ Mawby discusses his youth on a fruit farm and involvement with 4H and the Boy Scouts, his agricultural studies at Michigan State and Purdue Universities, and his military service in the US Army. He reflects on the history of the Kellogg family,…
Orosz, Joel J. video interview and transcript
Joel Orosz discusses his education and work at the Kalamazoo Public Museum, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University. He authored a book on how to be a grantmaker. He shares stories about…
Payne, Michael R. video interview and transcript
Michael (Mike) Payne, Ph.D., discusses his service in the Air Force, education in economics at the University of Missouri and Syracuse, his study of for-profit and nonprofit hospitals in New York State in the late 60s, and teaching at Union…
Conversation with Margaret "Ranny" Rieker
Margaret "Ranny" Riecker, President/Treasurer of the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation in Midland, Michigan, tells Rebecca Noricks, Communications Manager at the Council of Michigan Foundations (CMF), about her family's philanthropy and her…
Van Iwaarden, Donna, video interview and transcript
Donna Van Iwaarden, former director of the Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University discusses her early life, education, family, and work at the University of North Carolina, Grand Valley State University’s School of Public…












