The 2022 West Michigan Woman People's Choice Brilliance Award
People’s Choice Award voting is now open! The top honoree will be announced on May 12 at the West Michigan Woman Brilliance Awards. Tickets can be purchased here.
Please keep in mind that each of the West Michigan Woman Brilliance Awards finalists were selected for a reason. All exude a contagious spirit and broad skill set that in one facet or another, betters the West Michigan community. This is an opportunity for you to get to know them. Read through their bios, resonate with their challenges and triumphs, and vote for the person whose story speaks to you most. The People’s Choice Award is not a popularity contest; it’s a way of introducing brilliant individuals to the community and making connections that may not have otherwise existed.
Of the 30 Brilliance Awards Finalists, who most inspires you? Who would you like to see further recognized? Whose story should be told in a big way to West Michigan? Vote for that person.
• To vote, please provide your first and last name and email address. • You may only vote one time for one person. • Voting opens March 28, 2022 and closes at 5pm on April 15, 2022.
Jennifer Kimball James joined Kent County as Deputy County Administrator in October 2020. She provides leadership to County departments, manages special projects for the Board of Commissioners and supports the County Administrator. Jenny supported Kent County’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic, stating, “We’ve succeeded in identifying shelter locations, securing funding and pivoting to provide the best service possible as the status of the pandemic changes.” Jenny continues to build relationships and partnerships within the county government and the community to enhance services to residents. When it comes to being a team player, she says, “The process of learning, problem solving and celebrating successes is a lot more fun with a group than by yourself! I’ll never know it all and I need the talents and perspectives of others to support me. When I surround myself with a team, I’m amazed at how productive and enjoyable it is to tackle a challenge together.”
Kate Landis has called West Michigan home for 15 years. She believes that being present is the key to helping people, businesses and organizations achieve success. She has volunteered with numerous West Michigan organizations, most recently with the Professional Women in Building Council. As a board member, she led a team of women who shared a passion for helping members grow professionally. Together, they created a two-year plan with over 15 professional development and continuing education opportunities. Those opportunities connected women in the construction industry to other professionals with unique skills, ultimately helping members reach their professional goals. Kate is also a board member for the Empowerment Institute, where she hopes to help connect the BIPOC non-profit community to people, tools and resources that will create sustainable change in West Michigan. Kate says, “[Connection] is more than just sending an email or a text with another person's contact information; it is about [providing] introductions that will help others achieve success and accomplish their goals.”
Colleen Lane is a Grand Rapids, Michigan native who is triple-board certified in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics and Addiction. Colleen has always had a passion for working in social justice and was drawn to the field of addiction medicine during her residency. She sees herself as a physician advocate and uses her voice and platform to talk about substance use disorders and medication-assisted treatment. Passionate about her work, Colleen strives to expand access to addiction treatment services while breaking down the stigma that surrounds harm reduction. “Despite being in a life-saving medical field, addiction medicine deals with stigma both among medical and non-medical people,” explained Colleen. “I view my role not only as a physician, but also as an ambassador. I take every chance to talk about harm reduction and what it means to love someone through addiction. I want people to know that patients living with addiction are our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and neighbors—their lives matter and treatment works.”
Women's + Health Collective Brilliant Social Change Agent
Nisha McKenzie is on a mission to change medicine. She works daily to help herself, staff and other medical providers acknowledge the bias they hold and how it affects the care provided. Her goal is to leave every patient she sees feeling more empowered in their health journey, more able to advocate for themselves when needed, and closer to their health goals. “Healthier, stronger, more confident people who feel like they have energy and space can then turn and give to this community in real and meaningful ways,” explains Nisha. Nisha believes each patient who feels heard is not only her greatest achievement, but also her fuel to continue forging a new path for medicine. “As humans, we know our bodies best. As medical providers, we know data, research and science. Combined, what a team we can make!”
A patient of Mary Free Bed after a spinal cord injury in 2010, Ryan knows firsthand the challenges and value of exceptional rehabilitation care. After graduating from Mary Free Bed and relearning how to walk, Ryan attended Grand Valley State University with a new passion for healthcare. He joined Mary Free Bed in 2012 and soon leveraged an analyst role into a management position, building a team to steward the system’s rapid growth. He credits Mary Free Bed for not only the excellent care that enabled him to return to a productive life, but for believing in a former patient enough to make a CFO out of him! “About 80% of my colleagues—as in many healthcare organizations—are women,” says Ryan. “They’re innovative business experts, compassionate caregivers and lead by example in everything they do. I often say my role is simply to support them, because they’re doing the real work of taking care of patients.”
