People’s Choice Award voting is now closed! The top honoree will be announced on May 17 at the West Michigan Woman Brilliance Awards. Tickets can be purchased here.
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 ideally, make a few new connections!
Jennifer Pascua is a savvy, strategic and collaborative communications professional, currently serving as Marketing Director for Broadway Grand Rapids. A communication person by love and by training, Jennifer has been a passionate cheerleader for the West Michigan community for nearly 20 years. After a 25-year run as a broadcast journalist, she segued her talents into various teaching and communications roles, including launching her own media freelance group during the pandemic, Halo Halo Multimedia, LCC. Her vast professional achievements include highlighting BIPOC businesses and organizations, fundraising for numerous non-profit organizations through various events and more. Her greatest achievement is raising her three sons—Devin, Drake and Payton—as a teen mom while working and earning her bachelor and master’s degrees.
Jennifer says, “No one begins or maintains a strong relationship without communication. So, if I have some communication skills that can bring people together and form potentially life-enhancing bonds, it almost becomes my obligation to share them in this way. It's an especially awesome privilege whenever I can connect an underrepresented community member with others who can help them grow.”
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park Team Player
Katie Racey finds managing large live events and attractions to be highly rewarding. Even more rewarding are how these events bring together people of all different backgrounds. Katie watches this unfold in her role at Frederik Meijer Gardens when guests meet someone in line at the ‘Butterflies’ exhibition or experience a new type of music they weren’t exposed to prior. While a visit eventually ends, people carry with them the memories and relationships made. These moments are created amongst guests and the co-workers who as a team put in the hard work to ensure an experience comes together. Katie considers the relationships and memories created at these events, and the environment she fosters in everyone she works with, her greatest contributions.
Katie says, “Being on a team is unique: Most of the time you have little control over who’s on the team with you. This is what I like most about it! When you’re on a team, you’re forced to learn about others and are exposed to many backgrounds. I’ve learned the true meaning of ‘team player’ from the wonderful team I get to work with every day.”
For 33 years, Kim Murphy has added her unique fingerprints to the life journeys of senior adults, an often-marginalized population. She believes her residents don’t live in a facility, but rather she’s a guest in their home, an honor she doesn’t take lightly. Kim is passionate about encouraging people to fill their days with laughter, learning and joy, and is often described as the glue that holds things together, an especially difficult task during COVID. Her strengths are her creativity and ability to build a sense of community among family members, staff and those in her care. She has hosted a consortium for many years helping other activity coordinators in the West Michigan area to excel in their positions, as well. Her desire is to serve in love, and do it with grace.
Kim says, “I love synchronizing my efforts with other equally gifted people to provide ‘wow!’ service and create memory making moments for the residents I serve. At the end of the day, I love the satisfaction of knowing that as a team, we made a difference in turning daily routine into an adventure.”
Colleen Laskowski is a wife, mom of two kids, an active community member in Holland and the Director of Delivery at SpinDance, an IoT software consulting firm. With a tenacious and level-headed spirit, Colleen has a drive for organization and thrives on creating community. She is passionate about adopting sustainable practices and creating meaningful relationships through supporting her team, family and local community. In her five-year tenure at SpinDance, she has led over 50 projects and crafted processes that have been instrumental in transforming the business. Colleen intentionally focuses on fostering a culture of community, teamwork and giving back. When not setting her teams up for success at work, you can often find her baking in the kitchen, planning her next trip to a national park, or volunteering at her children’s school.
Colleen says, “Teamwork isn’t always easy, and the magic of a team certainly doesn’t happen overnight, but the power of a group of people cohesively working together is extremely rewarding.”
For Missy Summers, community service is at the heart of everything she does. Missy has served on the board of Habitat for Humanity, as treasurer for the Association of Professional Fundraising, and marketing chair for SCORE. She began her professional career in the banking industry, holding a variety of positions while also being a lead volunteer coordinator, serving on the state of Michigan grant committee in addition to managing environmental initiatives and helping establish employee resources groups for the state. Missy eventually transitioned to the non-profit sector as Director of Development for Junior Achievement. As the needs of the organization evolved, so did her role, becoming the Chief Rural Officer for Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula, where she managed a team and multiple boards to help grow local programming.
Missy, who sees potential in the non-traditional, says, “Because I was lucky to have so many formal and informal mentors, I have made it a priority to be a mentor. The opportunity to share and learn from mentees is a great responsibility and joy.”
People’s Choice Award voting is now closed! The top honoree will be announced on May 17 at the West Michigan Woman Brilliance Awards. Tickets can be purchased here.
