School of Public, Nonprofit and Health Administration

Adjunct Faculty

Kinfu Adisu

e-mail: adisuk@gvsu.edu
office: 234C DeVos Center
phone: 616-331-6869

Dr. Kinfu Adisu teaches organization theory and public budgeting.

Dr. Adisu has earned an Ed.D. in General Leadership, a Masters of Management and a Masters in Public Administration.
He has published two peer reviewed articles (2007, 2010) with a third forthcoming.
He has worked in the private sector, in human resource management, quality assurance and environmental health
He has worked in the public sector as an intern with Kent County and Muskegon County and also completed his Masters research with the Ionia County Health Department
He has in the nonprofit sector, currently sitting on the Board for Cherry Street Clinics
He has worked in the international NGO sector, in Cameroon at the Pan African Institute, and in Sudan with International Rescue Committee.
He has participated in teaching conferences at GVSU and AACSB-International.

Quote: "My teaching goal is to create a rigorous learning environment that is conducive to interaction, collaboration and development of critical thinking. It is very important to respect the diverse ideas and background of my students and reflect fair and equal treatment of them in and out of the class room. I also encourage the understanding of global issues and the importance of knowledge and cultural experience as a contributor to personal and national competitiveness."

Haris Alibasic

e-mail: alibasha@gvsu.edu

Haris Alibasic was born and raised in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He moved to the United States ten years ago.

Haris worked with the United Nations Protection Forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (N.A.T.O.), the Office of the High Representative, and other international organizations as a Business and Economic Development Specialist. He provided economic development and business development policy consulting in Southeast Europe, including privatization of state-owned enterprises, foreign investment, legislative, policy reforms, and financial sector reforms.

Prior to joining the City of Grand Rapids' Executive Office, he worked with the City's Planning Services Group and Economic Development Department. Haris manages City's Office of Energy and Sustainability, State and Federal Legislative affairs, Renewable Energy projects, Community Oriented Government (COG), and Neighborhood Enterprise Zones (NEZ). He is a member of International City/County Management Association and Michigan Municipal League. He represents the City of Grand Rapids at Grand Valley Metro Council Legislative Committee, and Region 6 Homeland Security Board and serves as the City's Liaison for the US Census Bureau and the Complete Count Committee.

Haris taught international business, management and public management classes at Davenport University. He also taught Metropolitan Administration and Politics at Grand Valley State University Masters Degree program.

Haris studied for the B.S. in Economics at Sarajevo University; earned Bachelor of Business Administration in International Business and Marketing at Grand Valley State University; Master of Public Administration at Grand Valley State University. Haris is a Ph.D. candidate in Public Policy and Administration at Walden University.

Haris provides training on Bosnian culture and history and writes in Bosnian and English for Bosnian print and online magazines. Haris is the current President of the Board of Directors of the Congress of North American Bosniaks, an umbrella organization representing American and Canadian Bosniaks. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Bosniak American Advisory Council for Bosnia and Herzegovina and is a member of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian American Academy of Arts and Science.

Mary Dailey Brown

email: mary@sowhope.org

Mary Brown earned her MPA grom GVSU and teaches PA670, International NGO Management. In her non-GVSU time, Ms. Brown travels the world helping to lift up struggling women through SowHope, the nonprofit she founded four years ago that provides struggling women around the globe with health, education, and economic opportunities. Among SowHope's projects:

A birthing center in the Democratic Republic of the Congo stocked with beds, supplies, and sterilizing equipment
A trafficking prevention program in six provinces in Bangladesh, where an average of 50 girls a day are trafficked across the border into India and Pakistan to a life of forced prostitution
Literacy and vocational training for young women in Rwanda who have AIDS.
A microloan group in Uganda, where woman can borrow money to buy sewing machines or roadside stands to start their own businesses.

J. Devereaux Butler

e-mail: dev.butler@getcleartalent.com

Dev Butler teaches human resources management and conflict management.

Mr. Butler Earned a Ph.D. in Psychology from Emory University
Clocked over 3000 hours of teaching experience in classroom and workshop settings, including: a visiting professor at Chicago State University (4 years), a corporate trainer at Motorola (5 years), and managed the training and development team at Spectrum Health (6 years).
Most recently been an organizational development consultant for Midwest businesses where my partners and I provide human resources support.
Been certified as a facilitator in the following: Managing Personal Growth (Blessing/White); DiSC (Inscape); 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Franklin Covey); Career & Choices Architect (Lominger); Impact Mapping (Advantage Performance Group); and Dispute Mediation in State of Michigan.

Quote: "Over the years, I have seen my teaching philosophy grow and mature. It used to be that I'd lecture, impart great wisdom and leave it for the students to figure out. I received very high evaluations for this approach. I have a gift for speaking-yet this did not necessarily translate into learning. This became evident to me in the corporate world, where the organization was spending tens of thousands of dollars to have employees in my class. The expectation was that they would "be different" when they completed the workshop.

As a corporate trainer, I had to make my classroom more interactive, more practice-based using the knowledge, experience, and wisdom of the group. I have moved more into the role of facilitator rather than "knowledge imparter". Giving up "total control" of the classroom has been a challenging but ultimately rewarding experience. The students learn more, I learn more and as a result we have all increased our effectiveness. I look forward to bring my experience and talent to the service of Grand Valley State University and its students.

Victor Cardenas

e-mail: vmcardenas@gmail.com

Mr: Victor Cardenas facilitates workshops related to careers in local government.

Mr. Cardenas has been a local government official since 2004. He is currently the Village Manager of Brooklyn, MI .
He has a Masters in Public Affairs from Indiana University,
He is participating in the Emerging Leaders Development Program of the International City/County Managers Association. In 2009, he participated in Senior Executive Institute of the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service.
He attends Michigan Local Government Management Association (MLGMA) professional development activities twice a year
He is chair of the MLGMA Community Education Committee that provides paid internships for graduate students in the field along with planning sessions at our annual state conference for students interested pursuing careers in the field.
He currently serves on the Grand Valley Alumni Association Board of Directors, the Executive Committee of the Region 2 Planning Commission and the Economic Development Strategic Planning Committee of Jackson County.

Quote: "I facilitated a one day seminar for graduated students interested in careers in City Management and Planning back in Fall 2008. I was able to bring in prominent City Managers and Planners from the area to speak about their experiences."

Ryan Cotton

e-mail: ryancotton@hotmail.com

Ryan Cotton teaches organization theory and public management courses.

Ryan Cotton has been a city or village manager for over twenty years in Vermont and Michigan and he is currently serving as Village Manager of Spring Lake, MI.
He earned a Masters in Public Administration and is currently working toward a Masters in Political Science
He authored several professional articles, including one in the Michigan Municipal League's The Review (2008)
He presented at several professional conferences, including the Michigan Local Government Management Association (2008)
He taught public management and political science classes at Grand Valley and Hope College for the past 12 years.

Quote: "I am a life-long learner, local government manager and educator. I conducted shared learning experiences as part of strategic planning for the last two decades. The students consistently give my semesters high marks. Many of them request to have unpaid internships with my office. I mentored approximately ten GVSU students in such internships since 2005. I very much enjoy teaching one or two courses per year. It helps keep me current and is a joy to help others catch the love of public service. It also gives an opportunity to share a career of helpful tips to students that they seem to relish."

Jennifer DeHaan

e-mail: Jennifer.DeHaan@kentcountymi.gov

Jennifer DeHaan teaches local government. Since 2005 she has worked for Kent County's Office of the County Administrator as a Controller Management Analyst. There she Analyzes the operating performance of departments and/or programs to ensure efficient and effective use of budgeted resources; researches, analyzes and evaluates issues, proposed actions, or pending legislation; drafts proposed policies, procedures and practices and prepares committee action requests and resolutions to the Board of Commissioners; and reviews and analyzes the potential impact of pending legislation, proposed amendments to existing statutes, etc. on County operations and recommends appropriate actions to the County Administrator/Controller and Board of Commissioners.

She has a Master of Public Administration and a Bachelor of Arts (graduating Cum Laude) from Grand Valley State University.

Linda Falstad

e-mail: lamf@ameritech.net
phone: 616-218-1331

Linda Falstad has over 20 years of experience in the non-profit and government sectors as a grant researcher and writer for local, state, and federal grants, grant reader for the State of Michigan, and as a volunteer manager. Ms. Falstad is experienced in the start-up of both programs and non-profit organizations. As a former elected official, Falstad has the knowledge and networking experience necessary to connect organizations to resources.

Susan Johnson

e-mail: FourBays91@aol.com

Dr. Susan Johnson teaches nonprofit management classes and research methods. She brings 25 years of nonprofit leadership and direct service experience to her work with students.

Dr. Johnson holds a Ph.D. in Child and Family Ecology and a Masters of Public Administration. In addition, she has earned certificates for Grants Specialist and for Nonprofit Leadership.
Her research interests are in Public Policy and Evaluation, Familial Crises, Organizational Efficacy, Homelessness and Poverty. She is author of one recent journal article (2008) and one book chapter (forthcoming)
She teaches a variety of courses in traditional and online format at GVSU and Arizona State and seminars at MSU, including Research Methods, Program Evaluation, Grant Writing, Non Profit Governance and Boards of Trustees, Voluntarism, Ethics, Families in Crisis, Organizational Assessment and Development, Board Development, Nonprofit Administration and Public Policy.
She has over 15 years of nonprofit executive experience , including CEO of Every Woman's Place and executive director of Volunteer Muskegon
She is a contract monitor / site review analyst for the Michigan Department of Human Services.
She has consulting experience with nonprofit organizations, including strategic planning, evaluation, and board development activities.
She has served on many public service committees and board, including: Muskegon County Community Coordinating Council; United Way of Muskegon County Director's Advisory Board; Muskegon County Continuum of Care Homelessness Coalition; Muskegon County Emergency Needs Committee; and Muskegon County Multi-Cultural Committee

Susan is married, has two adult sons, and lives in the Muskegon area. She loves to travel, is an avid golfer, and judges horse shows in her spare time. Her research interests are in Public Policy and Evaluation, Familial Crises, Organizational Efficacy, Homelessness and Poverty.

Eric Klingensmith

e-mail: klingene@gvsu.edu

Eric Klingensmith teaches emergency management. Dr. Klingensmith has a BS from the University of Central Florida and a Psy. D. from Antioch University. He is a counselor at Grand Valley's Counseling Center, and the Crisis Coordinator in a joint position with the Counseling Center and Residence Life Office.he is actively involved with several volunteer crisis and disaster response organizations including the American Red Cross and the Michigan-1 Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT).

Allison Lugo Knapp

e-mail: knappal@gvsu.edu

Allison Lugo Knapp teaches grant writing

Mrs. Allison Lugo Knapp has a Masters in Public Administration
Mrs. Knapp has worked in the philanthropic and nonprofit sector for over eight years, first as a Program Officer for the Battle Creek Community Foundation, and currently as Associate Director of The Grantmaking School (TGS); a professional development program that is highly regarded by peers and colleagues around the country.
She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts; as Program Chair for the National Board of Advisors, Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy; and as a member of the Council on Foundations Next Generation Task Force.
She has completed a number of seminars and trainings related to grantmaking and program management through the following organizations: Council of Michigan Foundations, the Foundation Center, Michigan Nonprofit Association (MNA), the Ford Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Quote: "While at the Battle Creek Community Foundation and the Johnson Center, I have also had the opportunity to present and teach at foundations, local & national conferences, and represent my respective organization on several boards and committees. I feel that this experience brings a unique perspective to your curriculum, and can provide knowledge and insights to those students that are interested in learning more about the field of philanthropy first-hand."

Jill May

Jill May facilitates workshops related to careers in arts and culture organizations. She is Development Director at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Art. She has an MPA from Grand Valley.

e-mail: jmay@uica.org.

Michael Reagan

e-mail: MikeReagan@ProactionAlliance.org

Mr. Michael Reagan teaches Human Resource Management.

Mr. Michael Reagan is President/CEO of Proaction Behavioral Health Alliance, a statewide non-profit health care organization based in Grand Rapids that provides substance abuse and mental health treatment and prevention services. Reagan, who has a master’s degree in counseling psychology, was inducted into the Pi Alpha Alpha Honors Society in 2006.
Before Proaction, his nonprofit management / human resource management experience included being Vice President of Project Rehab, Director of Employee Assistance Center, and Personnel and Community Relations Director for Kent CAP.
He has a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology
He has taught Human Resource Management for SPNHA since 2002. He also teaches graduate courses for Western Michigan University's Social Work and Physician Assistance Programs.
He is active in three state and national health care associations: Michigan Association of Community Mental Health Boards (Provider Alliance Executive Committee); State Associations of Addiction Services (Executive Committee, Treasurer, and Chair of the Practice Committee and member of Moving Forward Alliance); and the International Community Corrections Association (Executive Committee)

Quote: "My professional development has occurred primarily through my involvement as an active member in several national, and state trade associations related to health care and the systems transformation of both behavioral health care as it is integrated into primary care and correctional related health care as it is integrated into continuing care in the community. This involvement has included attendance at regional and national conferences, presentation of workshops, development of policy papers, participating on panels etc. The work of these trade associations has focused significantly on workforce development, process and organizational change, public policy advocacy and development. All of this involvement was the application of best and promising practices at the systems and organizational levels."

Josef Soper

e-mail: soperjo@gvsu.edu

Dr. Joe Soper teaches organization theory and public management courses.

Dr. Soper retired in 2007 as Court Administrator from the 61st District Court (Grand Rapids), where he managed a $12 million budget and 120 employees.
His public management experience consists of thirty-five years in progressively more responsible government management positions, Prior to the 61st District Court, he was Director of the Center for Criminal Justice Research (State of Wyoming Attorney General's Office).
He has an earned Doctorate in Public Administration and a Masters in Administration of Criminal Justice.
Since the mid-1980s, he has taught ten different courses for GVSU, some of them regularly (e.g. Social Research Methods and Public Policy Analysis). He also served on one MPA Thesis Committee.
His nonprofit management experience includes service as member and chair of three local nonprofit boards: Dispute Resolution Center, Salvation Army Advisory Board, and Children's Assessment Center.
During his tenure at the Court, he completed two evaluations of two intervention programs operated by the Court.
He remains in contact with many local government executives (City Managers, County Administrator, Sheriff, Chiefs of Police, etc.) as well as locally elected officials (e.g. City and County Commissioners).
He has a strong interest in public policies that impact abused children. Now that the time is available in retirement, he builds dollhouses and donates them to local nonprofit organizations that focus on children.

Quote: "One of the things I try to focus on in every course I teach is how to use published research and an understanding of performance evaluation in local government. As local governments - especially in Michigan - are caught in a world of rapidly diminishing revenues, determining exactly what works best for the lowest price is their highest priority. Not to unnecessarily exaggerate its importance but local government is where we all live right now and this focus will become even more critical in the future. "

Nathan Steed

e-mail: nsteed@wnj.com

Mr. Nathan Steed teaches health care law.

Mr. Steed received a Bachelor of Arts in English from Brigham Young University, graduating cum laude, and received a JD from Indiana University School of Law -- Bloomington, also graduating cum laude.
He is an associate in the Health Law Practice Group at Warner Norcross & Judd LLP
He has worked in a variety of areas within the health law field, counseling clients in matters related to:
- Patient privacy and information security under HIPAA
- Compliance with Stark and Federal Anti-Kickback Statutes
- The laws are regulations related to emergency treatment under EMTALA
- Procurement of equipment and technology at the hospital and physician practice level
- Clinical Trial Agreements
- Mergers and acquisitions of health practices
- Marketing of devices under FDA regulations and associated laws
He belongs to:
- American Bar Association, Health Law Section
- American Bar Association Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) Taskforce
- American Health Lawyers Association
- State Bar of Michigan, Health Care and Technology Law Section

Quote: "I enjoy the teaching environment and working with students from a wide variety of fields. They each bring their own perspectives and experiences to bear and often ask interesting questions and pose novel hypotheticals that get me to think about the law in ways I had not previously considered. It provides an opportunity for us to learn together. The health law field is an exciting one to be involved in, given the current political, economic and demographic landscape and I actively search out ways to be more involved. Teaching PA634 is just one of those ways. "

Jennifer Lattin

e-mail: lattinje @gvsu.edu

In 1996 Jennifer Stockdale worked with the Michigan Community Foundation’s Youth Project at the Council of Michigan Foundations and later repositioned as Program Director at the Community Foundation for the Holland/Zeeland Area.

Undergraduate Studies in Psychology and Human Resources were completed at the College of St. Elizabeth, NJ. Jennifer maintained a Graduate Assistantship with GVSU and the Johnson Center throughout her graduate work in obtaining her MPA. Jennifer graduated in 2003 and maintained working as Research Coordinator at the Johnson Center for the Nonprofit Good Practice Guide until 2005. Jennifer is currently working with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Holland as Director of Human Resources and Grantwriting.

Jennifer resides in Holland with her husband Todd, and three young boys.

Andrew Wolber

e-mail: andy@wolberworks.com

Andy Wolber is an independent technology consultant who has led technology strategy and planning workshops for hundreds of nonprofit organizations throughout the Midwest. Most recently, he led Highway T, a program of Michigan Nonprofit Association, providing technology consulting to nonprofit organizations since 2002. He wrote the Information Technology section of the Michigan Nonprofit Management Manual published in 2010. Prior to his return to Michigan, he worked in Dallas, Texas developing Internet strategies with Fortune 500 clients for USWeb/CKS. He previously served as Executive Director of the Dallas Historical Society for four years, and board chairman of the Dallas Arts District Friends. Andy spent three years in fundraising staff roles for nonprofit cultural organizations, including Dallas Black Dance Theatre. Andy holds an MBA/MA in Arts Administration from Southern Methodist University, and a BA in Music Theory and Composition from Spring Arbor University. He resides in Ann Arbor, MI with his wife, Liz, and daughter, Katie.

Page last modified April 12, 2013