Feature Stories
Tracie Coffman, '01 & '06
For Tracie Coffman, ’01 & ’06, the choice to study social work
was a no-brainer. By the time of her high school graduation, she knew
that giving a voice to the disenfranchised was what she was meant to
do. She enrolled in the social work program at Grand Valley and “never
thought twice about it.” Not too long after, she became the first
financial counselor for Home Repair Services in Grand Rapids.
Coffman is a natural trailblazer. During her sophomore year, she
joined the university’s first women’s rugby team. She remembers that
they had to practice on the plot of land that now occupies the Alumni House.
“Everything was really just pieced together that first year, but
it was a lot fun,” she said. “We got approval from GVSU to be a club,
but had basically no budget. I fronted the money for the teams’ first
jerseys and we did carwashes and other fundraisers to raise money.”
Unfortunately, Coffman only played for one year. By her junior
year, she was fully immersed in her path in social work and there was
only room in her schedule for one passion.
The next year, Coffman had heard about Home Repair Services
through her internship at the Children Family Resource Council. While
the job description requested someone with a background in finance,
Coffman knew her talents would be well suited for the job.
“What they were looking for when they were initially hiring for
this position was a banker; someone who knew the mortgage industry,”
Coffman said. “But I really saw it as a social work position.”
She turned out to be right. Even though foreclosures were a rare
occurrence at the time, shortly after Coffman started working for Home
Repair Services, the mortgage crisis of 2001 hit. Hundreds of families
were in danger of losing their homes and needed somewhere to turn.
“The education that I received from Grand Valley had shown me
that a family who was about to lose their house was going to be in a
much bigger crisis,” she said. “You can teach me the mortgage stuff,
but you couldn’t necessarily teach a mortgage person all the social
and personal skills that I had.”
Since then, her program has grown and improved with every year.
The goal that she set during her senior year of high school came to fruition.
“I get to spend every day working with people who are losing
their homes and helping them have a voice in a system that is not set
up hear their plea,” she said.
This year, her efforts were recognized by the Young Nonprofit
Professionals Network. Coffman received the Good-to-Great award for
taking Home Repair Services to new heights. She has also been awarded
with the Michigan State Housing Development Authority Councilor of the
Year in 2009 and in 2010 with the Grand Rapids Bar Association Liberty
Bell Award.
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