New Staff Spotlight | Fall 2018

The Western Great Lakes Region has been blessed with another round of new hires. We’d like to take a moment to introduce you to nine of the newest members of our the WGLR Young Life Staff. Let’s give a warm welcome to each one!

Meet Anna Blauwkamp, the new Area Administrator for Grand Rapids SouthWest Young Life. “Anna has volunteered at Byron Center Middle as a WyldLife leader the last few years. Anna knows Young Life and has previous administrative experience with World Mission. The GRSW team is excited to have her!” —Eric Zoodsma, Area Director for GR SouthWest Young Life.

Meet Erika Castillo, the new Regional Administrator for the Western Great Lakes Region. Erika grew up and lives in Holland, MI. This is her first Young Life experience! She is an organizer and communicator by nature which obviously leads her to be a great person for this position. She loves to bake, go to the beach, and watch black and white movies. Erika will be working alongside Rachael VanderWerf and Sara Kunzi (who still has some rolls in the region, but is back to the education world as a teacher in Hudsonville). —Chris Theule-VanDam, Regional Director

Meet Abby Gurka. “We are thrilled to welcome Abby as our Staff Associate in Central Grand Rapids. Abby will be leading the teams at Grand Rapids Christian Middle & High Schools. Abby just graduated from Hope College where she led Young Life at Holland Christian for the past 4 years. When I first met Abby, I was struck by her dynamic personality and how full of life she was. She is energetic and passionate about all kids having a relationship with Christ.” —Jenna Perkins, Area Director for Central GR Young Life

Meet Eric Hollis, also on staff with the Central Grand Rapids area. Eric is no stranger to Young Life in Central GR. He was a YL leader when he was a student at Calvin College. Now on Mission Staff, Eric will be leading the team at East Grand Rapids High School. Eric has proven to be a faithful leader who’s full of energy. He is passionate about kids knowing Christ and growing deeper in faith.

Meet Janai Johnson, the new Area Administrator for Grand Rapids City Young Life. “Janai is a native of Grand Rapids and an East Kentwood graduate. Since attending Eastern Michigan University she has married and started a family. She spends her days outside of YL chasing her 2.5-year-old and making her beauty clients feel wonderful. Janai has a great creative side in addition to her extensive office and banking experience.” —Lateefah Gofoe, Area Director Grand Rapids City Young Life

Meet Sean Kelley, our new Mission Staff in Rockford. “Sean moved to Michigan from Indiana in the spring of 2018 and got married to his Work Crew sweetheart, Emily, in October. Sean will be leading the team at Rockford High School. Sean did Young Life for 3 years in high school, has 5 years of leading experience, did Work Crew at Timber Wolf Lake (where he met his wife) and Summer Staff as well! We are so excited to have Sean join our steadily growing area.” —Mary Reichard, Area Director for Rockford Young Life

Meet Jenny Lee, the new Area Administrator for Northeast Grand Rapids. “Jenny grew up in Forest Hills, attended Forest Hills Eastern and graduated from Aquinas College in 2017. She has been involved as a YL kid and leader for our area. After college, she spent some time as a flight attendant and in the Peace Corp before coming back to Grand Rapids. She knows the area and is passionate about YL, not to mention highly talented in communication and organization.” —Kaitlin Vermeer, Area Director for Northeast Grand Rapids Young Life

Meet Hillary Morgan, Staff Associate with NW Grand Rapids. She has been a volunteer leader with Kenowa Hills YL from the beginning. She went to Kenowa as a student, has coached basketball, and also worked in part-time positions at the school. Hillary will oversee both the middle and high school ministries. We are so thankful for God’s faithfulness in bringing such a strong candidate that will be able to have an immediate impact with our kids and teams of volunteer leaders. —Jake Wielhouwer, Area Director for Northwest GR Young Life

Meet Tiffany Townsend, the new YoungLives Coordinator for Grand Rapids City Young Life and Central Grand Rapids Young Life (a shared position). Tiffany is a Grand Rapids native, a graduate of Forest Hills Northern and now a mother of five with kids ages 12, 9, 7, 5, and 2. In addition to her family life, she keeps busy as a doula, a certified lactation counselor and is currently a student at the Midwifery College of Utah. Tiffany is passionate about connecting with teen moms in Grand Rapids.