Board

 

Aaron Canfield
President
Aaron has been involved with Colleagues International since 2004, and joined the board in the Spring of 2009. He hopes to fill a more active role with the organization. Currently Aaron holds a marketing position with a local restoration company. Aaron has worked in the non-profit sector as a Y-Professional, he spent three years as the Weekend and Community Programming Director for YMCA Camp Eberhart. He graduated Western Michigan University Magna Cum Laude, receiving a BA in Global and International Studies.

Aaron met his wife Svetlana in 2001 during his role with YMCA Camp Eberhart, where international students are utilized for summer help. Svetlana has her Masters Degree in Linguistics and hails from Ivanovo, Russia. March 2009 saw the celebration of five years of marriage for the Canfield’s, they have one daughter that was born July 2008.

Derrick Ricca
Vice President
Derrick joined the board in 2006 and has been actively been promoting Colleagues in the community since.

"Colleagues is an unsung resource for the West Michigan Community. We bring people to Kalamazoo to enrich their lives, and in turn they help enrich ours as well."

Derrick is a Senior Sales Manager at the Radisson Plaza Hotel and Suites in Kalamazoo. He Holds a BA from Western Michigan University. Derrick is married to Jamie Ricca and has two sets of twins. Aiden and Brody who are almost four and Delaney and Jamison who are almost a year. Derrick also volunteers with the Disability Resource Network and the Douglass Community Center.

Katy Mintz
Secretary
Katy joined the CI board in 2007. She was on the staff of Colleagues International from 2002-2004 as Assistant Director and Marketing Specialist. She is currently the Proposal Coordinator at Manatron, a Portage-based software company. Katy holds an MBA in marketing and a BA in journalism from Western Michigan University and she has a three year old son named Gideon. She designed and maintains the Colleagues International website. Katy was nominated for a 2010 Volunteer Center of Greater Kalamazoo STAR Award for her work with the organization.

Phyllis Rappeport
Phyllis has been a home host for many years, and has been a board member since 2004. She is also the home host coordinator, matching all visitors in need of homestays with home host placements. Phyllis is a retired WMU music professor. She has a BA from Queens College and an MM from the University of Indiana. She enjoys reading, cooking and travel. Phyllis was nominated for a 2010 Volunteer Center of Greater Kalamazoo STAR Award for her work with the organization.

Cathleen (Cat) Fuller
Cat was recruited to join the board in 2007 by Phyllis Rappeport, Faculty Emeriti from WMU. Cat had been on the fringes of CI by meeting with international visitors prior to joining the board. She is the Director of Transnational Education Programs at the Haenicke Institute for Global Education at Western Michigan University. Cat holds a BBA in Advertising and Promotions, and an MA in Educational Leadership with Emphasis on International Education from WMU.

"I love to travel which is a big reason I'm in my current position. I have a 10 year old daughter (who has mixed opinions about my travel - hates me being gone but loves the gifts I bring!). The most exotic place I can say I've been is Borneo but probably the best trip I ever had was to the Caucuses. That was a trip of a lifetime! This has really been one of the best groups I've been involved in and feel that I can really make a contribution to CI and the Kalamazoo Community."

Cynthia Hernandez
Cynthia joined the CI board in 2009. She began her experience at Colleagues International as a public relations intern in January 2008. The internship provided the opportunity to meet many global leaders and an experience from which she gained knowledge of cultures and viewpoints from around the world. Cynthia looks forward to her service on the Colleagues International Board of Directors and helping support programs that provide vital knowledge to countries world-wide.

Cynthia currently works as the administrative assistant for Kalamazoo's private dinning club, The Park Club, where she enjoys serving the community leaders of Kalamazoo. She is from Hartford, Michigan and recently received her Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations from Western Michigan University. She also serves on the board and is a member of the Kalamazoo Rotaract Club, a young professionals club through the Kalamazoo Rotary Club, and enjoys participating in the projects that serve the local and international community.

Joshua Vandeburgh
Josh joined the board in October 2009, he was introduced to the organization through Board Connect. Josh works at the Arcus Foundation as the Grants Management Associate for the Michigan LGBT Rights Program, International LGBT Rights Program, and Great Apes Program. Josh also serve as Chair of the Kalamazoo Alliance for Equality. He is a 2005 graduate of Kalamazoo College graduate. AFS exchange student to Spain (99-00) and he studied at the International Sustainable Development Studies Institute, based in Chiang Mai, Thailand (03-04).

Jerry Potratz
Jerry joined the board in early 2010 after serving as a professional host and home host. Jerry firmly believes in the mission of CI (citizen diplomacy "one handshake at a time") and joined the Board with the hope that he might be able to contribute, in a strategic and tactical way, to the success of the organization.

Jerry has 30 years of experience in various Human Resource management positions, covering functions such as: recruitment and staffing, domestic and international compensation and benefits, organizational design, and general personnel support. He has Bachelor degrees in Management and Psychology from the University of Northern Iowa, and a Masters degree in Industrial Relations from the University of Minnesota.

Jerry is married to Louise, a speech therapist for the Kalamazoo Public Schools. We enjoy spending time with family, children and grandchildren, hosting CI guests, traveling domestically and internationally, attending arts festivals, listening to all kinds of music (from folk to classical), and cheering on the Iowa Hawkeyes.