Experience

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  Freelance

  Jan 2004 - now

  Genealogist and palaeographer

  I provide genealogical research services including research planning, strategic counsel, and research management; qualitative research (key informant interviews, focus groups, and onsite and online archival research); transcription and translation of German Fraktur and Kurrent/Sütterlin records; identification of privately held source material (e.g., vintage maps, unpublished Ortssippenbücher/Familienbücher, family heirlooms, photographs, autobiographical narratives, etc.); and international key stakeholder engagement in English and German (establishing working relationships with researchers and archivists in Alsace–Lorraine France, Germany, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein; Slovakia, and the Lebanese Maronite community). Show less

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  Michigan state university james madison college

  Jan 2009 - Jan 2010

  German translator

  With a grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to Professor Ken Waltzer, translated into English the unpublished World War II era holocaust memoirs of a German Jewish resident of Gross Breesen agricultural school.

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  Michigan state university english language center

  May 2009 - Aug 2010

  Language culture partner

  • Lead two, 4-month long, series of English language sessions for international graduate students and teachers during MSU's '09 and '10 summer semesters.• Developed and taught topic-specific lesson plans on American culture and business English using multiple media in groups of 3-5.

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  Food bank council of michigan

  May 2009 - Aug 2009

  Policy intern

  • Performed original data-analysis on under-participation in SNAP (formerly "food stamps") and compiled into statewide, county-level report, later used to facilitate statewide strategic planning for SNAP outreach.• Revised the MI “Blueprint to End Hunger”, authored multiple advocacy materials for public media, and a step-by-step “Empty Plate Campaign” plan.• Co-wrote Specialty Crop Block Grant application• Designed and administered nationwide survey of state food bank associations• Represented FBCM at the House Republican Task Force on Agriculture in Coldwater, MI and at the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack meeting in Charlotte, MI Show less

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  Food bank council of michigan

  Jan 2010 - Apr 2012

  Outreach and advocacy manager

  (Promoted from Food Assistance Outreach Manager)Outreach• Designed and managed MI’s first food bank network SNAP Outreach Program which in two years directly enrolled 3,526 households for federal nutrition assistance and generated $11.9 million in new community economic activity throughout MI. • Managed $200k federal American Reinvestment and Recovery Act grant from the MI Dept of Human Services• Co-developed DHS-approved SNAP outreach and enrollment training with the Center for Civil Justice and administered in groups of 10-40 statewide.• Administered 55 SNAP outreach and enrollment trainings statewide. Provided consultation and training to the MI Benefits Access Initiative, a public/private partnership to increase multiple benefits access among low-income households.• Nominated by Feeding America to an 11 person national advisory board which published a SNAP outreach best practice toolkit in January, 2012.• Partnered to cross-promote SNAP outreach with free and reduced-price school meals and the Double Up Food Bucks incentives program at farmers markets.Advocacy• Successfully petitioned the MI Dept of Education for the first change in MI TEFAP eligibility since 1984, improving access to emergency food for 896,000+ Michiganders. Led collaborative effort from inception through research, proposal and statewide implementation by over 3,200 local agencies.• Coordinated food bank network and grassroots advocacy surrounding the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 and the 2012 Farm Bill. Coordinated 150+ member MI Alliance to Stop Hunger advocacy network and managed listserv.Grant-writing • Lead grant-writer for statewide collaborative proposals; included two consecutive grants which funded FBCM anti-hunger advocacy and the MI Alliance to Stop Hunger and two consecutive MI Dept of Human Services grants which reimbursed 50 percent of food bank network SNAP outreach expenses and leveraged hundreds of thousands in private dollars over two years. Show less

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  Bread for the world

  Jan 2012 - Jan 2012

  Hunger justice leader

  Bread for the World selected 75 young faith leaders nationwide to join them to explore biblical foundations of anti-hunger advocacy, gain skills in advocacy and community organizing, connect with like-minded faith leaders from across the United States, speak out on Capitol Hill, and lead advocacy efforts back home.

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  Michigan fitness foundation

  Apr 2012 - Nov 2017

  Social initiatives specialist

  As part of a managerial team which administered federal nutrition education funding statewide, I led foundation strategy for policy, systems, and environmental change to improve the diets and food security of households facing hunger. This included managing all phases of multiyear statewide projects - from program design and grant writing through implementation and evaluation and representing the foundation in collaboratives between public health nutrition, sustainable food systems, and human services practitioners. I also served as a contributing author to the national SNAP-Ed evaluation framework and interpretive guide, a Michigan Good Food Charter steering committee member, and as co-chair of the Healthy Kids, Healthy Michigan Healthy Food Policy Action Team.• Co-PI: “Michigan Farm to Family” – USDA NIFA FINI Grant No. 2016-70025-25231• Project Lead: “Emergency Food, Gardening, and Nutrition Education: A Survey of Michigan Food Pantries”• Project Lead: "Michigan Produce for Pantries” Pilot (2015-2016)• Project Lead: Map to Healthy Living: www.m2hl.org• Co-Chair: Healthy Kids Healthy Michigan (HKHM) Healthy Food Access Policy Action Team (PAT)• Chair: Division of Sustainable Food Systems, Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior (Chair Elect 2014-15, Chair 2015-16); http://www.sneb.org/about/divisions.html• Member: MI Good Food Charter Steering Committee• Member: MI No Kid Hungry Steering Committee• Member: MI Association for Evaluation• Member: Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior (Division of Sustainable Food Systems)• Member: MI Food Policy Council Access Task Force (now dissolved) Show less

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  Free methodist church – usa

  Jan 2013 - now

  Pastor (ordained elder)

  Ministerial Candidate (2013-2018); Ordained Elder (May 2018-Present); Church planter and founding pastor, Samara Church, Holt, MI (2018-Present)

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  Wake forest university school of divinity

  Jan 2015 - Jan 2015

  Regenerate fellow

  The “Re:Generate Fellowship: Food, Creation Care, and Bioregional Leadership” is a leadership development fellowship for faith leaders under age 40 in food justice, health, sustainable agriculture, and/or climate change vocations. Twelve fellows were selected from across the United States who “show exceptional promise,” “are entrepreneurial,” and have “aptitude or experience in leading efforts related to the program’s focal areas.” Fellows constitute part of a nationwide network of Christian Food Movement leaders providing ongoing vocational and project-related support and collaboration. Show less

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  Public sector consultants

  Nov 2017 - Apr 2023

  Senior consultant

  Provided comprehensive services and support for governmental agencies, associations, non-profits and businesses at all phases of organizational development and project implementation. Supported clients working in sustainable food systems, food security, chronic disease prevention, aging, and Adverse Childhood Experiences with:• facilitation & strategic planning• research• implementation• evaluation• data analysis & visualization

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  Plainsong farm

  Oct 2021 - Oct 2022

  Ministry innovators cohort

  Eight-person national cohort of clergy and leaders working with new ministry initiatives/organizations tending belonging, equity, and climate resilience, especially related to food and agriculture. Led and hosted by Plainsong Farm and Ministry - a living laboratory for farm based environmental education and Christian discipleship whose mission is "to cultivate connections between people, places and God by making a place that nurtures belonging and the radical renewal of God’s world." www.plainsongfarm.com Show less

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  Sunistano llc

  Apr 2023 - now

  Founder and principal consultant

  Design and lead research, facilitation, implementation, and evaluation projects for mission-driven clients in multiple sectors, including strategic initiatives in public health, human services, international development, and sustainable agriculture. Most recently, I have been providing grant writing support and content expertise for global international development NGOs, supported redesign of a major American health institute, conducted research and provided German-language transcription and translation services for the global leader in for-profit family history and consumer genomics, and lead evaluation of internal grantmaking systems for the largest charity in the United States. In 2023, I became a small-business owner, launching Sunistano Seed Co. (www.sunistano.com) under the Sunistano brand, as a means of supporting and sustaining our seed rematriation ministry that was featured in Light & Life Magazine. Sunistano is the Koine Greek term used in Colossians 1:17-20 for Jesus “sustaining” or “holding all things together.” Show less