During its May meeting, the Hope College Alumni Association Board of Directors elected its officers for 2010-11 and 2011-12, and appointed three new members.
Bob Bieri, a 1983 graduate from Holland who previously served as vice president, has been elected president. Lisa Bos, a 1997 graduate from Washington, D.C., has been elected vice president. Kat Campbell, a 1999 graduate from Greensboro, N.C., has been re-elected to a second two-year term as secretary.
The board's new members are: Andrea Converse, a Hope junior from Lowell, as Junior Class Representative; Tom Kyros, a 1989 graduate from Grand Rapids, as a West Michigan Representative; and Nancy Clair Otterstrom, a 1978 graduate from Bethel, Conn., as a Northeast Representative.
Colleen Leikert, a 2010 graduate from Ludington who was formerly Senior Class Representative, was appointed representative of the most recent graduating class. Senior Colton Wright of Tecumseh, formerly Junior Class Representative, was appointed Senior Class Representative. Mark Van Genderen, a 1990 graduate from Cedarburg, Wis., whose term as president concluded, will continue to serve on the board as immediate past-president.
The board members who have concluded their service to the board are: Nancy Bassman, a 1972 graduate from Scotch Plains, N.J.; Brett Kingma, a 2009 graduate from Grand Rapids; and Carol MacGregor, a 1960 graduate from Norcross, Ga.
° Andrea Converse is majoring in communication and management, and minoring in organizational leadership and music. She has been extensively involved in campus life, her activities including serving as a resident assistant, participating in Dance Marathon as a member of the leadership team and singing in the Chapel Choir. She has consistently been named to the college's dean's list, and was recently named to the Hope College Baker Scholars, an elite group of business students who plan a career in business or future graduate business studies. Her work experience includes positions at Hope, Windmill Island, Egypt Valley Country Club and St. Patrick Parish in Ada. Converse is the daughter of Gregory and Marsha Converse of Lowell. She is a 2008 graduate of Lowell High School.
° Tom Kyros is an attorney at Varnum LLP in downtown Grand Rapids. His practice focuses on the design and implementation of sophisticated estate plans, active and ongoing administration of trust accounts, estate taxation, charitable gift planning, and guardianship/conservatorship services. He also serves as a member of the firm's management committee. He is an active speaker on sophisticated estate planning topics, and has presented on numerous occasions for Michigan's Institute of Continuing Legal Education. His involvement in the community has included serving as president of the West Michigan Planned Giving Group, and as a member of the Spectrum Health Foundation and the Helen DeVos Children's Hospital Foundation, in addition to participating in the college's Alumni Calling Program and attending Hope events. Kyros majored in economics at Hope, where his activities as a student included serving as president of Student Congress, the Pi Sigma Alpha political science honorary society, contributing to the "Inklings" editorial journal and participating in the London May Term. He earned his J.D. at Northwestern University School of Law. He and his wife, Sally (Conway), who is also a 1989 Hope graduate, have three children and live in East Grand Rapids.
° Nancy Clair Otterstrom is director of global grants and contracts administration for The International Rescue Committee, an organization that helps provide lifesaving care and assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. She was previously director of grants management for Save the Children and had also been an assistant marketing manager for Coca Cola USA. She has been an active volunteer on behalf of the college, participating in the Career Resource Network and helping secure interviews for Hope students considering careers in international development. She has also been active in attending and helping plan alumni events in the New York City area. Otterstrom majored in psychology at Hope, where her activities included the Chapel Choir. She and her husband, Peter, have a daughter, Ryan, who is a senior at Hope.