Founder, past Chair, and board member of Riverside Arts Center, Bill Kinley is a partner with his son Tyler in Praxis Properties, a commercial property company. His former company Phoenix Contractors has been active in commercial construction for over forty years, and built or rebuilt several buildings in the Ypsi area, and continues that success.. He and his companies have received several awards and recognitions.

He is currently a member of The Ark Board, the Ann Arbor Downtown Review Board, and the Huron River Watershed Council, and former chair of the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, the Washtenaw Community College Foundation, the Ypsilanti DDA, and several other local non-profit organizations. 

He and his wife Mary (recently deceased) are parents of a blended family of six (the Gang of Six), with six grands and one great-grand. As his leisure time has increased, he has been fly fishing far and wide, reliving his youth with sporty cars, and spending quality time with his two cats, Chachi and Bruce.

His focus on RAC has been on the bricks-and-mortar: the building has had a series of improvements through its 28 year history, and now is primed to take on the last frontier—the improvements to the now-vacant third floor will offer a significant flexible, dramatic space for a variety of uses, and Bill and the RAC property team are ready to take on the challenge of reconstructing the space to its full potential.

Barry LaRue is a lifelong resident of Ypsilanti and one of the original founders of the Riverside Arts Center.  He recently retired after 41 years at the University of Michigan as Senior Performance Hall Operations Manager overseeing technical aspects of venues such as the Power Center, Mendelssohn Theatre and Hill Auditorium.   Barry has spent his entire adult life active in the community having served on the Ypsilanti City Council, Historic District Commission, the boards of the Ypsilanti Heritage Foundation, Destination Ann Arbor and Highland Cemetery among others.   He holds a residential builders license and enjoys working on older homes, including the 1858 Italianate he shares with his wife Kim Clarke, a senior writer at the University of Michigan.

David is a partner at Edwards, Ellis & Associates, P.C. and has been since 2007, after joining in 1992. He is both a tax expert as well as a financial advisor. He received his BBA in accounting at the University of Michigan with high distinction and then continued to get his MS in Taxation with Summa Cum Laude from Walsh College. David obtained his CPA license in 1995. He also qualified as a Certified Financial Planner (CFP)® in 2005.

David currently serves as Treasurer of Riverside Arts Center and is a member of the Finance Committee for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Washtenaw County. David is also a Life Master in bridge and enjoys playing in local tournaments on a regular basis.

Carey Jernigan is the VP Risk Management at REGROUP, a brand transformation agency. The agency has served DTE, Chevron Extra Mile, Right at Home, Michigan Medicine, Pet Supplies Plus, Michigan Theater, SafeHouse Center, Artrain, and others.

Carey’s experience in advertising and marketing spans many years. Prior to joining re:group, she was COO of Fitch – Ann Arbor, an international design consultancy. She has worked as Senior Vice President Administration for Ross Roy Communications and served as the President of their Atlanta subsidiary. She has served as Senior Vice President of Operations, Production, Administration and served as Corporate Secretary at Group 243 for ten years, helping to broker its sale to Ross Roy Communications. This included oversight of building their corporate headquarters in Ann Arbor. She became the first Executive Director of the Eastern Michigan University Foundation, reporting to the Board of Directors, where she established the organization’s operations and served for five years. During this time, a record fundraising campaign was successfully executed.

Carey received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Eastern Michigan University. She also attended the University of Michigan and Rochester Institute of Technology. She has enjoyed board service as an appointed member and leader for non-profits: Arbor Hospice, Neighborhood Senior Services, Ann Arbor Art Center, St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, American Red Cross, Washtenaw Community College Foundation, WCC Women’s Council, Ann Arbor Art Fair-The Original, and The Ann Arbor Thrift Shop.

She was appointed by the Mayor of the city of Ann Arbor to the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority, and she continues to support downtown Ann Arbor.

Photo by Misty Lyn Bergeron

Sally McCracken, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Eastern Michigan University. Current resident of the EMU Faculty and Staff Association, member of the Arts and Science Resource Board and Secretary/Treasurer of the Twenty Club Town and Gown Association. Former President of the EMU Faculty Council, President of the American Association of University Professors, multiple National AAUP Councils, Labor Consultant and invited speaker for multiple organizations. Awards: ADAHI award for Excellence in Teaching, 1969; Sabbatical Leaves, 1978 and 1985; Faculty Recognition Awards, Division of University Marketing and Student Affairs–1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989; RTL (Research in Teaching and learning) Fellow, 1995-1996; Sternberg Award, National AAUP, Collective Bargaining Congress, 1998; Ronald Collins EMU Distinguished Faculty Award, Service, 1998; Michigan Association of Governing Boards Distinguished Faculty Award, 2000; and EMU Alumnae Association, Teaching Excellence Award, 2005; and EMU AlumniAssociation Porter Award for Service, 2015.

Hafsah is an illustrator, print & motion designer and nerd based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She is primarily a self-taught designer who consistently ventures off the beaten path of design to explore animation, illustration and filmmaking.

Hafsah’s post-college life featured a rip-roaring venture into freelance work as an illustrator and publication designer in the immediate Metro Detroit area before joining a cybersecurity company in Ann Arbor’s flourishing tech community. In her current form, she is a visual designer with an array of thoughts, opinions and aspirations that I all too freely share on social media. Someone should stop me, they have not. I remain at large.

Senior VP & Private Banking Manager
Bank of Ann Arbor

Patrick Tamblyn has over 40 years of banking experience, with the last 36 years in Washtenaw County. He joined Bank of Ann Arbor in January 2006 as President of the Ypsilanti District and now serves as Manager of the Private Banking team. Pat previously served in commercial lending roles at KeyBank and Comerica.

Pat’s community involvement has included the Ann Arbor YMCA, Ypsilanti Area Community Fund, Dawn Farm, First Presbyterian Church, Forum Club, and Capital Campaign Co-Chair for Hope Medical Clinic and The Gilbert Residence. He currently serves as Chair of the Glacier Hills Foundation Board. Pat holds a B.B.A. in Finance from Western Michigan University and an Associates of Applied Science degree in Aviation from Northwestern Michigan College.

Pat and Diane live in Ann Arbor Hills and have 3 children, Jameson in Washington D.C., Annie in Appleton, WI, and Holden in San Francisco.

Donald Loppnow, earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin, a Master of Social Work from Washington University, and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Michigan. He joined Eastern Michigan University in 1974 as a lecturer in sociology. Don rose through the academic ranks to professor of social work, the position he held at the time of his retirement in 2014. He was instrumental in founding the Department of Social Work, now the School of Social Work and served as its first Department Head. 

Don came into University-wide leadership in 1990 when he was named interim director of the Office of Research Development.  In 1997, he became associate vice president for Extended Programs and added a half-time appointment as assistant to the president for strategic planning in 2000. Don was tapped by the Board of Regents to serve briefly as acting president in 2004, and then became the senior executive for strategic planning and continuous improvement from 2004-2006. He served as provost and vice president for academic affairs from 2006-2009, with a change in title to executive vice president in 2007. Don acted as interim president from 2007 – 2008. He then served as vice-president for advancement and executive director of the EMU Foundation until 2009 before retiring. In 2015 Don was asked to return to EMU to serve as interim president a third time until 2016.

He has served in leadership roles on the Board of Directors for the Riverside Arts Center, the Ypsilanti Area Community Fund, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Washtenaw County, the Ann Arbor Hands-on Museum, the Ypsilanti Historical Society, the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation and the 109 year-old town-gown organization, the Twenty Club. He has also served on the boards or committees of Dawn Farm, HelpSource, Ann Arbor Child and Family Services Coordinating Council, Junior League of Ann Arbor, Washtenaw United Way, and more.