Muskegon Community College Leadership

Ken James became Muskegon Community College’s first-ever chief diversity officer (CDO) on Sept. 20, 2021.

As a member of the President’s Cabinet, James will implement a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategy and serve as a catalyst to leverage best practices and resources across campus to promote a culture of inclusion. The goal is to ensure that individuals of all racial and ethnic identities, ages, nationalities, social and economic status, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, religious, political, and ideological perspectives, and physical and mental abilities are able to thrive and be engaged.

The director of inclusion for the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce since 2018, James brings a wealth of DEI experience to his new role. He served as the affirmative action director for the City of Muskegon from 1997 to 2005 and was appointed to a statewide committee that piloted a Michigan State Department of Civil Rights program to create engaging communities.

James was director of management learning and development at Hackley Hospital for a year before becoming assistant vice president for affirmative action in 2008 at his alma mater, Grand Valley State University. He subsequently worked as an independent consultant with Meijer, Inc. as a general training specialist and part of a team that developed, implemented, and piloted a comprehensive regional ethics training initiative that was adopted organization-wide in 2012.

Steven Wilson is a Chief Information Officer at Muskegon Community College.

Teresa Newmarch is a seasoned fundraising executive with more than 20 years of experience in building successful development programs, and managing substantial fundraising efforts for local, state, and international nonprofit organizations in healthcare, social services, higher education, the arts, and environmental conservation. She has directed all sizes of philanthropy departments and successfully contributed to the planning and implementation of three comprehensive campaigns.

Prior to joining MCC, Teresa worked as Director of Development for Covenant House Michigan and has served as Chief Development Officer for both Blandford Nature Center and Save the Chimps, as well as Executive Director of the Pine Rest Foundation in Grand Rapids, where she met annual fundraising goals for Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services while also serving as campaign manager for a multi-million dollar capital campaign.

At Kalamazoo College, she held multiple roles, starting as Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations where she worked in partnership with College administration, faculty, and alumni to secure funding for institutional priorities from national, regional, and local sources. She ultimately was promoted to Executive Director of Development, where she led the overall management of multiple fundraising functions supporting 13 development staff in areas of major and planned giving, annual fund, prospect management, and research, and donor relations. During her seven-year tenure, she also served as Interim Vice President for Development during a leadership transition.