About Us

Our mission is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.

Our Mission and Values

We believe greatness exists in every child.

Communities In Schools of Kalamazoo (CIS) fuels personal potential so that all students can take charge of their story and define their success for life. We see potential coursing through every child, a promise waiting to be realized. So we go where they need us—understanding their needs and listening to their dreams from the inside-out and the outside-in.

And in every step we take together, we help them find the strength and confidence to look within and see what we see—a bright future that’s theirs for the taking. Community by community, school by school, child by child—we are all in this together.

Our Staff

Meet some of the people behind the mission

James Devers

Executive Director

Kimberly Nemire

Senior Director of Development

Artrella Cohn

Senior Director of Community Engagement and Student Investment

Tamiko Garrett, Ph.D.

Senior Director of Site Services

Debra Newsome

Senior Director of Finance, HR and Administration

Our board

Our board members

Kimberly Babineaux

Customer Experience Manager, Family Health Center

Don Cooney

Kalamazoo City Commissioner; Director Emeritus

James Curry

Vice President, Senior Wealth Management Advisor, Greenleaf Trust

James Devers

Executive Director, Communities In Schools of Kalamazoo

Randall W. Eberts

Senior Researcher, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research

Gustavo Echavarria

Director, WMU TRiO Upward Bound

Susan Einspahr

Retired, Kingscott Associates, Inc.

Kwame Gyimah

Income Partner, Lennon Miller

Diana Hernández

Retired, Western Michigan University

Geoffery Howe

Director of School Improvement, Title 1 and Assessments, Kalamazoo Public Schools

Jyllian Liggins

Community Member

David A. Maurer

President, Humphrey Products

Candy McCorkle, Ph.D

Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, Western Michigan University

Terry Morrow

Vice President of Development, Bronson Healthcare Group

Scott Nykaza, Ph.D.

Retired, Kalsec Inc.

Doug Phillips

Senior Vice President, Plante Moran Cresa

Steve Powell

Senior Vice President of Loan Operations, Community Bank

Dominic Pullo

Senior Scientist, Zoetis Veterinary Medicine Research and Development

James Ritsema

Kalamazoo City Manager; Ex-Officio

Namita Sharma

8th District Court Judge

Margie Simmons

Chief Executive Officer, Landscape Forms, Inc.

Dr. Darrin Slade

Kalamazoo Public Schools Superintendent

Joshua Sledge

Director of Impact Investment, Kalamazoo Community Foundation

Linnaea Thomas

Community Member

Darren M. Timmeney

Market Manager and Community President, Chase

Sheri Welsh

President and CEO, Welsh & Associates, Inc.

Sara Williams

Community Member

Eric Wimbley

Chief Executive Officer, Pretty Lake Camp

CIS Kalamazoo annual report

Thanks to the support of our community, friends, partners, donors, and volunteers, we are committed to the future of every Kalamazoo student.

Read more about what we’ve accomplished together in our recent annual reports.

Join our team

Interested in a career with CIS Kalamazoo? We’re always excited to meet people who are passionate about student success.

Get in touch

Interested in learning more about CIS Kalamazoo? We’d love to connect.