Meet MaryAnne

MaryAnne is the Cross-Cultural Community Manager at Treetops Collective, supporting the cross-cultural partnerships that serve to build connection and mutually beneficial friendships between our Concentric Program members and those who have called West Michigan their home for longer periods of time. She is also the main point of contact for all other Treetops volunteers and hopes to increase both the number and the variety of opportunities available for individuals and organizations to get involved in the mission and vision of Treetops. In doing that, MaryAnne believes that we can truly continue to Spread Welcome.

MaryAnne was born in Grand Rapids (and has been back in GR since 2005), but in the meantime, moved to Wisconsin at age six and to Iowa at age 14. While not having to navigate a new country (or really even a new culture, with both moves being within the Midwest and both to small, rural communities), she knows at least a small measure of the need for warm welcome and creating community. More recently, thanks to seven of her husband’s siblings, who have joined the family from five different countries over the past eleven years, MaryAnne has had a front-row seat to see what connection – both social and economic – means to New Americans. She couldn’t be more thrilled to contribute to fostering those connections!

MaryAnne stayed home with her two kids for several years, then decided to go to school and earn a degree in order to do something actionable with her passion for racial equity. She attended GRCC part-time for four years, then transferred to Aquinas, where she graduated in May 2022 with a B.A. in Geography and Community Leadership. In her free time (which seems much more abundant now that she isn’t in school), MaryAnne loves to read, drink good coffee, go for hikes with her dog, or play Racko with her husband and kids.