COMMITTED TO COMMUNITY

There are several different kinds of glue that hold a democracy together. An equitable and healthy information ecosystem is one of them.

(We’re biased, but it might be the most important kind.)

Kalamazoo Arcadia Festival Site

The Local Journalism Foundation was established to equip people with skills and resources, to facilitate critical public conversations, and to produce information that directly addresses the needs of the people of Kalamazoo County.

We also aspire to strengthen civic media — a more participatory and equity-focused form of journalism — as a field.

To realize the foundation’s vision, we are bringing together a cast of Kalamazoo County’s innovators and change-makers alongside a roster of seasoned media professionals.

Board of Directors

  • BEN LANDO

    BEN LANDO

    President | Fourth-generation Kalamazooan and professional journalist for more than 23 years. Lived in Baghdad, Iraq for four years, where he founded and remains majority owner of www.iraqoilreport.com. Founder of NowKalamazoo.

  • kristie may

    KRISTIE MAY

    Managing Editor, Now Kalamazoo | Took on leadership of NowKalamazoo after five years in broadcast news, most recently as Executive Producer of WWMT Channel 3. Discover Kalamazoo advisory board member.

  • JIM STEPHANAK

    JIM STEPHANAK

    Treasurer | CEO/publisher of the Kalamazoo Gazette for 10 years. Founder of Venture Advisory Group. Board member of Optimed, Gibson Insurance, Heritage Community Foundation, and Kalamazoo Institute of Arts. Former board chairman, Priority Health.

  • reid williams

    REID WILLIAMS

    Secretary | Twenty-five years experience in journalism and media, most recently with USA TODAY and Gannett. Roles spanning editorial, product and business. Founding board member of Kalamazoo Housing Advocates.

  • amy courter

    AMY COURTER

    Nurtures leaders, followers, and organizations in businesses and not-for-profits. Has served in a variety of executive management and board positions with experience in many industries. Serves as a General officer in the Civil Air Patrol.

  • PHILIP HAMILTON

    PHILIP HAMILTON

    Founder at Hamilton Law, handling civil, commercial and business litigation, and real estate. President elect of the Charles A. Pratt Bar Association and member of the Board of Directors of the Bronson Health Foundation.

  • BOBBY HOPEWELL

    BOBBY HOPEWELL

    President and CEO of EMS Survey Team and Mobile Health Resources. He has 35 years of healthcare, leadership, and public service experience, including as the longest serving Mayor of the City of Kalamazoo, from 2007-2019.

  • kevin jawahir

    KEVIN JAWAHIR

    Director of Personal Trust - Development at Greenleaf Trust. He has served on numerous nonprofit boards including currently Kalamazoo College’s Board of Trustees and the Board of Directors for Sherman Lake YMCA.

  • EARLENE MCMICHAEL

    EARLENE MCMICHAEL

    An award-winning multimedia journalist, marketing communications professional, journalism educator, social change advocate and lover of the arts. Former staff at Kalamazoo Gazette and WMUK. Currently marketing in higher education.

  • MIKE OLIPHANT

    MIKE OLIPHANT

    Principal with Yeo & Yeo, PC, CPAs, where he has been for over 30 years. Kalamazoo Habitat for Humanity board chair. Kalamazoo County Bar Association treasurer.

  • JIM POLLOCK

    JAMES POLLOCK

    General counsel for The Hinman Company. A journalism major in college, with a passion for local news and its role as a pillar of an informed, engaged and connected community.

  • SAKHI VYAS

    SAKHI VYAS

    Oversees community sponsorships for WMUK-FM Public Radio, and serves on committees with The Gilmore Piano Festival, KPL, Kalamazoo Lyceum. Previously a Kalamazoo City Planning Commissioner.

IRS filings

funding

The Local Journalism Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit registered with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. The LJF receives a mixture of funding from NowKalamazoo reader donations, larger individual donations, and grants from foundations. As a 509(a)2 public charity, like museums and public libraries, the LJF must maintain at least one-third of its revenue from public sources; this designation also prohibits accepting donations that represent too large a proportion of our overall revenue (i.e. limiting the influence of any single donation).

DONORS

The following individuals and entities have provided donations, grants or sponsorships of $5,000 or more in total during the previous fiscal year.

  • Ann & Don Parfet

  • Beyond Financial Planning, LLC

  • Carroll J Haas Foundation

  • Chronicle of Philanthropy

  • Dorothy U. Dalton Foundation

  • Enna Foundation

  • Harold & Grace Upjohn Foundation

  • Indiegraf News Startup Fund

  • Joyce Foundation

  • Kalamazoo Community Foundation

  • LION Publishers

  • Michigan Transformation Collective

  • Marvin & Rosalie Okun Foundation

  • NewsMatch

  • Optimed Healthcare Partners

  • PNC Foundation

  • Press Forward

  • Richard & Thelma Hall Foundation

  • Russ & Ilse Schipper

  • Suzanne U D Parish Foundation