November 2015 Alumni Update

Pamela M. Iacobelli, a 1992 graduate of Western Michigan University with a bachelor of arts degree in organizational communication, has been chosen as the new President and CEO of CultureSource, the leading arts and culture nonprofit organization in Southeast Michigan. Prior to the new position with CultureSource, her resume boasts similar leadership and marketing positions with the Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce, Huntington National Bank, and the Detroit Regional Chamber Regional Economic Partnership. 

Michael Villaire, an alumnus who received bachelors degrees in English and communication from WMU, is the 2015 recipient of the prestiguous Cecilia and Leonard Doak Health Literacy Champion Award. Villaire was chosen for this award because of his work in health literacy as the CEO for the Institute for Healthcare Advancement of La Habra, California. IHA's mission of empowering people to better health is enacted through a wide variety of initiatives include consultation, training, and review of health information systems, to name a few. 

Kyle Caldwell has been named the Executive Director for the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University. Caldwell's new position is preceded by his leadership work for both the Michigan Nonprofit Association and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation among others. Caldwell earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in organizational communication from WMU and currently sits on the School of Communication's External Advisory Board. 

Maggie Bullard-Marshall is the new vice president of government affairs for California-based small business partner, AttainIt. AttainIt provides a wide range of high quality products to help organizations grow their businesses. Her extensive work with small business procurement as related to veterans has primed her for success in the new role. Bullard-Marshall received bachelors degrees in both organizational communication and Spanish in 1998.

Paul Heidbreder has recently become the new publisher for Traverse City's well-known Record-Eagle newspaper. Paul began his extensive media career at Western Michigan University where he earned his bachelors degree in Public Relations in 1989 and worked for the Western Herald. Heidbreder's editor position is preceded by his extensive publishing and advertising work at newspapers in Michigan, Maine, Illinois, Indiana, and most recently, Iowa, for the Ames Tribune.