Amy Thomas-Mellema | Executive Director

Amy leads a passionate team dedicated to improving health and hope through food. She oversees strategic growth, community partnerships, and fundraising, ensuring that every aspect of our organization reflects compassion, collaboration, and excellence.

Amy’s background is in health law and nonprofit leadership, with extensive experience building programs that bridge health care and community support. Before joining Revive & Thrive, her work centered on understanding how access to nutritious food can change health outcomes and quality of life. I am passionate about connecting people, organizations, and resources to create sustainable impact through food, education, and service.

Amy’s First Volunteer Experience: I helped neighbors with yardwork and spent time with an elderly woman who lived next door. We didn’t think of it as volunteering—it was simply being part of a caring community and helping each other out.

Mandy Thompson | Executive Chef

Chef Mandy manages all kitchen operations from recipe creation and menu planning through meal preparation and inventory control. She leads kitchen staff and volunteers, develops Teen Chef curriculum, and builds strategic partnerships with local farms, producers, and nonprofits to deliver nutritious, medically supportive meals.

Chef Mandy's passion for food and its connection to health began with the birth of her first child. Becoming a mother led her to discover that understanding food and nutrition—and making it delicious—is her gift to the world. She has a background as a Holistic Health Practitioner and instructor for children and youth cooking classes at local schools and libraries. Chef Mandy brings expertise in healthy cooking and youth development to the kitchen.

Mandy’s First Volunteer Experience: I remember singing at a retirement community when I was young, but my most meaningful volunteering experience came when I started helping in my son's Kindergarten class. One thing led to another, and I became PTO President, and eventually the school district hired me!

Carlita Gonzalez |

Program Coordinator

Carlita connects our brand, programs, and community by coordinating and executing client, teen, and volunteer programs that align with our mission.  

Beginning as a Spanish interpreter, Carlita has built her extensive nonprofit career serving diverse populations across West Michigan. She is dedicated to advocating for equitable access to community resources and brings cultural awareness and compassion to her work. 

Carlita’s First Volunteer Experience: My first memory of volunteering was in elementary school when my best friend's dad took us to a senior living center to sing while he played guitar. I realized how much joy simple things can bring to others. 

Skylar O’Donnell, M.S. RDN |

Client Services Manager

Skylar manages client enrollment, intake, and coordination with healthcare partners. She ensures medically supportive meals meet individual nutritional needs and provides ongoing nutrition education to support client health and outcomes. 

Skylar began at Revive & Thrive as a GVSU dietetics graduate intern. Skylar holds a Bachelor of Science in Applied Food and Nutrition and a Master of Science in Clinical Dietetics from Grand Valley State University. Her experience across healthcare and community settings has equipped her with expertise in patient-forward dietetic care, wellness programming, and food service operations. 

Skylar’s First Volunteer Experience: Every year, my family and I would run in the Dash for Difference 5K at Genesys Athletic Club, an all-ages run. We also volunteered at the snack station for the racers.  

Lily Wallace | Development Specialist

Lily leads comprehensive fundraising initiatives while cultivating donor relationships and building strategic community partnerships. 

She is passionate about nonprofit development, with a strong foundation in hospitality and community engagement. Lily’s professional experience spans research, customer service, team leadership, and sales, skills that thrive in dynamic, people-centered environments. With a degree in Horticultural Science, she’s cultivated a lifelong passion for nurturing growth, not just in plants, but in communities.  

Lily’s First Volunteer Experience: My earliest volunteer experiences were at the Saginaw Soup Kitchen and the Saginaw Children's Museum. As president of my high school’s National Honor Society, volunteering became a regular part of my life and continued throughout my time at Michigan State University. 

Erica Osman | Communications Specialist

Erica develops strategic communications and impactful storytelling to advance Revive & Thrive’s mission. She maintains brand standards and creates digital and print content for marketing and social media.  

Erica brings nearly two decades of experience in branding, graphic design, and marketing, specializing in developing compelling visual stories that connect organizations with their audiences across digital and print platforms. Erica has worked with leaders within the fashion industry and education reform, ensuring every piece of communication meets high standards for accessibility, brand consistency, and audience engagement. 

Erica’s First Volunteer Experience: As a child, my grandma and I volunteered together at Loaves & Fishes Ministries. We prepared dinner for guests, shared the meal with them, and washed the dishes. These nights taught me the importance of dignity and compassion regardless of circumstance. 

Brittany Hill | Bookkeeper & Kitchen Assistant

Brittany oversees financial operations to ensure accurate recordkeeping and compliance while also assisting Executive Chef Mandy with kitchen operations.  

Brittany holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Eastern Michigan University. She brings over two decades of accounting and administrative experience, including writing financial reports for grants as a senior accountant at the University of Michigan and serving as an administrative assistant for a seminary. Brittany served on her children's school PTO board and as treasurer on the high school band board. She began as a kitchen volunteer at Revive & Thrive, where her talents quickly made her an indispensable member of the team. 

Brittany’s First Volunteer Experience: My family volunteered to serve Thanksgiving dinner at a homeless shelter when I was in middle school. Afterward, we celebrated our own fun Thanksgiving at a truck stop, and I remember how good it felt to put others first.  

Nico Thompson | Kitchen Assistant

Nico assists Chef Mandy in managing kitchen operations, including food preparation, supervising kitchen volunteers and teen chefs, and maintaining kitchen hygiene standards.  

Nico began at Revive & Thrive as a teen chef volunteer and brings a lifelong passion for the culinary arts. She brings kitchen and prep/line cook experience from diverse restaurants across Grand Rapids, and her creativity inspires fresh, innovative approaches to familiar dishes. 

Nico’s First Volunteer Experience: My first volunteer experience was with the West Michigan Humane Society, and it was a lot of fun because I was able to hang out with animals all day. 

Lori Wolter | Kitchen Assistant

Lori assists Executive Chef Mandy in preparing high-quality meals. She supports food preparation, monitors kitchen volunteers, and guides teen chefs while maintaining kitchen hygiene standards. 

Guided by her belief that food is among life's most meaningful gifts, Lori pursued her culinary arts degree from the Secchia Institute for Culinary Education at Grand Rapids Community College. She combines her professional training with a genuine passion for nourishing others in her work. 

Lori’s First Volunteer Experience: As a young adult, I mentored children in an under-resourced elementary school and helped parents with transportation needs. 

 

Note: Total hours of the Revive & Thrive staff are equivalent of 7 full-time employees.

Meet the Board

Donna Tefft

Board President

Donna retired from her position as chief operations officer at D.A. Blodgett – St. John’s in the spring of 2021, following a career that included direct service, volunteer management, grant writing, program development, mentoring and coaching, risk management, quality assurance and evaluation, accreditation, and executive leadership. Eager to find new and unique ways to continue to serve our community, Donna found the mission of the Revive & Thrive Project to be a great fit with her passion for individual, family, and community well-being.

In addition to her work as an accreditation consultant, Donna serves as a Peer Reviewer for the Council on Accreditation. Donna is an active outdoorswoman, favoring running, hiking, and biking to most anything other than time with her husband, children, and grandchildren, preferably in northern Michigan.

Sue Dempsey

Vice President

Sue is senior vice president at Acrisure Business Services at Acrisure, LLC. She is passionate about developing and engaging high-performing leaders and teams, transformation, and metrics-driven culture in operations. She currently leads a 900+ person shared services team across executional accounting, human resource, and service center operations. Sue has diverse experience with West Michigan companies including Kellogg Company, Stryker Medical, and Ernst & Young. She also founded Dempsey’s Frozen Custard with her husband. Sue received her Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Houston, completed her Bachelor’s of Business in Accountancy from Western Michigan University, and is also a Certified Public Accountant. She has advanced education from the Executive Development Program, Integrated Operations Management, at Michigan State University, and Hackett Institute Global Business Services Leadership Training. She served as a board member of SAFE Place and Stars & Stripes Child Care Center and was actively involved in multiple Kellogg Business Employee Resource Groups focused on the development of employees and diversity in the workplace including Women of Kellogg (WOK) leadership team.

Sue and her husband Bart have a passion for healthy eating and exercise (Sue is a 15-year cancer survivor) and love spending time with their four children, two grandchildren, and three granddogs.

Krista Koster, CPA, MSA

Board Treasurer

Krista is a senior manager at Hungerford Nichols. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Cornerstone University, and completed her Master’s in Accountancy at Grand Valley State University. As part of the Specialized Accounting Services Team, Krista works closely with a variety of businesses and not-for-profit organizations to ensure they have accurate financial information. Her areas of expertise include accounting processes, financial statements, payroll, budgeting, and cleaning up accounting messes.

Krista brings her passion for healthy eating to our team. In addition to cooking plant-based, Krista enjoys spending time with her family, playing golf, reading, and watching the Detroit Tigers.

Julie VanGessel

Board Member

Julie VanGessel is a dedicated advocate for community empowerment and development in West Michigan, particularly in Grand Rapids.

With a background in sales and non-profit work, Julie is driven by her passion for youth development, social justice, and economic progress. She stands as a lifelong advocate for community development and empowerment. In her current role in member engagement at the GR Chamber, her belief in nurturing robust business relationships extends beyond individual enterprise success; it encompasses a broader vision of contributing to regional economic growth and overall well-being.

Julie actively contributes to the community by serving on various boards, including the Mary Free Bed YMCA. She resides in East Grand Rapids with her husband John, a Special Education teacher and high school football coach, their four children, and their Goldendoodle, Lou Holtz. The VanGessel family’s deep ties to the community are evident in their engagement in diverse activities, often centered around sports and community work.

Nancy Short

Board Member

Nancy is a native Michigander and professional people person. Her career, focused on strategic initiatives and engagement, has spanned a breadth of industries from government to health care, where her guiding principle has always been a desire to help others accomplish something bigger than themselves. Her greatest satisfaction comes from witnessing the moment someone’s eyes light up when they see the bigger picture and their role in it. 

After majoring in political science and psychology at the University of Michigan, Short pursued a master’s degree in political management at The George Washington University and began her career in government and politics. She’s thrilled to be working for Corewell Health as the Manager of Board Governance, where she established the department and leads its daily operations. Her leadership efforts include integrating board governance and best practices across the organization, harmonizing five fiduciary boards and 30+ committees, and helping them to achieve effective and efficient operations with a positive culture.

Nancy is deeply committed to her community, believing that “Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth” (Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm).  A proponent of movement, food, and the arts as medicine, she’s delighted to serve on the Revive & Thrive Project board to put her belief of food as medicine into practice.

John Williams CPA

Board Member

John is an income tax manager at Meijer Inc. Previously, he spent five years with BDO as a member of the core tax services group and four years with Vail Resorts as an EMT/patroller while living in Colorado. He is a Grand Rapids native and Michigan State University alumni. John brings his accounting skills and passion for helping others within the community to Revive & Thrive Project. He enjoys working in his garden and cooking new meals with the produce, seeing first-hand the positive impacts of fresh food and quality nutrition on a person’s overall health.

Michael Puff, MD, FACG

Board Member

With over 30 years of experience in his medical career, numerous academic appointments, and board certifications, Dr. Puff brings an unparalleled wealth of clinical expertise to Revive & Thrive Project. He is a lifetime proponent of Food as Medicine and feels strongly about the organization’s mission of providing nourishing meals to those facing a health crisis while empowering the next generation. Dr. Puff shared his passion for Revive & Thrive’s mission: "I am a gastroenterologist and have talked about Food as Medicine throughout my career. Diet is huge. It has enormous consequences. I enjoy giving back and appreciate being able to support the work of Revive & Thrive and empower more teens as they learn about healthy eating habits and volunteerism.” Not only is Dr. Puff a passionate supporter, but he can also be found volunteering in the kitchen or in packaging alongside teen volunteers, enjoying the opportunity to connect.

Jeanne M. Joppich

Board Member

Jeanne is a project accountant at Nienhuis Financial Group, serving small businesses and nonprofit organizations. In her early career, Jeanne held roles in Information Technology for large manufacturing companies, including Kimberly-Clark Corporation and MagnaDonnelly. She also served in the role of external auditor for large public companies with a focus on internal controls assessments. More recently, Jeanne has held various contract roles with nonprofits and small, family-owned businesses, where she can leverage her skills in accounting as well as systems and process improvement to help these organizations succeed.

Jeanne is passionate about the concept of food is medicine and looks forward to ways to educate and assist in that regard. Jeanne enjoys spending time reading, skiing, hiking, and doing anything near water.

Jeremy Burgin

Board Member

Jeremy is a purpose-driven leader committed to community transformation and empowerment. With a passion for health and culinary exploration, he brings intentionality to both his personal wellness and professional endeavors.

His most significant passion project, The Village99, provides critical resources and support to children and families in West Michigan while creating powerful connections between nonprofits and the resources they desperately need.

Throughout his professional journey, Jeremy has demonstrated an unwavering ability to support and elevate the dreams of those around him. His approach is characterized by strategic partnerships and active investment in promising business opportunities and community-driven solutions.

A devoted family man, Jeremy is married to Katherine, and together they are proud parents of four children. Based in West Michigan, he and his family embrace an active lifestyle, with a particular love for outdoor activities centered around sunshine and water. His personal philosophy centers on bringing light and life to every environment and relationship he encounters.

Courtney Schievink

Board Member

Courtney is a strategic human resources leader passionate about helping organizations achieve their purpose through people. As Vice President of Talent Strategy at AEBetancourt, she partners with executives across industries to design and implement customized human capital strategies that strengthen organizational effectiveness and drive long-term retention.

Beyond her professional role, Courtney contributes to the HR community as Director of Workforce Readiness for the Association for Human Resource Management and as Program Coordinator for Forge Connections, a women’s networking group in West Michigan. She also serves on AEBetancourt’s Values Committee, reflecting her commitment to fostering people-centered cultures.

Outside of work, Courtney values time with her husband and children, often camping in the warmer months or cheering on the Sparta hockey team from the ice rink in winter. With a personal connection to the importance of healthy eating, her family has experienced firsthand the transformative impact of food and lifestyle choices on overall well-being. She is honored to bring her passion for community health and organizational growth to the Revive & Thrive Project board.