A very warm welcome to the new NAACP President Wendy Fields and the new Lutheran Church of the Savior Pastor Nikki Smith! We are very pleased to have each of you leading parts of our ISAAC family! We look forward to the insights you’ll bring to our work together, building the Beloved Community. Thank you for these words:

Wendy Fields, President, Metropolitan Kalamazoo Branch of the NAACP

“I am a lifelong resident of Kalamazoo, MI. I retired from Kalamazoo County Government after 39 years of service in the Health and Human Services Dept. I am involved in my community through volunteerism, advocacy, education, and the overall fight for equality, equity and justice. These are some of the basic principles on which the NAACP was founded and continues to build upon. As we continue to move forward, we find it imperative that we work to rebuild the community’s trust in us. We are looking forward to restoring the integrity of this Branch through transparency, honesty, and the relationships

I am a member of the Galilee Baptist Church. I am a Life Member of the Metropolitan Kalamazoo Branch of the NAACP. I serve on Cradle Kalamazoo Steering Committee, which primary focus is to reduce infant mortality in Kalamazoo. I serve as a consultant for the WMED Fetal Infant Mortality Review program. I serve on the Executive Board of Hospice Care of Southwest Michigan, and am a member of the Northside Ministerial Alliance. And I’m a proud ISAAC G.E.M. (Give Every Month) donor!

I am the proud mother of two, Ivy and Darnell, and grandmother of three Whitney, Seantiana and Nicholas.

My passion is simply to, help others through truth, empowerment and advocacy. “If it takes courage to do the right thing, then something is wrong with that thing”. Author unknown

Pastor Nikki Smith

“Loving and serving our neighbors is a lifelong discipline and can take many forms. One of which is to call for justice, mercy, compassion and respect for all people, because all people are equally made in the image of God. I believe Jesus calls his disciples to testify to him both by our words and by our deeds. In this way God is glorified and our own faith in Jesus grows. Some ways I have practiced this include peacefully marching with civil rights groups in response to KKK rally’s, working with the Hispanic community to determine the best ways to provide support for undocumented families and individuals, and respectfully writing letters to local, state, and federal government politicians to advocate for social justice causes. I am very grateful for all the welcome and love I have experienced in moving from Madison, Indiana to the Kalamazoo area, and I am excited to begin serving in the Kalamazoo and Three Rivers community.”