June 18, 2008
Additional staff to bolster donor development, international business and Science Academy
Grand Rapids, MI (June 18, 2008) – Van Andel Institute announces the hiring of four new staff members to expand its capabilities in the areas of donor development and cultivation, international business development and middle school science education: Laurie Ward has been named Director of Development, Gerilyn May joins VAI as Senior Administrative Assistant in the Communications and Development department, Hung Nguyen-Quang begins work at VAI as International Business Analyst, and Randy Schregardus joins Van Andel Education Institute (VAEI) as Middle School Science Specialist.
As Director of Development, Laurie Ward will direct all VAI major, annual gift and capital campaigns as well as donor recognition and cultivation, matching and corporate gifts and memorial and tribute giving.
Ward has spent more than half her life serving and volunteering for nonprofit organizations. Previously she served as Senior Vice President of Hartsook Companies of Grand Rapids and Wichita, Kan., where she counseled nonprofit organizations throughout the nation on their annual giving, endowment and campaigns, and where she oversaw campaigns of more than $25 million. Ward was also the principle/owner of TusenTakk Consulting of Rochester/Winona, Minn. which advised nonprofit organizations in Rochester and throughout the upper Midwest, specializing in Ronald McDonald Houses, medical centers, hospice programs and social services.
Gerilyn May recently joined VAI as Senior Administrative Assistant in the Communications and Development department. In this newly created position, she will assist with donor relations and communications, campaign coordination, donor recognition, matching and corporate gifts, and memorial and tribute giving.
Hung Nguyen-Quang recently joined Van Andel Institute as International Business Analyst. In this newly created position, he will help the Institute evaluate and assess international collaborations and/or expansion opportunities worldwide.
Nguyen-Quang was Vice President of Finance and Controlling at HBPO North America in Troy before joining VAI. He has over 30 years of finance experience within the top 10 multinational companies in different industries, such as petrochemical (Total), pharmaceutical (Pfizer), construction (Walt Disney Corp.), and automobile (JCI). Nguyen-Quang lived and worked in France for 20 years, worked in the United Kingdom for two years, in the Middle-East (United Arab Emirates) for three years, and has worked in the United States since 1995.
As the VAEI Middle School Science Specialist, Randy Schregardus brings over 20 years of middle and high school science teaching and curriculum development experience to the Institute. This newly-created position will allow VAEI to expand inquiry-based science education to the middle school level, and to offer an additional series of unique professional development opportunities targeting middle school teachers. Much of Schregardus’s career has been spent in the Holland Public School District where he served as Science Department Chair, Science Olympiad Coach and U.S. First Robotics Coach.
He also served as a staff development leader, assisting and training teachers in inquiry-based teaching and learning, and has worked with the Michigan Department of Education on revisions and potential changes to the MEAP. Schregardus holds a B.A. in geology and biology from Hope College and an M.A. in science education from Western Michigan University.
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Established by Jay and Betty Van Andel in 1996, Van Andel Institute is an independent research organization dedicated to preserving, enhancing and expanding the frontiers of medical science, and to achieving excellence in education by probing fundamental issues of education and the learning process.