The Team
Behind the scenes at Start Garden.
Jorge Gonzalez
Director
A Grand Rapids native holding a degree in Public Administration and minors in both Business and Sociology from GVSU, Jorge joins the Start Garden team in 2017 from his time as Executive Director of the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Prior to that, he was at LINC UP as the Director of Economic Development for four years and has 15 years of experience in the banking industry. His last banking position was as VP of Community Development from 2005 to 2010. In his spare time he enjoys running, occasional golf, spending time with friends and family.
Paul Moore
Director
Paul loves stories. Every business tells one and some are great. His twenties started in art, then went to filmmaking and wound up in marketing, where he realized all along he was prototyping things he found socially interesting. He’s worked with Rick DeVos since 2005 when they started Spout.com, then ArtPrize, 5×5 Night, and Start Garden. As Marketing Director on the original ArtPrize team, he helped launch an event that both enamored and appalled the art world. He has a Masters of Design Methods from the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology. You can find Paul in Eastown with his wife, Kristen, and their three kids.
Laurie Supinski
Director
A native New Yorker who also spent time as a lobbyist in Washington D.C., Laurie eventually landed in the Midwest running a fly fishing business on the Muskegon River with her husband. They have just recently launched a new digital fly fishing magazine. Through her experience with the Newaygo County Economic Development Office, Laurie found her passion connecting entrepreneurs to the resources in West Michigan, leading to her previous role at Emerge WM. Now as a Director at Start Garden, her ability to connect people to the vast resources available within the community has proven to be her calling. In her spare time (when not busy doing layout and design for the magazine – LOL) you can find Laurie traveling to the East Coast to spend time visiting family and friends.
Darel Ross II
Director
Indicative of the rooted connection to the neighborhood where he was raised, Darel first began his entrepreneurial career opening an insurance agency in Southeast Grand Rapids. For more than nine years Darel served LINC’s Board of Directors as Treasurer, and most recently as the organization’s Co-Executive Director, serving a critical role that brings together housing, economic development, essential needs services, business incubation and real estate development serving Kent County. Through his leadership, Ross has helped secure over $67 million in funding for community improvement efforts resulting in over 300 families increasing their assets, training over 600 residents, improving over 750 homes and creating over 120 full-time jobs.
Belen Salas
Program/Membership Manager
Belen (sounds like Helen, but with a B), originally from Mexico and eventually made Grand Rapids her home. Belen loves community work and advocacy. Most recently, she served as the Administrative Assistant at the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Prior to that she worked at Linc Up as a Community Liaison, and that is where she found her passion, which is helping the community and hispanic businesses. Belen loves to try new foods and one of her favorites is Ethiopian food. If there is music you can find Belen dancing her day away.
Murphy Ackerman
Marketing Manager
Through various efforts and initiatives Murphy has put her passions about civic engagement and growth in Grand Rapids into practice. Her interest in politics and community engagement originated from her studies at GVSU and flourished in her five years at Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. (DGRI) and continued as she pursued additional experiences and opportunities such as Civicize Me and Leadership Grand Rapids. In addition to contributing to the growth of the city you can find her planning spontaneous road trips, listening to political podcasts, working local elections and coordinating events for her closest friends- including regular karaoke and game nights.
Adrian (AB) Butler
Brand & Social Media Ambassador
Adrian “AB” Butler has become an ambassador for the city of Grand Rapids and its unique breed of entrepreneurial creatives. As the frontman and founder of AB and Coconut Brown! (2007), the emcee helped craft a sound that delighted hip-hop heads and party people alike, earning the band numerous accolades including Grand Rapid’s Best Band (GR Magazine 2011). Ten years later in 2021, AB received GR Magazine’s Best DJ Award. His DJ sets are a cool mix of timeless classics, underground bangers, and everyone’s favorite songs. He seamlessly blends the new and the old, criss-crossing genres and tapping into a deep understanding of what gets people up out of their seats and onto the dance floor.
Erica Hooser
Grants Manager
As the Grant Manager, Erica manages and coordinates overall review of contracts and grant agreements. Erica brings a passion for engaging in efforts towards the renewal of human societies, participating in initiatives ranging from grassroots community nonprofit to organizing around human rights issues. She has worked over a decade in the nonprofit settings in various administrative roles. Erica enjoys connecting vision to results through a system of collaborative approaches, generating effective strategies. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, watching DIY shows and visiting different zoos.
Sayroan Mohamed
Intern
Growing up in the heart of Grand Rapids, Sayroan has always had a great impact in her community. The involvement of great programs like the Leadership Employment Achievement Direction (Lead) and the Grassroots up initiative has pushed her passion to help convene community voices on social issues. Attending Grand Rapids Community College, she has been involved in many different programs including president of Black African Student Union (BASU), student involvement in Nia-Women with Purpose organization,TRIO and the Office of Diversity Equity and Inclusion. Whenever she has free time she loves writing poetry and going on nature walks! Fun fact she is a twin!
Laura Arriaga
Intern
Laura is originally from Mexico, she has been working at start ganden since July 2020. She likes learning new things. Her favorite hobbies include exploring nature and trying new foods.
Board Members:
Bill Lawrence, 42 North Partners
Mary O’Neil, Atomic Object
Luciano Hernandez, Tiger Studio Design
Hannah Naltner, Steelcase
Joe Lampen, Wakestream Ventures
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