Former Grand Rapids Public Schools Board President Wendy Falb formally launched her 2nd Ward city commission campaign Friday amid another controversial week for police-community relations.

An artist, educator and organizer, Sofía Ramírez Hernández shares her story through her work so that others won’t have to struggle the way she did. Hers is a story of immigration, identity definition and institutionalized discrimination.

It’s hard to keep track of how many ways Brandy Arnold is involved with making Grand Rapids a better place.

Frankly, Eleanor Moreno’s story is colorful and eventful enough to be its own book, much less a magazine article. Organizer, activist, consultant, translator — Moreno can best be described as “heavily involved.”

Although her journey did not begin in the state, Kim Collins found a place to call home here in West Michigan. Taking the parts of her life she loved, she turned them into passions and followed through on making her dream job a reality.

When Ace Marasigan moved here from the Philippines at age 16, he brought some of home with him, but even more so when he founded the Grand Rapids Asian-Pacific Festival. 

Jenny Kinne, the new owner of Cherry Street’s beloved independent bookstore Books & Mortar, started her career selling books out of her parents’ basement and exchanging her favorite paperbacks for Monopoly money. A series of professional adventures, mostly focused on nonprofit development and public policy, led her to Fountain Street Church, Planned Parenthood, Michigan League for Public Policy and eventually life as a business owner. Her love for public policy and community activism is what eventually sparked her passion for owning a progressive, independent bookstore.