Jessica Kitchens (jessicakitchens@sbheritage.org), Assistant Director of the Salvation Army Kroc Campaign

Jessica assists in the coordination of fundraising events and grant-writing for The Salvation Army Kroc Campaign. She joined SBHF in 2005 through an internship program.Throughout her employment Jessica has worked in many areas of SBHF including Property Management and Marketing. She received her Masters of Public Administration degree in 2007 from IU-South Bend and her Batchelor's of Arts degree in Political Science from IU-Bloomington in 2003.


Judy Kukla (judykukla@sbheritage.org), Director of Administration and Human Resources

Judy works with the Director of Operations in the day-to-day financial transactions and record keeping. She maintains records for contract compliance, works closely with the property managers in maintaining their financial records and helps them in solving daily issues that arise in the management of their properties. Judy joined the SBHF staff in 2002; however she was also an intern while working on her Masters in Public Affairs. She earned a B.A. in Political Science and M.P.A. from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, both at IUSB. Prior to coming to SBHF, she worked for another local Community Development Corporation (Northeast Neighborhood Revitalization Organization.)


Patrick Lynch (patlynch@sbheritage.org), Staff Architect / Project Manager

Pat helps develop single / small multi-family residential projects. He provides the initial design and creates the bid packages after writing the preliminary specs. He is creating SBHF's own specification software and standardizing the spec elements that create the SBHF look. He provides design assistance to all projects undertaken by SBHF. Pat joined SBHF in 2003; however he worked at an intern for 2 years while he earned his B.S. in Architecture from the University of Notre Dame. He brings to the job a variety of related experiences: employment with an interior decorator, a carpenter and an architectural firm; running his own umbrella architecture business for 3 years; and moving his own house.

Suzanne Z. Miller, Development

Suzanne joined SBHF to assist with grant writing and program development for The Salvation Army Kroc Center in 2007. In January of 2008, her responsibilities were expanded to include strategic planning for fund development, researching and writing grants, and providing assistance in preparing proposals and reports for SBHF and the NNRO.

She has provided training and research services to government, business, health-care, educational institutions and not-for-profits throughout the Midwest. She also serves as an associate faculty member at Indiana University South Bend, teaching writing and business communications for the Departments of English and Women's Studies.  For more than 28 years she held various administrative positions at Indiana University South Bend where she managed a self-supporting outreach program with a staff of 15 full-time and more than 150 part-time employees.  Suzanne holds a B.A. From Gustavus Adolphus College (Minnesota) and an M.S. from Indiana University South Bend.

Gladys Muhammad (gladysm@sbheritage.org), Associate Director / Director of Colfax Campus

Gladys joined SBHF in 1987 as a Community Organizer with the specific responsibility to engage residents in the SBHF targeted areas in the critical issues affecting their neighborhoods drugs, crime, physical condition of properties and public works. Since then she has become the Associate Director and the Director of the Colfax Campus. While managing the Colfax Campus buildings (Colfax Cultural Center and Charles Martin Youth Center), she has acted a catalyst for holding meetings / events around issues that suddenly become of importance to the health of the neighborhood. Gladys earned a B.A. in General Studies and an A.S. in Early Childhood Education from IUSB. She trained in community organizing with the Gamaliel Foundation and the Change Agent Project (Center for Community Change, Washington D.C.). She was the first director of the YWCAs Battered Women's Shelter and a founder of the Martin Luther King Foundation.

Jeff L. Vitton, Planner in Residence

Jeff works for the City of South Bend's Department of Community and Economic Development, where he has been employed since 2006. As part of the City's Residency Program he provides staff support to both SBHF and the NNRO. The Residency Program enables coordination and planning between the CDC's and their partner, the City of South Bend. Jeff's projects include Lincolnway West, LaSalle Square, Weed and Seed, the Dollar House Program as well as the Near West and Northeast neighborhoods. He holds a B.S. degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Michigan State University and is an Americorps National Civilian Community Corps alumnus.


Jessie Whitaker (jaw@sbheritage.org), Director, LEND Homeownership Center

Jessie implements and coordinates the component parts of the LEND Homeownership Center: homeownership training; sales for SBHF and NNRO houses; subsidy financing; partnerships for obtaining conventional mortgages and the Employer Assisted Housing program for several local institutions. When she joined SBHF in this position in 2002, she had already worked as the Director for the Charles Martin Youth Center for five years. Jessie received a B.S. in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs program at IUSB. She received an M.S. in Administration with a focus on Not-For-Profit organizations from the University of Notre Dame. She earned a professional certificate for Home Ownership and Community Lending from the Neighborhood Reinvestment Training Institute. Jessie also has Masters Degree in Social Work and is Certified by the State of Indiana as a Foreclosure Prevention Specialist. Jessie has 5 years of experience as a mortgage loan officer and carries an Indiana Real Estate Salesperson License.