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Photo by Marcus Snowden

Dea Andrews (deaandrews@sbheritage.org), Assistant to the Executive Director

Dea works with the Executive Director and maintains the minutes and other corporate / legal records for SBHF and its subsidiary corporations. She writes grants, runs the Colfax Campus Gallery, supports the Director of the Colfax Campus and is involved with many of the Executive Director's special projects. Since joining SBHF in 1978, Dea has managed the finances, bought and sold properties as well as providing all the paralegal work necessary for this activity. She earned a B.A. in Art History and an M.A.T. in Education from Oberlin (Ohio) College. She has taught in England, Kenya and India as well as in the U.S.A.

Stephanie Ball (stephanieball@sbheritage.org), Director of Home Ownership

Stephanie works with families to purchase new and rehabilitated SBHF homes and to retain homes during the threat of foreclosure. She offers group and one-on-one counseling sessions, homeownership and budgeting workshops and partner with local agencies to help families build assets through homeownership. Stephanie joined SBHF in October 2011 bringing vast knowledge in community resources, self-sufficiency programs and property management. Stephanie is a lifelong resident of South Bend and currently resides with her family in the northwest corridor where she actively engages in community service.

Stephanie earned her Masters of Public Administration degree from Indiana University South Bend and her undergraduate degree in Sociology from The Johns Hopkins University. She also holds an Accredited Residential Manager® designation from the Institute of Real Estate Management and a Certificate in Executive Management from the University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business.


Phil Byrd (philb@sbheritage.org), Director of Real Estate

Phil plans and develops SBHF's residential and commercial real estate projects taking them through the entire predevelopment stage and overseeing the construction/rehab and sale. He is also responsible for SBHF's contractual initiative with the Northeast Neighborhood Revitalization Organization. Phil joined SBHF in 2002, coming from 28 years in the banking business. Most of this time was spent in Commercial Banking as a Commercial Lending Officer. During part of the time he was the Executive Vice President of the retail bank department of Key Bank in Northern Indiana. Phil received a B.S. in Education from Ball State University and an M.S. in Education from IUSB. He also received a diploma from the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers, New Jersey. He continues to be an active volunteer for a number of community organizations.

Brad Dixon (braddixon@sbheritage.org), Construction Manager

Brad is responsible for construction project management oversight and team coordination of all projects including training for project management operations.  Brad’s responsibilities include negotiating and contracting all lower level contractors, establishing critical path schedules, reviewing submittals and shop drawings, establishing schedules of values/budget and coordinating field and office responsibilities.  Brad has over 35 years of extensive experience in project management including overseeing $70+million in project development over the course of his career. Brad is a LEED accredited professional and a Licensed Lead Abatement Supervisor.

Jessica Kitchens (jessicakitchens@sbheritage.org) Director of Communications/Program Development

Jessica coordinates public relations, marketing and communications for South Bend Heritage Foundation activities. Jessica also works with department heads in coordinating fund and program development. Jessica joined SBHF in 2005 through an internship program and throughout her employment has worked in many diverse areas of SBHF including residential property management. Previously, Jessica directed The Salvation Army Kroc Campaign which raised over $10 million towards the Kroc Center Community Match Campaign, bringing over $64 million in investment into the South Bend community. Jessica received her Masters of Public Administration degree in 2007 from IU-South Bend and her B.A in Political Science from IU-Bloomington in 2003.

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

Judy works with the Executive Director 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.

Marco Mariani (marcomariani@sbheritage.org), Executive Director

Marco joined South Bend Heritage Foundation as Executive Director in January 2011. Marco brings over 17 years of experience in community and economic development to SBHF. As Executive Director he manages all financial performance within a $5.8 million dollar budget, directs a staff of 16 (FT & PT) and is responsible for all operations.

Prior to joining South Bend Heritage Foundation, Marco served as the Executive Director of Downtown South Bend, Inc. (DTSB). In his capacity as Executive Director, he managed the organization’s day to day operations (hospitality, safety and beautification). He also provided fiscal management and discharged all marketing, public relations and business assistance activities. For many years, Marco was the Assistant Director for the City of South Bend Division of Community Development and managed a wide variety of projects and programs ranging from annexation, housing development and commercial corridor revitalization.

A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Marco received a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is an alumnus of the South Bend/Mishawaka Leadership Program. He enjoys playing racquetball, fishing and kayaking. He and his wife, Eileen, live in South Bend with their two children.

Suzanne Z. Miller (suzannemiller@sbheritage.org), Development/Grant Writer Consultant

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.



 

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