Gratitude for Growth: Meet Our Newest Board Members
Sharing the joy of generosity through impactful investment is at the heart of the Catholic Foundation, and that joy is clear in the addition of the four new appointments to the Foundation’s Board of Directions for 2022.
Learn more about each board member’s unique set of experiences and skills, and passion for building up the Church below.
Aaron Wilkerson is the Manager of Data at Learning Care Group, a child care provider based out of Novi. Aaron has over 15 years of experience in data & analytics and has specialized in building and driving data strategies that help companies leverage their data assets.
Aaron first learned about the Foundation five years ago, when it was in its early infancy. Intrigued by the Foundation’s mission, Aaron served as a committee member on the Marketing and Fund Development Committee. After doing committee work for the past few years, Aaron grew interested in serving the Foundation in a different capacity by joining the board.
“I’m inspired by the forward thinking and strategic vision of the Foundation. The Church has called younger Catholics like me to step up and be at the forefront of helping to shape what the future of the Church will look like. Philanthropy is a core pillar of our Catholic community that we need to continue to grow.”
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Maria Scott studied at the University of Michigan, Flint, where she earned her BBA in Marketing. For graduate education, she attended Lawrence Technological University, earned her MBA in Information Systems, and also worked at Electronic Data Systems as a systems engineer. Maria currently sits on the Capuchin Soup Kitchen’s cabinet committee in Detroit.
Maria first learned about the Catholic Foundation through a friend who invited her to attend the Foundation’s annual grant celebration and was later invited to sit on the Foundation’s Grant and Impact Committee.
“What inspires me most about the Catholic Foundation is that it brings together gifts of generous people and turns those gifts into opportunities in the community, from supporting a child’s education to supporting Catholic organizations who in turn are able to reach further into their communities. My hope in the leadership role is to be able to help the Foundation grow in its efforts to be able to aid and give hope to the community it serves,” she shares.
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Nicole Franzen Kuklewski has spent the last 15 years transforming corporate real estate and workplace environments through strategy and design. Prior to joining Haworth, a Michigan headquartered commercial furniture manufacturer, she worked in Sydney, Honolulu and Detroit in commercial development, construction and architecture.
Prior to joining the Foundation board, Nicole reflected deeply on what giving back to the Catholic community could like. In 2021, she picked up the phone and connected with Angela at the Foundation to see how she could lend her talent to serve. She is incredibly eager to give back as she feels immensely blessed by the gifts she received in her Catholic education and faith formation in her hometown church St. Joseph’s (Maybee) while attending St. Patrick’s Grade School (Carleton) and St. Mary’s Catholic Central Highschool (Monroe) and now as a parishioner at St. Patrick’s in Brighton.
As a mother of two, she wants to ensure her children not only hear but see how we take care of our community through the talents and gifts that God has bestowed upon us to share.
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Scott Bennett is a Senior Vice President at Peninsula Private Wealth of Raymond James in Birmingham. His key areas of focus include estate planning, retirement planning and business succession planning.
Scott first learned about The Catholic Foundation when it was introduced to his parish, Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, and instantly felt a connection to the mission of the foundation and a nudge from the Holy Spirit to get involved.
“Philanthropy is in the DNA of the planning we do with clients and what our team does personally. The foundation is an exciting way for Catholics to create a legacy to support important Catholic activities and organizations both now and for the future,” he shared.
The spirit of generosity that called these individuals to deeper service to their Catholic communities was also driven by confidence in the impact and fruitfulness of the Catholic Foundation of Michigan. President and CEO Angela Moloney is excited about the growth of the Foundation’s participation, asset size, and community awareness.
“As the Catholic Foundation continues to grow, I am pleased to welcome the highly talented leadership of our new board members. I am grateful for the dynamic and unique perspectives that each of them will bring to our community,” she says.
You, too, can approach your own call to generosity with confidence when you create a fund for the charitable organization you long to support!