Reflections Magazine Issue #76 - Spring 2012

Alumni Profile Spreading Goodwill in West Michigan Alumni Profile “Y Photo By Adam Bird—The Grand Rapids Press Kathy Crosby ’93, ’06/MA Has Spent Her 30-Year Career Helping Others Editor’s Note: This is an edited feature that ran in the November 2011 issue of Women’s Lifestyle Magazine. This is used with permission. By Sara Catlett “I can’t think of anything that makes me feel better about myself than being generous with others . . . that is where real happiness comes from.” 22 Reflections Spring ’12 ou can never be too kind or too generous.”These are the words of Goodwill of Greater Grand Rapids CEO Kathy Crosby’s screen saver, which set the pace for her work each day. Her 30-year career with Goodwill has been motivated by these principals from the start. Crosby ’93, ’06/MA started her career with Goodwill in 1980 as an office clerk in Detroit. A self-proclaimed late bloomer, she started college in her 30s, earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from Siena Heights University’s Metro Detroit Program. From there she went on to earn her master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from SHU. In the late 1990s, she transferred to the Goodwill office in Bethesda, Md., where she won a scholarship to the University of Maryland Smith School of Business, earning her executive MBA in 2006. She arrived in Grand Rapids and took over as CEO in December of 2006. Her successes were widely acknowledged after receiving the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce ATHENA Award in July 2011. Crosby was also honored this spring by the West Michigan Business Journal as one of its “50 Most Influential Women.” Goodwill Industry’s mission is to “change lives and communities through the power of work.”The organization works to create jobs and provide training and support while employees transition into permanent positions in the community. Crosby truly believes that “given income, independence, and the ability to feed their families,” communities can be transformed. She has witnessed this in Grand Rapids firsthand, as Goodwill Industries of the greater Grand Rapids area successfully transitioned 1,300 people into other businesses in 2010. Goodwill is most often recognized by their donated goods stores, which generate profit to fund the employment programs. The stores themselves create 20 jobs pe

Reflections Magazine Issue #76 - Spring 2012 | Page 22