Alysia Christy

Director of Community Impact
About MACF

Alysia Christy

Alysia Christy – In Her Own Words

“I’ve been Director of Community of Impact with the Midland Area Community Foundation since 2019.

Before working with the Community Foundation, I had only worked in the field of social work. I had been in direct service leadership, and I thought that was where I wanted to be for the rest of my life because I could stand on the soapbox of advocacy, support, and wraparound care to marginalized populations. When I realized that we were going to move [back] to Midland, I started looking for a different job. Somebody reached out to me and said, ‘Hey, this job kind of sounds like you.’ I read the listing and had no idea what a community foundation was. I had no idea the power of a community foundation. I thought, ‘Hmm… that sounds interesting.’ And now, I tell people I have the opportunity to be a ‘community social worker,’ and I never knew something like that could exist. I never knew community foundations could work alongside so many organizations to engage in genuinely transformational work.

Most of my childhood was spent in Midland. I moved here when I was around eight years old and was here through high school. I remember learning about River Days and Santa’s House, but I never knew the infrastructure that had to exist to support activities like these. I was truly one of those people who thought, ‘Things just happen in Midland, I guess.’ Upon graduation from high school, I went to Saginaw Valley State University for my undergraduate studies and completed my grad program at Michigan State University.

I love having the ability to be so integrated in our community.  I get to have relationships with so many people who are doing amazing things and have a genuine belief in supporting and serving their community in really bold and brave ways. I have the fortune of seeing Midland as an entire system. I don’t just serve one niche of our community. I have the privilege to support, see, connect, and learn from those who are doing meaningful work. I’m so grateful I’m able to be myself at work, and by that, I mean I don’t take it for granted that I can show up every day in a vulnerable and authentic way. That’s taken a lot of courage from me and permission from the Community Foundation to not have to ‘fit inside of a box.’ If we want to encourage our community to do that, I must challenge myself to do that, too.

I have three kids and a husband. They’re busy. All our kids are younger than ten years old. I don’t think I’ve slept a full night’s sleep in a long time. I love this opportunity to serve humans authentically, right? I am a foster mom and an adoptive mom. That is a massive part of my identity. The reality is that how I parent and view family has been created by this unique sense of what a family can look like. I love that family doesn’t have to be a biological thing for me – this is what works. With that comes a lot of additional thoughts, fears, and responses. When you support, love, and parent kids from hard places, you have to look at the whole structure of parenting and family which is exactly how I approach community impact. I want to be a part of building a community where my kids will have access to thrive and be accepted for who they are – even based on the situations and experiences they’ve been a part of that might not be typical for everyone.

Midland, for my stage of life, is a beautiful place to raise a family and have unique recreational opportunities. We have physical assets in our community – whether our parks, trails, or green spaces, I don’t take them for granted. My hope for Midland is that we continue to unearth all the people and things happening in a really inclusive and intentional way, making them more visible in the community. In my role, I work with people doing extraordinary things to support our vision statement that Midland will be a place where everyone can thrive, but not everyone gets to see that side of Midland, yet. I hope we get to a place where inclusive practices and genuine compassion, care, and concern for the community will be at the forefront of what people love most about the Midland… I am privileged to be able to witness people doing that every day.”

Midland Area Community Foundation

Staff

Sharon Mortensen

President & CEO

Kyle Fahrner

Chief Financial Officer

Alysia Christy

Director of Community Impact

Raquel Brown

Director of Development

Heather Crowl

Scholarship Coordinator & Impact Assistant

Laura Dittenber

Administrative & Development Assistant

Kevin LaDuke

Communications Officer

Luiz Quellis

Finance Manager

Kristin Sovis

Postsecondary Education Leader

Nicole Morreale

Executive Assistant

Sara JacobsCarter

Youth Impact Coordinator