Board of Directors

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Mary Kelly, Chair

Mary Kelly has worked in the education field for thirty-five years. She began her career as an IL special education teacher in Cuba, Lincoln, and Geneseo communities. She spent the past ten years as the Principal for Galva Elementary in Galva, IL. Her final position upon retirement will have her working as the LEAD grant coordinator at the Regional Office of Education, Atkinson, which mentors aspiring leaders in the administrative field. 

Julie Robinson, Vice-Chair

Julie Robinson was born in New Zealand and grew up in Brisbane, Australia. Earning a BS in Biochemistry and a PhD in cancer research from the University of Queensland allowed Julie to pursue her passion for discovery and desire to make a positive difference by working as a medical research scientist for ten years, prior to immigrating to Geneseo, Illinois with her American husband. Julie and her husband are blessed to have four teenage sons who keep them busy with all their activities, including the eldest who has Down Syndrome. 

Julie currently works for Kuster Research and Consulting as a research and development (R&D) associate and recently graduated with distinction from Capella University with a Master of Business Administration (MBA), specializing in healthcare management. She also worked in a volunteer capacity as chair of the finance committee and the executive committee of her local church for four years, overseeing a $550,000 annual budget. Julie is honored to serve as an Inspire board member.

Mark Grywachesk, Treasurer

Mark Grywacheski is a Partner and Financial Advisor with Quad Cities Investment Group in Davenport. For over fourteen years, Mark was a professional trader on Chicago’s financial exchanges and is an expert in market volatility, market analysis and risk management.

His insights on investing, economic analysis and the financial markets have been requested from the international think-tank Paulson Institute and from global news outlets such as CNBC, Yahoo Finance, The Washington Post, Voice of America News, ABC News and Reuters News Service. His weekly TV segment Your Money with Mark appears each Monday morning on WQAD’s Good Morning Quad Cities and his weekly column Mark-To-Market appears each Sunday in the Quad-City Times and The Dispatch-Argus newspapers. He is also a resident columnist for Lee Enterprise’s quarterly Insight magazine.

Melanie Rice, Secretary

Melanie Rice, MSW, lives in Geneseo, IL.  She is married to Klint Rice and has 4 adult children, one of which has Down Syndrome.  She was a school social worker in the Geneseo School District for 33 years and retired in May 2024.  Additionally, she is an adjunct professor for the School of Social Work at St. Ambrose University and is also the Director of the Geneseo Historical Museum beginning June 1, 2024.  She was also a volunteer at GiGi’s Playhouse for many years working with individuals with Down Syndrome and providing fun activities for socialization. Melanie was a co-leader for the ICC inaugural fundraising event, the Big Buckle Barn Dance and will continue to be a part of that event and expansion of other community events and supports.  She is excited to be a part of the Board of Directors at Inspire Continuing Care to continue working towards education of the community as well as supporting and advocating for individuals with disabilities.  

Erin Hamer

Erin Hamer was born and raised in the Geneseo, IL area and has remained here to raise her family. Erin and her husband enjoy the small town and Midwest values and appreciate the way the community accepts their family which includes their daughter, Paige (Rett Syndrome), and two boys. Most of their free time is spent supporting the boys as they participate in various sporting events and helping Paige reach her full potential.

Erin graduated from Illinois State University with a Bachelor Science in Accounting and passed the CPA exam. She has worked for the last 25 years for John Deere and has experience across multiple divisions, units, and functions. Currently, she works as Manager, Governance and Strategic Planning at John Deere. Over her career, Erin has demonstrated the ability to lead significant projects from planning to implementation, cultivate and leverage highly effective relationships to achieve goals, analyze, interpret, and communicate information, and rapidly adapt to changing environments.

Mike Laingen

Mike Laingen is a lifelong resident of the Geneseo area, attending Geneseo schools and graduating from Geneseo High School. Mike received his Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Wisconsin – Platteville. He has been employed by Central Bank Illinois for the past 30 years, currently as a Sr. Vice President and Systems Analyst overseeing the Core, E-Banking and Debit Card Services areas, and has previously held the position of Compliance Officer for the bank.

Mike and his wife Tara have three children, all residing in Geneseo. Mike’s involvement in the Geneseo Community consists of coaching youth football for nearly 20 years, past Treasurer and a founding member of the Geneseo Football Booster Club. Mike currently is a member of the Geneseo Youth Football Board. Mike was drawn to ICC, as he has witnessed the incredible impact that ICC and its staff has had on his nephew Christian, and all of the ICC participants.

Denise Ford

Denise Ford, MSW lives in Geneseo, IL with her husband and two children.  She is an elementary school social worker for the Geneseo School District.  She has worked for the district for over 20 years.  Denise has a passion for working with and advocating for people with disabilities.  She volunteered for many years with Gigi’s Playhouse promoting fun and purposeful social gatherings.  Denise and her family were recognized with the Generation G Award for their involvement in this organization. In her spare time, you can find Denise cheering on her children in their activities, rooting for her Montana State Bobcats or shopping.  Often described as the fun aunt, Denise loves to bring laughter and fun into all of her adventures.

Jennifer Johnson

Jenn Johnson is currently employed as the Director of Inspire Continuing Care. Jenn began working on the vision for ICC with families in the Geneseo community beginning in 2018. 

Jenn began working in the Special Education field in 2010, after spending the previous fourteen years at home full-time with her children.  From 2010 - 2021, she worked as a highly qualified special education paraprofessional in all grade levels (K-12+) of the Life Skills program in the Geneseo, IL public school district. Jenn successfully implemented an adaptive curriculum for students with a wide array of unique learning needs, most specifically working with students experiencing communication and mobility challenges. Jenn studied Elementary Education at University of Tulsa and is a Certified Paraprofessional (Illinois).