YWCA Women of Achievement 2023
Lifetime Achievement Award
Ellen Crane
Ellen Crane is the Associate Vice President & General Counsel for Saginaw Valley State University as well as the Interim Executive Director of the SVSU Foundation. As a member of the President's leadership team, Ellen serves as the University’s Chief Legal Officer by providing legal counsel and formulating strategies and solutions for issues impacting the University. During her tenure, Ellen created and implemented a General Counsel Internship program to provide meaningful legal work experience, mentorship and compensation to undergraduate students preparing to attend law school, or a similar graduate school program.
At the SVSU Foundation, Ellen leads a staff of professional resource and program developers and coordinates the governance of the University’s independent non-profit entity and with the goal to support and advance the educational mission of Saginaw Valley State University. During her tenure, the Foundation in collaboration with retiring President Donald Bachand, created a new Degree Completion Fund to provide scholarships to seniors who need extra financial support to ensure that they can successfully attain their bachelor's degree. In addition to these roles, Ellen also served as the Human Resources Director at SVSU. During her service at Saginaw Valley State University, Ellen has been a mentor to her colleagues, administrative staff, and student assistants. Prior to joining SVSU, Ellen was a Member Attorney at Braun Kendrick, from 1995-2017.
Her dedication to the community includes service on many Boards, as she currently serves as Board Treasurer for the Harvey Randall Wickes Foundation, Member of the Board for Covenant Hospital, and on Huntington Bank’s Great Lakes Bay Region Advisory Board since 2012. Ellen has previously served as a board member for numerous organizations throughout the Great Lakes Bay Region and the State, including the Saginaw Chamber of Commerce, the Michigan Baseball Foundation, the Delta College Foundation, and as Board Chair for the Council of Michigan Foundations. Her leadership has been acknowledged by the RUBY Award, Saginaw Chamber of Commerce Spirit of Saginaw Award, and by the Leadership Saginaw Alumni. Ellen leads by example and his a vital resource for the Great Lakes Bay Region.
Civic & Nonprofit
Jane Fitzpatrick
Jane Fitzpatrick has spent her entire career working for the public/nonprofit sector, which started with the State of Michigan. She moved to Naples, FL in the mid 1980's and was hired to be the Collier County Director of Growth Management, where she focused on the county economic and growth strategy. During her time at Collier County, her department received a State of Florida award for Best Public Participation. Jane transitioned to working as a public sector consultant with clients in Colorado, Florida, Montana, Oregon, and Washington State, and returned to Michigan in the mid-1990's. At the Program Manager for the Eastern Michigan Council of Governments (EMCOG), she was responsible forJane transitioned to working as a public sector consultant with clients in Colorado, Florida, Montana, Oregon, and Washington State, and returned to Michigan in the mid-1990s. As the Program Manager for the Eastern Michigan Council of Governments (EMCOG), she was responsible for economic and community development projects over a 14 county region. She retired from EMCOG earlier this year.
Jane has been a community volunteer throughout her career, with organizations like the Naples Conservancy in Florida, and once she returned to Michigan serving on the board of the Michigan Association of Planning (MAP.) During her time with MAP, she was a co-author of the current Michigan Planning Enabling Legislation, and worked for MAP as their lobbyist for successful passage of the law. She has also been a member of the Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Task Force, the Michigan Water Asset Management Council, and is a current board member of the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy and the East Side Soup Kitchen. Jane says she enjoys working on projects and serving the communities within the capacity of both organizations. That being said, Jane said her greatest accomplishment, and one that she is most proud of, is raising her two incredible sons, Sam and Jim Fitzpatrick.
Arts & Education
Jenny Geno
Jenny Geno is the Executive Director of Career and Technical Education at the Saginaw Intermediate School District in Saginaw, Michigan. With over 20 years of experience in CTE, Jenny has a deep passion for improving the lives of students and adults through the robust training and career opportunities that CTE offers. Through the lens of equity and access, Jenny works to break down barriers and create new paths toward rewarding careers for all individuals. She believes that education, in all forms, is the great equalizer.
Governor’s Workforce Development Board, the Michigan Apprenticeship State Advisory Board, and the Michigan Career Education Planning District Executive Board, and the Michigan Association of Career and Technical Education Board of Directors. Locally, she serves on the Board for organizations like: Saginaw Future, the Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce, the GLB Michigan Works Career Education Advisory Council Board, the Great Lakes Bay Manufacturers Association Board, and Partnershift to name a few. Jenny has received awards from organizations like the Junior League, Michigan Manufacturer’s Association, Michigan Association of Career and Technical Education, and recently the National Administrator of the Year Award from the Association of Career and Technical Education.
Ms. Geno is a Michigan State University graduate and received her Master’s and Education Specialist Degree from Saginaw Valley State University, with additional credits in Career and Technical Education from Wayne State University. She was a Gerstacker Fellow through SVSU in 2016 and is a 2020 graduate of the Henry Marsh Institute for Public Policy. Her lifelong work is centered on supporting equitable opportunities for all, regardless of background or zip code.
Healthcare
Jennifer Marar
Jennifer Marar is passionate about community and strives to make a difference. Jennifer joined MyMichigan Health in 2011 as a Practice Manager. She has served as Director of Operations for MyMichigan Medical Group and currently serves as director of operations of MyMichigan Medical Center Mt. Pleasant. She was instrumental in the growth of the facility from a health park into a medical center in 2017 and has lead and fostered the culture since. Within MyMichigan Health, Jennifer chairs the We Care Committee and serves on the Sunshine Committee; she is also the past chair of the MyMichigan Health United Way campaign. She is a coach for MyMichigan’s Best and a mentor and advisor to several colleagues.
In the community, Jennifer serves as Vice Chair of the Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce and the Vice Chair of Habitat for Humanity of Isabella County. She also serves on the Community Mental Health Summit Club House Advisory Board and the board of the Mt. Pleasant Surgery Center. As a Rotarian, she is a Co-Chair of the annual Mt. Pleasant Rotary Auction and is Co-Chair of a club mental health project. Jennifer can often be found working at food distributions, planning health fairs and education with community businesses and organizations, scheduling blood drives and donating blood, selling raffle tickets, and building floats for community parades in central Michigan. Jennifer earned her BA in Political Science from Alma College and her MS in Healthcare Administration and Leadership from SVSU. She has two adult children, Nathanael and Gemma. With her husband, Shyam, she enjoys domestic and international travel and writes a travel blog, Travel for Two.
Business & Entrepreneurship
Anesha Stanley
Anesha Stanley, a woman of grace and grit, is a businesswoman, philanthropist, and author. Carrying on her great grandmother Eliza’s birth worker legacy, a traveling midwife in the early 1900’s, Anesha founded Full Circle Doula Services. As a certified lactation counselor, birth, bereavement and postpartum doula, childbirth educator, and placenta encapsulation specialist, she passionately supports birthing persons’ experiencing a self-determined birth without fear and a rebirth into womanhood in the fourth trimester. Alongside her husband, Ronald Stanley, they’ve founded the award-winning Keys of Hope Foundation, a hope inspiring support group and nonprofit with a mission dedicated to breaking the silence, supporting families and promoting awareness of pregnancy and infant loss, infertility, and maternal and infant wellness.
A prodigy in both the spiritual and natural, she is redefining what it means to be trailblazer and a servant leader. Armed with a message of hope and faith, Anesha's personal mission is to relentlessly support, inspire and encourage all women, especially angel mothers and women experiencing infertility.
She is an alumnus of Michigan State University (Go Green) with a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism. She is a member of Sigma Gamma Rho, Sorority Inc., Michigan Breastfeeding Network CORE Cohort, Michigan Doula Advisory Council, and the Junior League of the Great Lakes Bay Region. Of all of her accomplishments Anesha is most proud of the life she and her “high school sweetheart” have built together. Together they are parents of five angel babies and one rainbow baby, Sinai Olivia. They reside in Saginaw, Michigan.
Social Justice & Advocacy
Pat Franklin-Lindsey
Patricia is the Community Development Relationship Manager of Huntington’s Central and Northern Michigan Region. Patricia has spent over 25 years helping impact the communities throughout the state by building and maintaining programs and activities that help make a positive impact. She works with internal and external partners to identify opportunities for community involvement, develop and implement community outreach plans, and evaluate the impact of community engagement activities. One of her main focuses is addressing the disparities of wealth building and meeting credit needs in the community. She is super passionate working on delivering solutions that remove barriers associated with underserved demographics.
Patricia is an active community advocate. She currently serves on a host of boards and committees including the Michigan CRA Association, Metro Community Development Financial Institution Loan Committee, Saginaw-Shiawassee Habitat for Humanity, and the Saginaw County Diversity Equity & Inclusion Strategic Planning Committee. Patricia’s passion for her work has afforded a plethora of accomplishments and awards, including a Tribute for Community Development from John Moolenaar, United States House of Representatives, and a State of Michigan Recognition for Community Services. She received the Community Ambassador Award from the Saginaw Chapter of the NAACP and the Community Spirit Award for outstanding commitment to Affordable Housing and Community Development from Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis. Patricia earned her Associate Degree from Delta College in Business Studies and Fashion Merchandising, and her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Northwood University. She is also a proud graduate of Saginaw Leadership. She resides in the Great Lakes Bay region with her husband, Allen Lindsey with a blended family of four children.
Lorraine Patterson Award
Ann Coburn-Collins
The Lorraine Patterson Award is to recognize the recipient’s volunteerism and commitment to the advancement of women.
Ann Coburn-Collins was the Director of Adjunct Faculty and Academic Support Programs at Saginaw Valley State University where she was also a member of the adjunct faculty. In her role as the Director, she was charged with supporting SVSU’s Adjunct Faculty working to find effective means to meet their needs. She did this by providing professional development in teaching and learning, finding novel ways to streamline the adjunct faculty employment process, and supplying the adjunct faculty with the tools necessary for course preparation and delivery. Through her time at SVSU she also created and directed the Center for Academic Achievement, the Testing Center and the Office of Accessibility Resources and Accommodations. In terms of her volunteerism, she helped research and write the 2012 and 2022 Economic Status of Women reports and served on the YWCA Board of Directors for 8 years, as well as on the Advocacy Committee. In her capacity on the Board, she served in the positions of Secretary, Chair, and Past-Chair. She continues to strongly support the mission of the YWCA.