Staff
Executive Director – holly jo Sparks
holly jo has 20+ years experience in cooperatives, planning, and nonprofit leadership. She previously held the position of Executive Director for North American Students of Cooperation (NASCO) and the Santa Barbara Student Housing Cooperative (SBSHC). She has served on many boards & advisory committees, including the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA), Shared Capital Co-op, the Kagawa Fund Trustees, National Association of Housing Cooperatives (NAHC), and Oryana Community Co-op. As a research associate for the The Democracy Collaborative, she contributed substantially to the report “Hospitals Building Healthier Communities: Embracing the Anchor Mission,” published in March 2013.
Prior to this, holly jo studied housing, community, and economic development at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and at MIT, from which she holds a Master in City Planning. As an undergraduate at the University of Michigan, holly jo was a member of the Inter-Cooperative Council, Ann Arbor.
Specialties: Housing and community economic development, shared-equity homeownership, cooperatives, leadership, nonprofit management, planning, communications strategy, democracy and action research.
Member Services Coordinator –
Nola Warner
Nola has an easy claim to fame here at the Co-op: All members interact with at some point. She has Co-Directed an activist-based collective called the Kalamazoo Peace Center, worked in Alaska and Louisiana doing Environmental Education, lived in 3 different intentional communities, and was on the Board for the North American Students of Cooperation as well as a local non-profit, the Peace Education Center. As Member Services Coordinator, she : manages accounts receivable, supports the Membership and Education Committees with their goals, considers herself the office and communications director, facilitates trainings, manages and oversees all member contracts, and assists in conflict management. Since July of 2015 she has put her heart into working towards a more cooperative Greater Lansing Area through her work at MSU SHC.
Maintenance Coordinator –
Mike McCurdy
Mike McCurdy has worked with the MSU SHC for over 10 years. Before then, he lived at Rivendell Cooperative House in Lansing. He also, in his youth, lived at Howland House. Mike McCurdy is a jack-of-all-trades, and knows how to do most things maintenance! He is a licensed builder. He’s left a legacy at every single one of our Cooperative Houses, whether through routine maintenance or his master carpentry skills. He responsibly logs wood destroyed by emerald ash borers to utilize as window frames and other countertops throughout our cooperative system. He creates unique and stunning structures for pots and pans holders, cabinet stabilizers, and even makes trash bin drawers look good. He, apart from being a life-long cooperator, organizes for social justice and has done peace work in Palestine. He is is a proud father of 3 and grandfather of 2, and spends most of his free time with his family.
Financial Cooperator – MC Rothhorn
