Christy Buck is the Executive Director of the Mental Health Foundation of West Michigan. With more than 33 years of experience in the mental health field, Buck’s passion for transforming and saving lives through mental health education led her to develop two classroom programs, ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ for middle and high school students, and ‘be nice.’ Since 2006, she and her staff have passionately presented to over 200,000 people in West Michigan on mental health awareness, bullying and suicide prevention. Buck regularly delivers speaking engagements to community and business groups on mental health awareness. She is certified in Question Persuade and Refer and Mental Health First Aid, which she has been recognized as one of the top 100 in the country.

Christy serves on the Grandville School Board and is involved with numerous community organizations and coalitions. Most recent honors include 2017 American Red Cross Hometown, 2017 Athena Finalist, 2017 Art Van Charity of Hope Award, 2018 50 Most Influential Women In West Michigan, 2019 Daughters of the American Revolution Women In History and most recently finalist for Brilliance Award Woman of the Year.

Christy enjoys spending time with her family - hubby Tim, and kids - Demetrios, Katerina, Isabella and granddog, Riggins and the community of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church! She is a proud graduate of Michigan State University.

​Kandice works closely with schools on implementing and delivering our Education Programs: be nice. and Live Laugh Love. In addition, she serves as an Instructor for Mental Health First Aid and helps plan the MHF’s Annual Stomp Out Stigma Walk and Shining Through Art Show and Auction. Kandice graduated from Grand Valley State University in 2007 and received her Masters in Social Work from Western Michigan University in 2013. In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with her family, shopping and catching up on her favorite TV shows. Kandice lives in Hudsonville with her husband, Patrick and 2 daughters, Adeline and Blakely.

Jessica started working for the Foundation in 2016. She is responsible for all things communications. She manages the website, handles the social media accounts and media presence, writes those jazzy newsletters our subscribers love, and creates compelling content to support the MHF's programs. She also assists in the coordination of the smaller community-curated fundraisers and seeks out community partnerships to promote the be nice. education program. She is a graduate of Grand Valley State University with a degree in communications and a background in journalism and broadcasting. Being outside is her favorite past time whether it's hiking, kayaking, hammocking, going to the beach, or camping, and she always has a book she’s reading. She's hiked 365 miles along the Appalachian Trail, trekked deep into the Grand Canyon, topped mountain peaks of the Canadian Rockies, spent four days traversing the Dolomite Mountains of Italy, and most recently hiked her baby boy up to see the 360° view atop Cloud's Rest in Yosemite National Park.

Kacie started at the Foundation as an intern and is now the full-time Business Program Coordinator! She helps onboard new be nice. Businesses and develops sustainable programming for existing businesses. Whether she is conducting a training, creating a be nice. launch video or facilitating custom training or merchandise for a business, Kacie supports businesses of all kinds with implementing the be nice. program. Her background in program management and business development, along with her passion for mental health in the workplace, led Kacie to the Mental Health Foundation's Business Team. Kacie is a proud graduate of Western Michigan University where she studied public relations and psychology, and she is currently pursuing a graduate degree in industrial and organizational psychology through Adler University. She can usually be found walking her Toy Aussie puppy around town or frequenting the local coffee and ice cream shops. She is a lover of the outdoors and protects her mental health through exercise, reading and journaling.

Mary began working in the mental health environment in 2012 at Network180 as an Accounting Clerk after being a stay at home mom for many years. During those years she volunteered in a variety of ways at her children's school, dance studio and other fundraising events. In 2017, she started at the Foundation as a volunteer organizing apparel. Now, she is responsible for the bookkeeping. She and her husband John have two children, Erin and Steven. She enjoys keeping the Foundation staff supplied in sweets, and chilling by the lake with family and friends and a good book!

Therran has been both a volunteer and an employee at the Mental Health Foundation of WM. He started with the MHFWM in 2006. Therran studied finance at Michigan State University. His most recent employment, prior to being with the Foundation was in building maintenance (volunteer) with the Food Bank of East Michigan. Therran has been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and has had great success with his recovery.