Kevin J. O’Leary ~ President | koleary@olearyfoundation.com
Kevin is the 5th child of Bob and Muriel. He was the founding Chairman of the Board on The O’Leary Foundation and currently serves as President. Kevin got the idea for this event when mom was sick. He and his wife Deb were returning home from the Joe Cekola Family Foundation’s event. On the way back home Deb and Kevin started to get the idea of starting a foundation in Muriel’s memory, so they went up to the hospital and ran the idea by her. She loved it, so they told the rest of the family after her passing and the rest is history. Mom and Dad taught him to give to people in need. Give, give and then give some more. So that is what we are trying to do with this family foundation. Son, Ryan, has two children, Miah and Connor. His daughter, Kara, and her husband CJ, have two kids, Sloan and Liam. They are very proud of all of them. Both Ryan and Kara are very active in the foundation as board members. Kevin has a one of a kind wife, Deb, that inspires him to be the best that he can be. She is actually the brains behind the curtain. Kevin and Deb live in Grand Rapids, MI.
Mary K. Knecht ~ Vice President | mknecht@olearyfoundation.com
Mary is the fourth child of Bob and Muriel. She attended Eastern Michigan University for her BA and WMU for her MA in Educational Leadership. She is a retired teacher of 37 years for Deaf/HH at KRESA in both Kalamazoo Public Schools and Portage Public Schools. Mary has been a board member since the foundation’s conception in 2003. She currently holds the positions of Vice President and Auction Committee Chair. Mary is married to Jim Knecht and resides in Richland, MI. She has three wonderful children all married to incredible people!!! Kaity (Jed) Segur, Patrick (Kendra) and Joe (Kyle). Kendra and Patrick have blessed her with three grandchildren; Wayland, Della and Marleigh who bring immeasurable happiness to everyone’s lives! The entire family is actively involved in the foundation in some capacity or another, either as board members &/or committee members. Her family is very proud to be a part of this foundation and giving back to the community. Making a difference in the lives of others that need it…continuing the legacy of Muriel (Mert:) and Bob.
Maureen O. Morin ~ Treasurer | mmorin@olearyfoundation.com
Maureen O’Leary Morin is the middle child of Bob & Muriel O’Leary. She has been a board member of the O’Leary Foundation since its conception in 2003. Maureen is the current Treasurer. She feels it is an honor to her parents legacy by giving back to the community. Maureen is married to Don and resides in Houghton, MI. They are blessed with 2 grown children with families. Kevin and wife Andrea have 2 wonderful kids, Brynn & Travis and they live in White Lake, MI. Colleen and husband Lee have 3 boys, Lucas, Christian and Cole, and they live in Houghton, MI. Maureen is very blessed to be surrounded by them all with their work for this foundation and family memories we share. Maureen is retired from her job as a secretary at Houghton Elementary School after 28 years and loving every minute! She is a proud American and would like to share a quote from Muriel, “What’s right about America is that although we have a mess of problems, we have a great capacity ~ intellect and resources ~ to do something about them, we just need to work together.”
Kara P. Wyman ~ Secretary | kwyman@olearyfoundation.com
Kara is a granddaughter of Muriel and Bob O’Leary. Kara, along with her family; husband CJ, daughter Sloan and son Liam, reside in Hickory Corners, MI. Kara is a graduate of Western Michigan University with a degree in Family Studies. Kara currently works at Gull Lake Middle School. Kara has been on the board since 2011 and is the foundation’s Secretary and a member of the Auction and Military Committees. Family and community are of the utmost importance to Kara.
Colleen Mills ~ Grant Committee Chair | cmills@olearyfoundation.com
Colleen is a daughter of Muriel and Bob O’Leary, whom we honor with this foundation. She is married to Alex Mills. She was the founding President of the O’Leary Foundation and currently serves as Grant Committee Chair. She has enjoyed a career in nursing (RN) spanning over 30 years and is the Senior VP of Standards and Government Relations with the National Healthcare Staffing Alliance. Colleen has served on numerous philanthropic boards representing diverse charitable objectives. Her trusteeship includes service with the March Of Dimes, March of Dimes National Grants Committee, American Heart Association, Leadership Wichita Falls, American Cancer Society, URHCS Advisory Board, Midwestern State University Advisory Board for Health sciences, Founding Chair for Small Business Development Centers Regional Board, Member of MSU Small Business Development Board, and Resource WF, and several other organizations. Colleen was raised in Michigan and now resides in Wichita Falls, Texas. Until recently, she was the owner and founder of the first credentialing body developed solely to meet the needs of the healthcare staffing industry in credibly measuring performance. The inspiration for developing this was Muriel O’Leary and her journey with cancer along with a strong desire to have a positive effect on an industry that lacked credibility with hospital administrators. Today she lends a voice for the small to medium sized healthcare staffing agencies.
Joseph R. Knecht ~ Technology Committee Chair | jknecht@olearyfoundation.com
Joe is the youngest grandchild to Muriel and Bob. Joe lives in Gull Lake, Michigan and works in engineering management for Amazon. Joe attended Central Michigan University and graduated in 2015 with a Bachelor of Science. Last summer, Joe tied the knot and married the love of his life, Kyle. Joe has been involved in the foundation since its inception, he started serving on the foundation’s Board of Directors since 2013 with a current role of Technology Committee Chair.
Kaity A. Segur ~ Event Committee Chair | ksegur@olearyfoundation.com
Kaity is a granddaughter of Bob and Muriel O’Leary. She attended Michigan State University and graduated with a BS in Animal Science. She currently is employed in the animal health industry.
Kaity has been a board member since 2010. She currently holds the positions of Auction Committee Member and Event Chairperson. Kaity is married to Jed Segur and resides in Kalamazoo, MI.
E.J. Hart ~ Trustee | ehart@olearyfoundation.com
E.J. was a founding trustee of the O’Leary Foundation and graduate of Western Michigan University. E.J. was a retired Kalamazoo Valley Community College instructor. E.J. owned Hart’s Jewelry in Plainwell, Michigan. He was also a member of the Plainwell Industrial board, president of the Plainwell Downtown Development Board, a member of the Plainwell Brownfield Development Board, a member of Jewelers of America, a member of Retail Jeweler Association, and a member of the Nature Conservancy. In the past E.J. had been a member of the Plainwell Education Foundation, the Plainwell Chamber of Commerce, the President of the Plainwell Youth Soccer Club and finally the Girls Commission AYSO Soccer.
Deceased recently on April 10, 2024. You can’t imagine how much he is missed.
Brittany Ughetti ~ Trustee | bughetti@olearyfoundation.com
As a long time family friend of the O’Leary’s, Brittany has always wanted to be a bigger part of the O’Leary foundation and their impact on giving back to the communities in Southwest Michigan. Voted onto the board in 2014, she has become active on the auction committee. Brittany is from Comstock, MI, but resides in Seattle, WA with her husband, Dario, and two rambunctious children. She works as an Imaging Program Manager at Abbott and received her BS from Grand Valley State in 2010. In the past, she has been involved with Big Brother Big Sister, Hospice and is thrilled to expand her volunteer opportunities.
Debra A. Smith ~ Trustee | dsmith@olearyfoundation.com
Deb is a very close family friend to the O’Leary family and grew up with Mary and Kevin. Deb has been involved with the foundation from the very beginning and just recently Deb was voted onto the Board of Directors in 2018 and currently sits on the auction committee and is Co-Chair of the annual event.
Ryan O’Leary ~ Trustee | roleary@olearyfoundation.com
Ryan is the second grandchild of Bob and Muriel’s. Ryan was on the board from 2004-2011, than voted back on to the board in 2016. He is also serving the O’Leary Foundation by being a part of the sponsorship, grant and auction committees. Ryan works full time as Branch and Sales Manager at Fibers of Kalamazoo. He lives in Portage, MI along with 2 amazing children, Miah and Connor.
Patrick Knecht ~ Trustee | pknecht@olearyfoundation.com
Patrick is one of many grandchildren of Bob and Muriel’s. These two may have passed but their legacy and love live on through all of us. Patrick is a former student of KVCC automotive technologies and a US Army Infantry combat veteran. He was voted onto the foundation board in 2014 and continues to serve today. He currently holds the position of auction committee member as well. Patrick has been married to Kendra since 2016. They live happily outside the Kalamazoo area with their 3 children, Wayland, Della, and Marleigh.
Kristen Grimm ~ Trustee | 
Kristen is an “honorary grandchild” of Bob and Muriel as she grew up spending lots of time with the grandchildren. Kristen resides in Richland, Michigan with her husband Eric and their three sons. They recently welcomed their home to a 3-year-old foster daughter who has brought all kinds of joy to their lives. If they are not at home, they are probably at a practice. Between their boys they play football, baseball, wrestling, and competitive dance. Kristen works at a local Elementary School in the front office. Every day is a little different, but she enjoys connecting and supporting children and teachers alike. An added bonus to her job is that Muriel and Bob’s great grandkids, Wayland and Della attend her school. In the past, Kristen has served on the board of her school’s parent teacher organization and coached her sons little league teams. Kristen started at OLF as an auction committee member and was invited to join the board in 2023. Kristen is honored to serve on the board and help her community as well.
James Cassar ~ Trustee |
James joined our board in 2023, more information coming soon!
Jane Pangle ~ Trustee |
A childhood friend of Colleen, Muriel and Bob‘s oldest daughter, Jane has seen firsthand this amazing family’s giving attitude over the past 60 years. Jane’s work as a public school Food Services Director helped her see and help meet the needs of many children. In the past, Jane has served on the Boards of Law Wives of Kalamazoo, Hope College Women’s League and a member of The Irish American Club. With her husband, Bob, a retired prosecuting attorney who has served on numerous boards and foundations, they have both seen what a difference this type of organization can make. Also, as active church members, Jane & Bob continue to look for places they can best serve. Thus, she is honored to be included on the Board of the O’Leary Foundation and share with this board her thoughts and ideas.
Heather Spaulding ~ Trustee |
Heather is a wife and mother of three beautiful children, and one angel baby. Heather is a bachelor’s prepared nurse and has worked for Bronson Hospital for almost 16 years. Heather has worked in ER for 7 years, urology for 7 years and now calls Sports Medicine her home. Heather’s mother, Brenda Terburg-Fawley is the biggest reason for having a clear sense of community and the need to help the surrounding world. Brenda, Heather’s Mother, was a founding board member of the O’Leary Foundation. She and Muriel were very close, Muriel was someone you wanted in your corner and Heather’s mother helped to form Muriel’s corner. Heather is beyond lucky to have had those two amazing women influence her life in so many ways. Heather feels blessed to be able to try her best to uphold their legacies through being a part of the O’Leary Foundation and all it stands for. Brenda and Ma O’Leary are smiling on all of our efforts to make the world a better place for all of us.