We define a money hero as someone who is pursuing their own financial goals and helping others to do the same.
Our Vision
Turning everyday people into money heroes.
Our Mission
Helping families rewrite their financial legacy.
We move consumers away from asset-reducing products and practices – like payday lending – and toward asset-building tools and life-changing financial education.
Staff
Since 2001, Lenear has been passionate about serving his community in the area of economic empowerment. In 2019, he launched Project GREEN to live out this vision with like-minded individuals, churches, and community organizations in Kent County and the state of Michigan.
A Grand Rapids native, Alayna has over a decade of leadership experience in developing organizational systems across the nonprofit and for-profit sectors. An alumna of the University of South Florida, she applies her strategic project management expertise to ensure Project GREEN’s internal operations effectively support the financial legacies of Michigan families.
Samika brings over 20 years of professional advocacy and civic engagement experience from the public and private sectors. She began her career as a Safe Shelter Crisis Worker in her hometown of Benton Harbor, Michigan, where she provided direct support to community members experiencing crisis.
A community-focused social worker and HUD-Certified Housing Counselor, Janessa brings 10 years of experience in housing and financial capability services. She leverages her expertise in program development and cross-sector collaboration to expand access to resources and create equitable pathways to financial stability for Michigan families.
Board
Rebecca O’Connell is a Community Affairs Manager at Consumers Energy. She has two decades of experience in coordinating policy projects to solve community and private sector problems at the local, state and federal levels of government.
Shellida serves as a Human Resource Specialist for United Bank of Michigan and has over a 15 year career in HR with various industries.
Dondreá Brown has been committed to providing financial education since 2013. He first began educating himself, then his family and friends, on the basic principles of money management.
Tawanna Wright serves as a Staff Attorney for ACSET West Michigan Works!, a regional workforce development agency that serves seven counties in the western Michigan region. She is a Grand Rapids-based attorney with many years of transactional work experience in business matters.
Chris is a full-time faculty member in the School of Social Work at Western Michigan University. Chris serves as the Grand Rapids Program Director and the MSW (Master of Work) Program Director. He is also the Founder and CEO of NPS Consulting. He brings to Project GREEN many years of experience stemming from leadership positions in the areas of human services and community/economic development.
Attah is CEO of iNFable, an emerging social justice brand bringing awareness to causes through their popular line of socks. He is also Director of Dream Fulfillment at SpringGR, empowering underserved entrepreneurs to build strong, sustainable businesses.
