Board & Staff

Board Members

Joe Kwapisz, Chair
Dr. Mel Chudnof, Vice-Chair
Jerry Breuer, Treasurer
Wilma Fellman, Secretary
Jon Buyle, Chair, Ambassadors
Mina Feldman, Member-At-Large
Susan Greenfield, Immediate Past Chair
Dan Harmon, Chair, Governance
Diane Henderson, Member-At-Large
Sharon O”Brien, Board Member, Founder and Past Chair
Ralph Stromberg, Board Member and Past Executive Director
Elaine Yaker, Chair, Special Events Committee

Board Member Emeritus

Rose Marie Battey

Staff

Debra Yamstein, Executive Director
debray@soarexplore.com

Constance Bush, Program Assistant
constanceb@soarexplore.com

Joe Kwapisz

Board Chair

As President and Board Chair, Joe Kwapisz leads SOAR in making things happen. His 48-year career in automotive engineering, marketing and program management for American, German and Chinese automotive companies and suppliers, serves him well as a SOAR board member and committee chair. “I served in VP roles and started my own program management firm. After retiring, I was looking to lend my professional and organizational skills to an organization. My wife introduced me to SOAR. The variety of topics appealed to me and led me to join, and then Board Chair. I enjoy working with a diverse energetic team of professionals and find pleasure recruiting interesting people to share their knowledge and experience with our members.”

Mel Chudnof

Board Vice Chair and Chair, Curriculum and Instruction

“I believe life needs to be purposeful and meaningful,” said SOAR instructor Mel Chudnof, Ph.D. “I want to make the world a better place. I get so frustrated when I see things going on which bother me. I can’t sit on my hands and be aggravated. Inaction is not an option.”

Being a SOAR member, committee member, and instructor since 2012—and now SOAR’s newly installed Board Vice Chair—are among the ways Chudnof is making a difference in the lives of others. “I am honored to be on the board. SOAR been a very important force in my life.”

Jerry Breuer

Board Treasurer

A lifelong Detroiter, Jerry comes to SOAR with an expertise in finance. His career includes serving with major financial institutions in the area and across the country, and he was adjunct professor of Marketing at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield for about 15 years. “Since retiring in 2006 I have been volunteering at various non-profits, serving as treasurer of just about all of them at one time or another. I have been amember of SOAR on and off for many years.”

Wilma Fellman

Secretary

Wilma Fellman has been a lifelong Detroiter. She’s a retired High School English/Speech/Debate teacher and Career Development Counselor. “My love for writing is serving me well as Board Secretary of SOAR. My idea of retirement was never to sit on a porch and rock in a chair. I always imagined myself taking classes in all sorts of topics for which I had no background. I think learning new things keeps us all young and growing. I also find the socialization of SOAR immensely important as I have met some of the most interesting people. I treasure some of these late relationships and look forward to what each new term offers.”

Rose Marie Battey Board Member Emeritus & Chair – Field Trip Committee
Rose Marie has been involved with SOAR for many years, after spending her professional lifetime first as a K-8 specialty school principal and then as marketing coordinator for a large building company. Although the Field Trips committee has not been active since COVID, Rose Marie is eager to begin making plans again soon! “As chair of the SOAR Field Trips Committee, I’m always searching for new cultural experiences for our members.”

Martin Herman Board Member Emeritus
As one of SOAR’s founding fathers, Martin Herman’s contributions cannot be summed up in a paragraph. He was one of SOAR’s first faculty members and was an original member of SOAR’s Curriculum Committee. His experience as an academic administrator was essential in the creation of SOAR’s By-Laws. Most importantly, throughout his tenure with SOAR, and continuing on as Emeritus, Martin always ensured SOAR maintained its hard-earned reputation of offering high quality programs while meeting the diverse interests of its membership.

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