色花堂

The new Hope Trustees appointed to a three-year term, include: Jeannie Cunnion (Greenwich, Conn.), Rev. Dr. Jonathon Brown (Holland), and Phillip D. Torrence (Kalamazoo). 

Trustees reelected to serve second terms are: Lisa Joldersma (Washington, D.C.), and John Soderstrom (Madison, Conn.).

Trustees concluding their service on the board are Dr. Stephen Boerigter (Holland) and Carol Van Andel (Ada). Carol will remain involved with Hope, serving as a co-chair of the economics and business campaign.

Executive Committee Members (new and returning) Include:

• Brett VanderKamp (CEO of New Holland Brewing Co., Holland) has been elected to a four-year board chair term, succeeding Boerigter, who served as chair for three years.
• Tommy Gordon (General Manager of Gordon Food Services, Grand Rapids) has been elected vice chair for a two-year term, succeeding Dr. Matthew Wixson (serving various leadership roles in the University of Michigan-Anesthesiology department), who will now chair the Sustaining the Mission Committee.  

About the New Hope College Trustees

Jeannie Cunnion: After serving as a family counselor, foster care recruiter and adoption advocate for 15 years, Jeannie felt called to pursue a writing career to help individuals and parents grow their relationships with Jesus. She is now a best-selling author and national speaker, with her work being featured on traditional and Christian news outlets and podcasts nationwide. With her husband Mike and one of their five sons, she also co-founded the 509 Foundation, a nonprofit creating opportunities for young adults in Haiti for education, employment and entrepreneurship. 

Jeannie graduated from Auburn University and received her master鈥檚 degree in social work from The University of Alabama. She and her husband served as elders at their church for many years in Greenwich, Conn., and they now reside in Nashville, Tenn.

Rev. Dr. Jonathon Brown: Jon has been the lead pastor of Pillar Church, in Holland, since 2012. Prior to that he was the senior pastor of the First Reformed Church in Oak Harbor, Washington. Jon graduated from Hope College in 1999 and recalls that he preached his first sermon at Dimnent Chapel in the early 2000s. He received his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Western Theological Seminary and pursued a Master of Christian Studies degree from Regent College (Vancouver, B.C.). He鈥檚 also the director of the Bast Center for Christian Proclamation 鈥� a collaborative effort among Hope, Western Theological Seminary and Pillar Church 鈥� that nurtures compelling preaching for the church. 

Jon is married to Kristyn (also a Hope alum) and they have four daughters.

Phillip D. Torrence: Phillip is an attorney and partner with the business law firm, Honigman, LLP. He is a member of Honigman鈥檚 executive committee and specializes in public and private securities offerings, growth equity and venture capital transactions, private equity transactions, and public and private mergers and acquisitions and dispositions.

Phillip is a 1996 Hope College graduate who went on to receive his law degree from the University of Utah. He has also served on the Hope College Alumni Board. Phillip and his wife Sarah, have three children. Their eldest son graduated from Hope in 2024 and their youngest is a Hope sophomore.