Email: amy.perschbacher@gmail.com

Short Bio: Amy Perschbacher is a lifelong Michigander. She was born and raised on the West side of the state in the small town of Cedar Springs. She has four adult daughters and five grandchildren. She is a twice alum of Central Michigan University with a bachelor’s in psychology and a master’s in counseling. She holds a master’s in forensic psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She is in her third term as a Mount Pleasant City Commissioner and was appointed Mayor of Mount Pleasant for three consecutive years. She owns Ronan Psychological Associates, which employs 21 mental health clinicians and four full-time office staff. She is an at-large member of the Isabella County Human Rights Committee, Isabella County Community Corrections Advisor Board, and the Isabella County Recovery Court Treatment Team. She is also the newly elected chair of the Isabella County Democratic Party. If you ask her what her passion is she would say it is all about helping people do better and be their best possible self.

Campaign Elevator Pitch: My life’s work focuses on helping others do better in their own life journey. As a city commissioner I look for ways to improve the lives of the residents as a whole. As a mental health therapist, I work with many who have legal issues and I try to help them create a better path that will keep them out of the system. As the chair of the Isabella County Democratic Party, I believe that education of the issues at the local, state, and federal level is highest priority. People will not accept help if they do not understand what is at stake for them.

Detailed Campaign Statement: Community outreach and education as well as candidate recruitment are top prioritites. We must be assertive and strong in our messages. We can no longer wait for the next opportunity. We must make those opportunities happen. We need to be inclusive as well. We cannot move forward if we are not bringing everyone with us.

Email: mavanslambrouck@gmail.com

Bio: My name is Michelle VanSlambrouck. I would like to introduce myself, tell you a little about who I am, and why I am running for a position on Michigan’s Democratic State Central Committee and CD2 Committee.

I was born and raised in Portland, a rural community in Ionia County, Michigan. I have been married for 35 years to my husband, Joel VanSlambrouck, who served in the U.S. Army for 23 years of active-duty service. I am a mother of four, with an adult daughter who is autistic/developmentally disabled. After many years of travel and retirement from the U.S. Army, we settled back in my hometown of Portland, Michigan.

A lifelong passion and guiding principle of my life has always been service. My commitment to service and community engagement has played out in many ways over the years. I became a Certified Nurse Assistant and Emergency Medical Technician working in home health care, and recently became an end-of-life doula. While my husband was serving in the Army, I was a volunteer for the American Red Cross and served as the Armed Forces Emergency Services Coordinator for Logan County, Illinois. Since returning to Portland, I have served as a chairperson on the Portland Downtown Development Authority, owned and operated a small business downtown, and have worked to establish three nonprofits that directly serve the Portland community: Portland Backpacks for Bellies (PBB), The Soup Project (TSP) and I’ll Be Your Rock (IBYR). PBB is a weekend meal program that provides meals for food insecure children in the Portland School District. Operating in our community since 2019, this nonprofit has provided over 200,000+ meals to date. In 2022, I founded The Soup Project, a collaborative community-based nonprofit that weekly prepares and delivers freshly made soups, muffins and cookies to homebound residents, as well as offers resource information to their caregivers. This program provides two weekly meals to 125 individuals in the Portland School District and has delivered over 20,000 meals to date. My latest endeavor is serving as co-founder and President of the Portland chapter of I’ll Be Your Rock, a support group for rural LGBTQIA+ youth and their families. All three of these programs were established in response to a significant need in our small community. Each nonprofit utilizes volunteers in the community and actively engages over 120+ individuals in support of these causes.

I am interested in serving on Michigan’s State Central Committee and Congressional District 2 Committee because it seems that our rural communities and rural candidates have been forgotten. I believe there have been many missed opportunities to engage individuals in the Democratic Party and the political process. I believe things must change and I am committed to being a part of that change. We need more accountability, active engagement, and need to streamline the flow of information and resources to our rural population. As an active servant to my community, I decided it was time to get involved in trying to address the concerns of our rural communities. Rural voices need to have a seat at the table. For these reasons, I am asking for your vote on February 22nd to be elected as a delegate for Michigan’s State Central Committee and Congressional District 2 Committee. Thank you for your time and consideration. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Email: mavanslambrouck@gmail.com

Bio: My name is Michelle VanSlambrouck. I would like to introduce myself, tell you a little about who I am, and why I am running for a position on Michigan’s Democratic State Central Committee and CD2 Committee.

I was born and raised in Portland, a rural community in Ionia County, Michigan. I have been married for 35 years to my husband, Joel VanSlambrouck, who served in the U.S. Army for 23 years of active-duty service. I am a mother of four, with an adult daughter who is autistic/developmentally disabled. After many years of travel and retirement from the U.S. Army, we settled back in my hometown of Portland, Michigan.

A lifelong passion and guiding principle of my life has always been service. My commitment to service and community engagement has played out in many ways over the years. I became a Certified Nurse Assistant and Emergency Medical Technician working in home health care, and recently became an end-of-life doula. While my husband was serving in the Army, I was a volunteer for the American Red Cross and served as the Armed Forces Emergency Services Coordinator for Logan County, Illinois. Since returning to Portland, I have served as a chairperson on the Portland Downtown Development Authority, owned and operated a small business downtown, and have worked to establish three nonprofits that directly serve the Portland community: Portland Backpacks for Bellies (PBB), The Soup Project (TSP) and I’ll Be Your Rock (IBYR). PBB is a weekend meal program that provides meals for food insecure children in the Portland School District. Operating in our community since 2019, this nonprofit has provided over 200,000+ meals to date. In 2022, I founded The Soup Project, a collaborative community-based nonprofit that weekly prepares and delivers freshly made soups, muffins and cookies to homebound residents, as well as offers resource information to their caregivers. This program provides two weekly meals to 125 individuals in the Portland School District and has delivered over 20,000 meals to date. My latest endeavor is serving as co-founder and President of the Portland chapter of I’ll Be Your Rock, a support group for rural LGBTQIA+ youth and their families. All three of these programs were established in response to a significant need in our small community. Each nonprofit utilizes volunteers in the community and actively engages over 120+ individuals in support of these causes.

I am interested in serving on Michigan’s State Central Committee and Congressional District 2 Committee because it seems that our rural communities and rural candidates have been forgotten. I believe there have been many missed opportunities to engage individuals in the Democratic Party and the political process. I believe things must change and I am committed to being a part of that change. We need more accountability, active engagement, and need to streamline the flow of information and resources to our rural population. As an active servant to my community, I decided it was time to get involved in trying to address the concerns of our rural communities. Rural voices need to have a seat at the table. For these reasons, I am asking for your vote on February 22nd to be elected as a delegate for Michigan’s State Central Committee and Congressional District 2 Committee. Thank you for your time and consideration. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.