2024 OEF Annual Awards
November 20, 2024
Kellogg Center, East Lansing
2024 Award Recipients and Bios
Susie Black
Commitment to Excellence Award
Susie Black has been teaching since 1983. She was the first and only lower elementary teacher hired when Okemos began the Montessori program in 2002. Susie currently teaches in one of the four 1st/2nd classrooms at OPM. She believes her lower el team and parapro Vandy Gupta to be the very best colleagues ever.
Susie is especially proud to be a public school teacher working in a district that values excellence strengthened with compassion.
When not spending her days listening to some of the funniest comments ever made by her students, Susie enjoys solo sauna workouts and seeking low key adventure with the outstanding, Best Husband Alive!, Larry Black. She believes everyone must spend time in nature, marveling at the beauty and wonder of our planet.
Susan Long
Commitment to Excellence Award
Susan was born and raised in Maumee, Ohio, where she discovered her passion for teaching in third grade, inspired by her teacher Mrs. Jane Driskoll. From that moment, she knew she wanted to create a nurturing environment where students could grow and thrive.
She earned her bachelor of science in education degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1992 and began her career as a 4th-grade teacher.
In 1998, after relocating to Okemos with her husband and three children, Susan paused her teaching career to focus on raising her family. As her children entered school, she became actively involved in Okemos Public Schools, first as a volunteer and later as an educator.
Since 2012, Susan has been teaching 5th grade full-time at Kinawa 5-6 School. She finds great joy in helping her students discover their interests through new classroom experiences each year.
She is grateful for the education and care her own children received from Okemos Public Schools, and believes it played a key role in helping them become life-long learners.
Tina Harmon
Special Recognition Award
Tina Harmon has been proudly serving at Okemos Public Schools since 1996—28 wonderful years! Throughout her journey, she has had the privilege of working at Chippewa, Bennett Woods, OHS, and now calls Kinawa her permanent home.
On the personal side, she is happily married and a proud mother of two, as well as a grandmother to five amazing grandchildren—truly the loves of her life! She also shares her home with two beautiful dogs, Sadie and Bud, who bring so much joy to her days.
She grew up in Dimondale and attended Holt High School. Currently, she resides in Perry. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, traveling, and making cherished memories with her extended family in Ludington. She comes from a large family with nine siblings, which has always kept life exciting!
Erica Boyan
Dean Bolton Volunteer Award
Erica Boyan is a passionate, funny, and tenacious mom who puts her love for family, community, and culture into her life at full force.
Always active, Erica’s love of travel and experiencing the world first-hand called her early in her professional life away from the desk and into action. A former coxswain on the MSU varsity rowing team and Lansing Mitten Mavens roller derby jammer, getting her hands dirty and body a little bruised has never deterred her from jumping in, and truth be told she prefers the grittier side of life.
After 11 years at Jackson and Delta Dental, Erica leapt into stay-at-home momming, including volunteering in Okemos schools, homeschooling a couple kids for a couple years, and turning her efforts toward the Kinawa Community Garden.
Alongside a team of community collaborators, Erica helped to revive the KCG and has served as Director, Associate Director, Facilities Manager, and Financial Manager over the past 8 years.
Most importantly, Erica is an incredible mother and partner to her family. Husband Andy and kids Cody (15), Rowan (11), and Lydia (9) spend their time enjoying her goofball jokes and dancing, crazy voices for the pets, and constant effort to love and connect us together.
Nikki Mann
Commitment to Excellence Award
Niki Mann received her Bachelors and Masters degrees from Central Michigan University. Niki began her teaching career as a middle school teacher in Waterford in 1999. She and her family moved to the Lansing area in 2004 and she was a stay at home mom for 8 years running a daycare out of her home for teacher families.
She returned to teaching in 2012 as a first grade teacher at Bennett Woods. Niki enjoyed being a part of helping first graders develop as readers, and building routines that fostered confidence and independence. One of Niki’s favorite things about BW was the camaraderie amongst staff and the supportive families. She developed wonderful friendships with her colleagues, and learned from every staff member.
For the past 3 years Niki has been the Student Support Advisor at Cornell Elementary. She has loved this opportunity to work with and support a wider population of students and staff. Cornell has a palpable love for kids and is the definition of TEAM. She is grateful to work with people who support one another and kids with such passion.
Niki lives in Holt with her family. She and her husband Todd celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary this year. They are rolling into the “empty nester” phase of life with their daughters. Natali is a junior at Grand Valley. Tatum is a senior at Holt High School who will also be headed to GVSU next fall. They have enjoyed many camping trips together through the years and love to spend time together whenever they can.
Karen Sanders
Commitment to Excellence Award
After graduating from MSU, Karen Sanders began her teaching career in Pachuca, Mexico where she taught 2nd grade at a private bilingual school. She learned a lot of Spanish that year from her second graders and colleagues, and travelled extensively on the weekends. Upon returning to the United States, Karen taught Spanish in Milton, Massachusetts and, a few years later, at Chippewa Middle School. She has taught high school Spanish in Haslett and Okemos and spent several years as adjunct faculty at MSU teaching Spanish to undergraduate students. Currently, Karen teaches at OHS and at Club de Mañana, an online language school based in California. She holds a B.A. and M.A. in Spanish from MSU. Go Green!
Karen loves teaching and is passionate about Spanish language and culture. She is grateful to work in a district that prioritizes world languages and supports teachers and students each and every day. She has explored Spain, Mexico, Costa Rica and Ecuador and hopes to get to know more of Latin America.
Karen currently teaches AP Spanish, Spanish 1 and Spanish 2 at Okemos High School. She has volunteered as Club Advisor for the Amnesty International Club, Model UN and the Japanese Culture Club. While not in the classroom, Karen enjoys swimming, cycling, watching Spanish telenovelas, hanging out with family and playing with golden retrievers. She and her husband, Eric Bubolz, have three daughters who all graduated from OHS. Kendall (2017), Sal (2020) and Maya (2022) are their greatest joy.
Amanda Whittico
Commitment to Excellence Award
Amanda Whittico grew up in Chesterfield, MI with her parents (Charlie and Patty) and two brothers (Ryan and Matt). Her dad was a teacher and coach in her home district of Anchor Bay.
Amanda holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics with minors in Integrated Science and Middle Level Education, and a Master’s degree in Training and Development, all from Central Michigan University. Fire up, Chips! She began her teaching career at Cheboygan Middle School, where she taught 8th grade science for two years. Since 2014, Amanda has been a member of the Chippewa Middle School (CMS) team, teaching 7th and 8th grade math and science. Currently, she instructs 7th grade science, math lab, and a leadership elective. Amanda also serves as the teacher coordinator for 7th grade camp.
Amanda’s favorite part of working at CMS is the people she gets to work with, students and staff alike. Much of her day is spent laughing with her students and helping to guide them through the unique challenges of adolescence. Amanda’s colleagues are a huge part of bringing joy to life on a daily basis. The support that they give each other is rare and something that Amanda treasures.
Outside of the classroom, Amanda enjoys spending time with her husband, Stephen, and their young children, Nora (4) and Russell (2). She is so grateful that her parents and her in-laws (Esther and Rick) are able to come to East Lansing from Metro Detroit once per week to care for Nora and Russell. Their support means the world to her! Time spent with family and friends is a top priority for Amanda and she is intentional in sharing this.