Who we are | Board of Directors | Fiscal health and oversight | History

Who We Are

     Creative Change Educational Solutions is a nonprofit organization focused on education that promotes economic, environmental, and community well-being. We offer curricula, customized trainings, and program design services for schools, universities, nonprofits, and governmental agencies. Based in southeast Michigan, we work locally and nationally with organizations such as Eastern Michigan University, Purdue University, Redefining Progress, and the United Nations Global Teaching and Learning Project.
     Our mission is to provide and promote innovative education that helps create a sustainable world: a healthy environment, a fair economy, and a just and equitable society for current and future generations.

Board of Directors

     Ken Thomson is an attorney with Hooper Hathaway in Ann Arbor. His past education related experience includes policy work for the U.S. Department of Education and serving as an Education Policy Fellow for Governor Granholm. His focuses are teacher quality, English language acquisition and NCLB. He earned a BA, a Master's of Public Policy and a law degree from the University of Michigan.

     Nicole-Otte Stetson is the Director of Student Services at Vermont Community College in Bennington. Her non-profit experience includes serving as the Chief Operating Officer and Membership Director for The International Ecotourism Society, directing a micro-loan project for low-income women in Nevada and coordinating educational services for homeless children in Brazil. She has a Master's degree in International and Intercultural Management from the School for International Training in Brattleboro, VT.

     Susan Santone is the founder and Executive Director of Creative Change. A former classroom teacher, she specializes in instructional design and training for sustainability, ecological economics, and cultural issues. She is also an adjunct instructor in Teacher Education at Eastern Michigan University. She has a Master's degree in Intercultural and International Management from the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont.

     Charles Smith is the director of Youth Development at High Scope Educational Research Foundation in Ypsilanti, Michigan. He is responsible for the management and development of all High Scope services to youth, schools, and youth-serving organizations. With a strong interest in social understanding, sustainability, and public policy, his research has focused on youth development and effective civic education. He holds a Master's degree in American Government and a Ph.D. of Public Policy from Wayne State University.

     Brian Tell is a Senior Partner at the Corporation for a Skilled Workforce, a national nonprofit organization focused on workforce- and economic development. He has played a lead role in the development of environmental scans and strategic plans for workforce investment boards, mission-driven publications for educational institutions, and organizational learning histories. Tell is working with other CSW senior staff to improve CSW’s ability to address pressing workforce issues facing organizations and communities. This includes creating projects that address the intersection of workforce issues and community sustainability issues.

Creative Change takes fiscal management seriously:

• We operate in the black and we have no outstanding debt. Our cash flow is healthy and enables us to meet payroll and all other financial obligations in a regular, timely manner.
• We value a balanced budget and engage in income-based spending. We do not spend what we don't have.
• We retain positive cash fund balances at the end of the year, and direct this toward the next fiscal year.
• We have established an operating reserve to finance cash shortfalls and program growth.
• Our board of directors and management hold themselves responsible for the financial stability of the organization. Board members review financial statements, approve budgets, and set salaries. To ensure transparency and accountability, the board has established policies for approved expenditures, conflicts-of-interest, and other management issues.