Meet Our Board

"You can do what I cannot do. I can do what you cannot do. Together we can do great things" - Mother Teresa

Amy DeHaan

President

RENEE GOETZ

​VICE PRESIDENT
​HEAD OF NEW PARENT TEAM

Susan Fall

secretary 

Trish Hidalgo

director of communications

AMY SIMON

treasurer

KATE ORTEGA

MEMBER AT LARGE
​NEW PARENT TEAM

OPEN POSITION

MEMBER AT LARGE
MARKETING

RON HALL

member at large

​a bit more on our board members

Amy L DeHaan, President

• Schedule and direct a minimum of 6 board meetings/year
• Oversee and coordinate all activities organized by board members
• Co-sign checks

 Renee Goetz, Vice President

•  Head of and oversees New Parent Team 
• Acts in absence of president
• Oversee Public Relations

Susan and Gage

Susan Fall, Secretary

My name is Susan Fall and I am the Secretary for DsUpNorth.  I have held this position since 2005.  I am a native of the area, having lived here all my life.  My husband Richard and I have four children, Dan, Kate, Cole, and Gage. Our youngest son, Gage, has Down syndrome.  We did not have a pre-birth diagnosis so we became indoctrinated by surprise.  Gage had many life-threatening health issues at birth resulting in many trips to DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids where he had a variety of surgeries.  This continued for several years and Gage is now 19 and healthy!   

 I joined the Board to garner knowledge of opportunities (educational/social/vocational, etc.) for our children.  As a member I am part of a team that creates a yearly schedule of free or low-cost events (local and national) that are available to our members, community educators and medical providers.  The goal being to spread awareness to our community.  I support inclusion but realize it is not the path for everyone.  I embrace my son’s abilities and limitations.  Every milestone he has achieved has made us happy and proud, but Gage being healthy and happy has always been most important.  He is so loveable and such a joy, a people-pleaser for sure!
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 Much of my spare time is in volunteering as an avid advocate to those in our community with differing abilities.  I also volunteer as secretary for the Dream Team Northern Michigan (a baseball league for children/young adults of all abilities) because, who doesn’t like baseball?!  In my spare-spare time I enjoy DIY projects, boating, and the rare nap!