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Alison Gehle
President
she/her
Alison joins the board this year as President. She looks forward to working with the City community to continue to support and expand current programming at City High Middle and the sixth grade programs including CFE, Zoo, and Blandford. Alison brings experience working with children and families, non-profit organizations, and consulting work. In her spare time, you will find her on the soccer sideline, walking the family dog and planning her next project. She has one City student in the class of 2028.
Ardina Washington
Vice President 1
Ardina joins the board this fall as one of our three vice presidents. In addition to the PTSA, she volunteers with middle school athletics at City. She enjoys calligraphy and spending time with her family. She has one City student in the class of 2025.
Elizabeth Topliffe
Vice President 2
she/her
Elizabeth joined the PTSA Board in 2021, and she is looking forward to supporting students, faculty and administration at City. Elizabeth works in education, and she understands that great education requires community. As a result, she builds communities. Fully invested in Elsa Maxwell’s exhortation to “Laugh at yourself, before anyone else can,” Elizabeth’s super power is finding the humor and the hope in just about any awkward or difficult situation. In her free time, Elizabeth makes up reasons to gather friends for social events, spends time with her family, walks her dog, hikes, and reads. Elizabeth has one student at City in the class of 2024.
Breanna Bouwman
Vice President 3
Breanna joined the PTSA Board in 2021 as the Treasurer and has since transitioned to the Vice President 3 role. During the 2022-23 school year, she joined the GRPS staff as the Paraprofessional at Blandford School. She continues to work from home as well doing the bookkeeping for her husband’s painting business. Not only does she volunteer much of her time to the PTSA, but she also helps out with the City Band Boosters. When Breanna isn’t crunching numbers, she likes to take walks with and without her dogs, work in her garden, and read. She has two current City scholars (Class of 2026 and Class of 2027) and a CFE scholar.
Ruth Wilson
Secretary
Ruth Wilson has served the City PTSA for many years, beginning her service as a Blandford parent representative with her first scholar (City Class of 2020). She continues her service as Secretary of the PTSA and Chair of the City Band Booster Parents committee. In her outside-of-City life, she works as a private music lessons teacher throughout west Michigan and is a professional bassoonist. During the summer, you might see her working the ticket booth at Millennium Park Beach. She also serves on the board of the Grand Rapids Symphonic Band and Scouts BSA troops 292B and 292G in Grandville. She has been married to her husband, Matt for 22 years despite her tendency to volunteer him to do things on a regular basis.
Samantha Svacha
Treasurer
Sam joins the PTSA Board this fall as the treasurer but has been a member of the PTSA since the 2020-2021 school year. She has been involved with many non-profit and community organizations throughout her lifetime, and is a firm believer that with choices and resources, scholars at City can be provided with amazing opportunities to enhance their time there. She sincerely hopes to see many parents and scholars participating in meetings and activities this year! When not at work or spending time with family, she enjoys crossword puzzles, helping with the community and family gardens, reading, and watching murder mysteries. She has been married to her husband, Brett, for over 20 years and has one, amazing daughter attending City.