Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan Elects New Trustees, Recognizes Departing Board Members

During its annual meeting on June 24 at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan recognized several changes to its Board of Trustees, including the addition of three new members. 

The Board is a group of dedicated volunteers who lend their time, attention and expertise to advance the organization’s mission to make southeast Michigan a desirable place to live, work and play for all people, today and tomorrow. 

New trustees 

The Board of Trustees elected three new members, each for a term of July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2029. They are Rebecca Bray, Richard Bierschbach and Joseph R. Parke. 

Rebecca Bray is the president of Southfield-based Epitec, one of the largest women-owned IT, engineering and professional staffing companies in the United States. She has been recognized with numerous industry honors, including the Staffing Industry Analysts Global Power 150 Women in Staffing, Crain’s Nonprofit Board Leaders, and DBusiness Powered by Women. Bray serves as vice chairperson on the board of Forgotten Harvest, one of her many civic engagements.  

Richard Bierschbach is the new president of Wayne State University, where he has worked in various leadership roles for the past nine years. Before joining Wayne State, he served as Vice Dean and professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University in New York, where he twice received the Best Professor Award from the graduating class. Earlier in his career, Bierschbach clerked for Judge A. Raymond Randolph of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, among other roles. Bierschbach serves on boards including those of the Downtown Detroit Partnership, TechTown Detroit and Research Universities for Michigan.  

Joseph R. Parke is a private wealth advisor with Goldman Sachs, where he advises ultra-high-net-worth families, family offices and select nonprofit institutions. He is a member of the firm’s Asset & Wealth Management Growth Committee and co-leads recruiting efforts at the University of Michigan. Parke serves as a trustee of both the Tannahill Foundation, a Community Foundation supporting organization, and the Hudson-Webber Foundation.  

The Community Foundation is honored to welcome Bray, Bierschbach and Parke to its Board of Trustees and is excited about what these new members will contribute toward achieving the organization’s vision of a thriving southeast Michigan. 

Departing trustees 

The Board acknowledged three departing trustees: real estate executive Wendy Batiste-Johnson, civic leader Bonnie Larson and financial services executive Sean K. Werdlow.  

Board Chair David T. Provost noted that Batiste-Johnson, who is moving out of state with her family to pursue new opportunities, has been particularly generous with her time, having served on the Detroit Economic Club Scholarship, Audit, Program & Distribution, Governance, and Executive Committees. She helped shape “Thriving Together,” the Community Foundation’s 2024–2034 strategic plan and has served as Board Secretary and Chair of the Governance Committee. 

Larson was a long-serving member of the Community Foundation’ s Program and Distribution Committee, and Werdlow was a member of the Community Foundation’s Investment Committee. 

Visit cfsem.org to view the Community Foundation’s full Board of Trustees list.