Leading With Our Hearts

… degree from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Married to Presbyterian Minister, the late Dr. John McDowell, they have two children and five grandchildren, including 13 year-old triplets who also live in Midland. Both Judy and John served churches in Ohio and Colorado before coming to Michigan in 1977 when John joined the staff of Midland’s Memorial Presbyterian Church. In 1985 Judy was elected to serve as Associate Executive for Ministries of Lake Huron Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church, USA. In 1995, the family moved to Indiana where Judy joined the staff of Church World Service as the Director of Community Education and Fund Raising, leading staff working with communities throughout the U.S. to support the ecumenical relief and development work of Church World Service through CROP Hunger Walks and the CWS Blanket and Kit Programs. Since returning to Midland in 2006, Judy has been active in mission outreach of the Presbyterian Church and through a variety of interfaith activities in the community, including the Coordinator of the Midland Area CROP Hunger Walk. Judy has been a 35+ year member of the League of Women Voters, currently serving on the Board of the Midland Area LWV.

degree from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Married to Presbyterian Minister, the late Dr. John McDowell, they have two children and five grandchildren, including 13year-old triplets who also live in Midland. Both Judy and John served churches in Ohio and Colorado before coming to Michigan in 1977 when John joined the staff of Midland’s Memorial Presbyterian Church.  In 1985 Judy was elected to serve as Associate Executive for Ministries of Lake Huron Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church, USA. In 1995, the family moved to Indiana where Judy joined the staff of Church World Service as the Director of Community Education and Fund Raising, leading staff working with communities throughout the U.S. to support the ecumenical relief and development work of Church World Service through CROP Hunger Walks and the CWS Blanket and Kit Programs. Since returning to Midland in 2006, Judy has been active in mission outreach of the Presbyterian Church and through a variety of interfaith activities in the community, including as Coordinator of the Midland Area CROP Hunger Walk. Judy has been a 35+ year member of the League of Women Voters, currently serving on the Board of the Midland Area LWV.

… and International Relations. She and her husband have 4 beautiful children. While her primary job is being the ‘Master Caretaker’ of her family, she still finds time to be passionate about service in our community and therefore spends quite a bit of time volunteering with various local organizations. She is an active member of the Islamic Center of Midland, volunteering her time in countless ways from teaching Sunday school to arranging social events and open houses for the Center. She also serves as the advisor for the Muslim Youth of Mid-Michigan, which is a tri-city Muslim youth group that serves our community by volunteering at nursing homes, the Recycling Center, the Saginaw Children’s Museum, Foster Closet, Midland Blooms (planting flowers along Eastman Avenue), Shelterhouse Resale Shop, Post office food drive and many others. Through this group, she strives to instill her passion for community service with the Muslim young adults. As the co-director for the Midland Area Interfaith Friends, a group that serves to foster understanding among various faith groups in our area and gives back to the our community through various volunteer opportunities, Umbareen believes we need to look for commonalities instead of differences. She is blessed to be one of the founding members of the Midland County Foster Closet and finds great joy in serving the most vulnerable in our community.

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… are now the proud grandparents of 9 grandchildren. Debbie has blessed the Midland community with many philanthropic activities from Social Justice issues to most recently helping grow the Midland County Foster Closet. Many also know Debbie for her award winning quilting skills and generosity to share those gifts with others. Debbie hopes that her presence on the Midland County Foster Closet will create a blanket of love and support wrapped around every foster child and their family.

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