ASSOCIATION LEADERSHIP

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

  • Fred Watkins, President      

    Fred E. Watkins Jr. is serving his fourth stint on the Board of Directors. He is currently the President of the Association and serves on several committees. Fred has been in the Marygrove Community since 1999. Fred is married and has six grown children, ten grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. He is retired from the City of Detroit and works part-time at his church. Fred is interested in the beautification and upkeep of the community.       

  • Matthew Daigler, Vice President

    Matthew Daigler grew up in the Metro Detroit Area, and he and his family moved from Chicago to the Marygrove Community in the summer of 2020. He was elected to join the Board of Directors in early 2022. He is the Director of the Detroit at Work Collingwood Career Center. He and his wife, Stef, love living in the community and enjoy actively helping their neighborhood live up to its potential. Their two young daughters attend the School at Marygrove. You can often find them walking in the neighborhood or spending time in the community garden.          

  • Jay M. Meeks, Treasurer

    Jay Meeks has called Detroit home since birth with a few sojourns in the Northeast. As a former(or always!) social studies teacher, Jay is both civically minded and engaged and was one of the leads in bringing a new dog park to the municipally owned and operated Palmer Park. In addition to his community engagements, Jay is a former college professor in teacher education and works as a university administrator. He brings extensive experience in non-profit management, having served ten years as a Trustee/Director (Board of Directors) of the Telluride Association. Jay led the efforts to obtain the 501 (c) 3 status of the Marygrove Community Association.     

  • Rachel Cappadona, Director        

    Rachel Cappadona grew up in the 19th Ward in Rochester, NY, where her family always had a garden, and her house was the go-to house for the neighborhood kids to play. After spending time in Tennessee and Louisiana, Rachel moved to Michigan in 2018 and has lived in the Marygrove community for over two years. Passionate about community, being outdoors, and getting the neighborhood stray cats spayed and neutered, Rachel looks forward to planting lots of flowers at the Indiana Street Garden in 2024, spending time with her family, and getting to know more neighbors.   

  • Fatima Nelson, Director  

  • Destiny Tarver, Director  

    Destiny Tarver, a Detroit native and first-generation American, seamlessly blends her roles as a dedicated wife, mother, teacher, and research scientist. Raised in the city and deeply rooted in the legacy of her civil rights activist grandparents, Destiny is a dynamic public speaker and advocate, particularly passionate about early childhood education for children aged birth to 5. Her influence extends beyond academia as she actively addresses corruption and challenges faced by minorities, leveraging a robust network for impactful change.

    Destiny embodies her commitment to community engagement as a business owner, offering support through sound research and resources. Her journey, marked by a dedication to education, advocacy, and entrepreneurship, reflects not only her personal achievements but also a continued legacy of activism, building bridges for positive transformation.

         

    Write to the Board of Directors at all@marygroveca.org