Ruth Mott Foundation welcomes successful Flint entrepreneur to board of trustees and appoints interim director

Flint, Michigan, December 9, 2013 – Flint native W. David Tarver, who founded Telecom Analysis Systems Inc. in his basement and sold it 12 years later for $30 million, is joining the board of trustees of the Flint-based Ruth Mott Foundation.

The Flint Central High School graduate, former Kettering student and University of Michigan alum attributes his success, in part, to youthful ambition, inspiration from his father and the civil-rights movement.

“The root of my success was in Flint,” says Tarver, who remembers participating in the science fair at a time when the city was full of optimism and opportunity. “I’m excited to be engaged in my home town on a different level, and I look forward to working with people who are capable and committed and interested in improving life for people in Flint. When you have talented people and you bring them together, great things can happen.”

After selling his company to a British firm, Tarver spent seven years in New Jersey where he founded and ran a not-for-profit organization that improved the education and development of children in the city of Redbank.

“We made big strides by engaging stakeholders in the community and focusing their efforts on people who needed service the most,” says Tarver, who resides in Birmingham, Michigan now. “This is a great time to be involved with the foundation, as people and organizations coalesce around Flint’s new master plan.”

Foundation chair, Maryanne Mott, agrees and is pleased that Tarver accepted an invitation to join the foundation board.

“With deep connections to Flint, an impressive business career and non-profit leadership and development, David brings a wonderful pairing of organizational discipline and community connection to the work of the board and to this community,” she said. “His professional career and record of civic engagement have well prepared him to contribute both creative ideas and practical leadership. We are happy to bring David’s experience and insights to bear on the challenges and opportunities of his hometown.”

Christine A. W. (Cris) Doby has joined the staff of the Ruth Mott Foundation as interim president. Doby was appointed to the position November 14, following the resignation of the organization’s former president, Sara E. Ríos, who was diagnosed with ALS.

“I am honored to help lead a foundation built on the values of respect and hope and the dignity of all people,” says Doby, who will serve as interim president until a permanent president is hired. “The Ruth Mott Foundation is deeply engaged in the greater Flint community through its grant making and Applewood programs, and I welcome the opportunity to work with an excellent staff and trustees as we partner with people and programs in Genesee County.”

Doby has been a program officer for 14 years in the Pathways Out of Poverty Program at the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, headquartered in Flint. During her tenure at the C. S. Mott Foundation, Doby’s work has focused on civic engagement in low and moderate income communities. Prior to joining the C.S. Mott Foundation, she served for more than 20 years in Catholic Charities in Detroit, Baltimore, Lansing and Saginaw. She worked for the Campaign for Human Development, funded by the Catholic Church, and for Catholic Relief Services, an international relief and development agency. Doby is a graduate of the University of Detroit-Mercy and Loyola University of New Orleans.