Eileen Kooreman Retires After 27 Years at DVULI

By Gerald Bell, DVULI Staff 

For Eileen Kooreman, journeying alongside leaders who serve urban youth for 27 years has offered some amazing stories and moments of breakthrough. She would agree the DVULI journey contributed to her earning what colleague Ron Carter refers to as “her urban card.” 

Joining RDV Corporation in 1996 as Foundations Administrative Assistant, Eileen crossed the finish line with the title of DVULI Director. She’s had the unique opportunity to balance the corporate structures of RDV Corporation with the culture of underserved faith communities. No matter how many unfamiliar spaces the job required her to navigate, Eileen never lost her appetite for learning from and relating to individuals who were not like her. “I valued sharing life with people I would not have normally crossed paths with,” says Eileen.   

“I valued sharing life with people I would not have normally crossed paths with.”   

Eileen has functioned in just about every role the program needed. From event planning to recruiting, hiring, and supervising staff, there’s no boxing in Eileen. She also has been a fill-in instructor, program designer, and newsletter writer/editor. Of the many duties she’s performed, what stands out most is “the great conversations with people from all walks of life.” Eileen reflects, “I’ve spent an afternoon with Rich and Helen DeVos in their home, and I’ve gotten a neighborhood tour with an ex-gang member who told me he was educated in prison. Everyone has a story I can learn from.”    

“I’ve spent an afternoon with Rich and Helen DeVos in their home, and I’ve gotten a neighborhood tour with an ex-gang member who told me he was educated in prison. Everyone has a story I can learn from.”   

As with any profession, there are entire segments of Eileen’s work that went unnoticed and parts that didn’t really seem like work at all. 

“Many of my most memorable moments have been while visiting with my DVULI family at their churches,” notes Eileen. “I’ve been to churches where the ushers wore white gloves and synchronized all movements in the sanctuary. I’ve seen people slain in the Spirit on the floor and have experienced dancing and shouting. I have attended one church in Chinese and many in Spanish. I was unexpectedly invited to the front by a COGIC Bishop to say a few words, and I was asked to sit up front with the church mothers.” 

Eileen could share countless DVULI experiences, leading to either laughter or tears. When she visited a Spanish-speaking church, the guest preacher spoke so fast that Eileen’s assigned translator could not keep up. 

Never one to waste an opportunity to enlighten and inspire those she cares for; Eileen discovered some shareable moments from her DVULI church visits.  

“There is a place in our lives for creeds and traditions as believers, and it’s okay to have a favorite way to worship or to talk to God,” she says. “God’s beautiful orthodoxy contains all the cultures, customs, and traditions that I got to experience as part of DVULI. Be willing to put yourself in uncomfortable places and even laugh at yourself when necessary. Put aside what you think you know and hear the story of someone else’s encounter with God. It will change your life for the better.”    

“God’s beautiful orthodoxy contains all the cultures, customs, and traditions that I got to experience as part of DVULI. Be willing to put yourself in uncomfortable places and even laugh at yourself when necessary. Put aside what you think you know and hear the story of someone else’s encounter with God. It will change your life for the better.”  

Eileen’s new favorite song is CeCe Winans’s version of “Goodness of God.”

“The image of God’s goodness running after me. Wow!” she exclaims.

“As I’m getting ready to retire from my life with DVULI, I feel like God’s goodness has indeed been running after me.” 

 

“As I’m getting ready to retire from my life with DVULI, I feel like God’s goodness has indeed been running after me.”