Bolsen Steps Down From MCMR Post

Long-time Multicultural/Multiracial Community Council of Farmington/Farmington Hills (MCMR) executive director Karen Bolsen has stepped down from her post.

In all, Bolsen has served the organization for more than 17 years, including as Executive Director from 2006 through 2011. According to a press release issued by the City of Farmington Hills, she is moving on to pursue other goals.

Bolsen has been elected to co-chair the Michigan Alliance Against Hate Crimes (MIAAHC) Subcommittee for Community Response; she has served as a committee member since 2008. MIAAHC was formed by the Michigan Department of Civil Rights and the U. S. Department of Justice to focus on the elimination of hate crimes.

She recently was part of Michigan’s team at the Wiesenthal Center for Tolerance training in Los Angeles.

Bolsen’s interest in human rights began when she was an undergraduate majoring in Racial and Ethnic Studies at Michigan State University’s College of Urban Development. She takes pride in the many accomplishments of the MCMR team and credits the dedication of past and current members of the steering committee.

“Working with former and current members of MCMR has impacted my life in a phenomenal way,” Bolsen said. “I certainly received much more than I gave in serving on MCMR.”

“The work of the MCMR will continue in the very capable hands of new co-chairs Tanji Grant and John Golaszewski,” she said. “Both Tanji and John are long-term members of the community who have served on MCMR’s steering committee for many years.”

Grant co-chaired the community's Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. commemorative program for five years. She has a background in real estate and is a board member of the Western Wayne Oakland County Association of Realtors.

Golaszewski is the Director of Business and Community Affairs at the Michigan Department of Civil Rights and has worked in conjunction with MCMR in many statewide community development projects. He is Past President of the Commission on Children, Youth and Families for Farmington and Farmington Hills.

As Bolsen transitions to regional and state work in the human relations field, she reflected on her time with the MCMR.

“It truly has been a phenomenal blessing to share life with people from so many different backgrounds and to see time and again that our basic desires are all the same," she said.