Elena Mireles-Hill is a recent addition to our Community Investment team. After growing up in the Los Angeles area on the United States’ left coast and pursuing her education on its right at Boston College, she and her husband decided to make its middle their home in 2012.

What do you actually do all day? Work alongside people to learn and serve together for the greater good of Kalamazoo.

What’s the best part of your job? The relationships and endless possibilities for meaningful impact.

Favorite flavor of ice cream Going outside the box: mango sorbet. Basically anything refreshing and fruity.

Guilty pleasure Reality TV. I’ll leave it at that.

Favorite Kalamazoo restaurant Martini’s

Most-played song on her iPod Suavemente by Elvis Crespo

Favorite book Life of the Beloved by Henri Nouwen

Favorite smartphone or tablet app Map Quest, for which without, I would be lost. LITERALLY!

Favorite Kalamazooan (Living or Dead, Real or Fictional) My husband, for whom if I had never met, I would not be living in Kalamazoo!

Why do you love where you live? The unique sense of community and concern for one another.