Who We Are

Laura Grannemann — Executive Director

Laura Grannemann is the Vice President of Rocket Community Fund and Executive Director of the Gilbert Family Foundation. Laura joined the Rock Family of Companies in May of 2014 after graduating from Georgetown University with a degree in International Development.

In her dual roles, Laura focuses on breaking down complex systems related to economic development and neighborhood stabilization, including Detroit’s tax foreclosure crisis, the mortgage market in the city, and creating education programs that prepare students for 21st century jobs in Detroit. She also oversees all volunteer engagement and giving initiatives for the Rock Family of Companies via the Rocket Community Fund.

Throughout her time with the Rock Family of Companies, Laura has led projects that bring together community, public and private partners such as Rehabbed & Ready, Motor City Mapping, Neighbor to Neighbor, the Make It Home program, and the Detroit Tax Relief Fund. This work has affected tens of thousands of Detroit residents, allowing families to stay in their homes, become homeowners, and build equity and opportunity.

Darnell Adams — Director, Detroit Community Initiatives

Detroit native Darnell Adams is the Director, Detroit Community Initiatives for the Gilbert Family Foundation. He brings more than 10 years of community development, strategic planning, and thought leadership experience to his role. Throughout his career, Darnell has strived to build and adjust resources that directly affect Detroiters.

Prior to joining the Gilbert Family Foundation, Darnell served as Vice President, Neighborhoods at Invest Detroit where he led equitable investments in the city’s Strategic Neighborhood Fund districts with a special focus on supporting BIPOC developers. Previously, he served as the Director, Inventory for the Detroit Land Bank Authority where he oversaw the strategic disposition of 94,000 publicly owned parcels.

Darnell is a graduate of Michigan State University with a degree in Urban & Regional Planning. Darnell continues to push community development work forward as a board member of several community development organizations across Detroit and shares his work through local, national, and international forums.

YooRi Kim, MS — Scientific Officer

YooRi Kim is Scientific Officer of the Gilbert Family Foundation, where she is on a mission to find effective treatments for neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1).  She develops and oversees the Foundation’s research portfolio, which is focused on vision restoration for individuals with NF1 optic pathway glioma, treatment of NF1 brain tumors, and NF1 gene therapies.  Previously, she served as a medical philanthropy advisor at the Milken Institute, helping philanthropists strategically invest in biomedical research in various fields, including neurology, oncology, psychiatry, genetics, and precision wellness.  YooRi graduated from the University of Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and a minor in Spanish. She received her master’s degree in physiology and biophysics from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Kalyan Vinnakota, PhD — Project Manager, Vision Restoration Initiative

Kalyan Vinnakota manages the grants funded by the Gilbert Family Foundation’s Vision Restoration Initiative. Dr. Vinnakota is a bioengineer with over a decade of post-PhD experience in academia, military medical research, and the biomedical research industry. His major scientific contributions are in the areas of computational modeling of biochemical pathways and cellular transport processes. He has developed computational and experimental approaches to study a wide range of problems including regulation of mitochondrial metabolism, localization and mobility of Ras proteins, and pharmacokinetics of small molecule therapeutics in translational animal models. He is passionate about applying his interdisciplinary research experience towards advancing therapeutics for patients with unmet needs.

Caroline Morin — Scientific Analyst

Caroline Morin is a Scientific Analyst for the Gilbert Family Foundation.  She supports the Scientific Officer with programmatic and research activities, as well as new project and initiative development.  She is also a fellow with Venture for America, a program that supports economic growth in American cities and communities through entrepreneurship.  She earned her bachelor’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University in Chemical Engineering with an additional major in Biomedical Engineering.

Kayleigh Roy — Director, Grants and Operations

Kayleigh Roy manages the day-to-day and long-term operational planning of the Gilbert Family Foundation’s grants across pillars as well as for NF Forward, a nonprofit founded by the Gilberts. Acting as Director of Grants and Operations, she interfaces with all members of the Foundation’s team and grantees to cultivate and maintain strong partnerships across the Curing NF and Building Opportunity and Equity pillars of the Foundation. Kayleigh previously worked in an operations and grants management role at the Quicken Loans Community Fund, and prior to joining the Family of Companies, she supported urban development research at the Virginia Department of Transportation. Kayleigh graduated from the University of Virginia’s School of Architecture with a degree in Urban and Environmental Planning.

Mar Paricio Sunyer — Grants and Operations Manager

Mar Paricio Sunyer works hand in hand with the Grants and Operations team to manage the day-to-day operations of the Gilbert Family Foundation and its sister nonprofit, NF Forward. As Grants and Operations Manager, Mar has experience working in all aspects of the organization: from managing grants, coding a website, managing Salesforce instances, to executing a silent and live auction. Mar joined the Gilbert Family Foundation in 2019, shortly after graduating from Clemson University with a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in Nonprofit Leadership.