Staff Members

Bonnie Billups, Jr. began his career in supportive services for families and youth at a young age.  He first became involved with Ann Arbor’s own Peace Neighborhood Center as a child enrolled in the agency’s Youth Programs back in the early 1970s.  Proving himself to be a reliable and mature young man, Bonnie was hired on as a Program Assistant at Peace in 1976.  He continued in that capacity through 1985, helping the agency expand and establish many long-standing services such as Peace’s Summer Day Camp program in 1982.  Bonnie left the agency in 1985 to travel to California and pursue a career in music.  While in the Los Angeles area, he continued to work in the youth development field as a Youth Lead Specialist at Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services.  In 1991, he returned to Ann Arbor and Peace Neighborhood Center as the agency’s Program Director, a role he took on to great success for over 15 years.  In 2006, he took over for the retiring Rose Martin as Peace Neighborhood Center’s Executive Director and continues to lead Peace in its role as a pillar of the youth and family service nonprofit community in Washtenaw County.  Bonnie also has continued in his musical career as an instructor at Washtenaw Community College in the School of Music and Performing Arts.  Bonnie is a member of the Ann Arbor Public Schools Blue Ribbon Committee where he helps to advise the school district on decisions and strategies to provide effective service to at-risk youth.  He is also a founding member of the Washtenaw Alliance for Children and Youth, serving on its Steering Committee and helping to define that collaborative’s role in establishing the best possible safety net for young people in Washtenaw County along with the other member youth development agencies.  Bonnie is proud to have served the youth and families of Washtenaw County for almost 40 years and to lead Peace Neighborhood Center into its fifth decade of its longstanding mission to break the cycle of poverty in our community.