Alisa Seyburn

Director of the Shelby Jane Seyburn Foundation

Alisa Seyburn co-founded the Shelby Jane Seyburn Foundation with her husband, Marc, in memory of their daughter.

Alisa has a background in communications and worked in the field for some time. After earning a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Michigan University in 1991 and interning at Fox 2 Detroit, she explored her passion for directing, producing, and writing for TV and movies in Los Angeles.

After moving back to Michigan, she got married and started a family.

Prior to starting the foundation, Alisa volunteered throughout the Oakland County community with many endeavors. Every year, she worked with the Rebuild It project, and she started the Sharing Needs charitable organization in 2010, which provides clothing to those in need.

She has also participated in anti-bullying campaigns including writing, producing, and directing an anti-bullying video with Shelly Hurwitz, and she volunteered with toy drives, the Novi Fire Department Boot Drive, Gleaner’s Community Food Bank, Salvation Army Red Kettle, and Meals on Wheels.

Alisa had served as vice president of the Walled Lake Northern Football Boosters for three years, and she volunteered in classrooms from elementary school through high school.

She loves animals, hiking, meditating, praying, reading inspirational books, skiing. and riding the Peloton, as well as spending time with her husband and their sons, Grant, Cole, and Stone.

In addition to caring for her family, her focus now is on the foundation and helping others grow from their trauma.

“Losing a child is the worst possible trauma a human being can endure. It’s easier said than done, but in the end, if you put the work in, you can see a renewed spirit. It’s a choice you make to grow from your trauma — and work at it every day!”

Marc Seyburn

Shelby Jane Seyburn Foundation Board Member

Attorney Marc Seyburn co-founded the Shelby Jane Seyburn Foundation with his wife, Alisa.

Marc started his career as an accountant in his father’s firm in Southfield. He later went on to build his own law firm, SK Law Group, in Birmingham, Michigan. A few years later, he started working with a firm in downtown Detroit. By 2016, Marc began recognizing the need for attorneys who specialize in marijuana business law. Today, he runs his own boutique firm that specializes in structuring marijuana license businesses, in addition to working with the foundation.

“My hope for the foundation is to help connect people who have undergone trauma with resources to help them through their darkest times.”

Dr. Kanako Taku

Shelby Jane Seyburn Foundation Board Member

Dr. Kanako Taku, associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Oakland University, built the Post Traumatic Growth Lab at Oakland University in 2008.

The PTG lab aims to further the understanding and knowledge of PTG as well as resiliency by studying these phenomena after highly impactful life events, such as the death of a loved one, natural disaster, academic failure, and relationship breakup.

Through collaboration within the county, community, country, and world including Turkey, Australia, China, and Japan, the PTG Lab has contributed cross-cultural research on PTG. The Lab distributes results of such studies at national/international conferences and in professional journals. The PTG Lab also trains and fosters graduate and undergraduate students’ research skill attainment through active involvement in the research process. A total of 40 students have worked in the Lab for the past 9 years.

Shelby joined in Fall 2015 and became a lab manager in Fall 2016 due to her exceptional talents and motivations.