Brad LaPlante is a communications assistant at IMPART Alliance, assisting in providing marketing materials such as copywriting and multimedia content. He is a student enrolled at Michigan State University studying journalism with a concentration in broadcasting and is set to graduate in spring 2025.
Prior to IMPART Alliance, LaPlante was a video producer for The State News Podcasting Network. He has also worked several years in sports media, covering Michigan State athletics in men’s ice hockey, football and men’s and women’s basketball.
LaPlante had an appreciation for direct-care work from an early age. He spent a lot of time with his grandma, who required care while he would visit. He saw the importance of direct care and says his instinct for empathy derives from those visits.
“Those experiences became a baseline from an early age for lifelong personal and professional skills that are so important,” he said. “Being empathetic towards someone are things that we overlook so often but it has allowed me to become a better friend and journalist as I seek employment post-graduation.”
This is his first job at a nonprofit, as well, something he says he doesn’t take for granted.
“One of my first jobs working at IMPART Alliance was to work on a project with Dorothy Paad and her dad Eric, who founded the Caregiver Incentive Project,” he said. “Seeing them both and hearing their experiences made me gain so much respect for people working in this industry. It feels great to know that I can stick up for them and help make an impact.”