GHACF welcomes new board members

The Grand Haven Area Community Foundation recently welcomed two new members to its board of trustees, Reyna Masko and Dean Reisner. 

The two new members will take the baton from Mark Pereira and Barb VanHeest, who have completed their terms.  

Equity advocate

Reyna Masko has worked for Ottawa County Friend of the Court for 23 years as an investigator, enforcing court orders for custody, parenting time, and child support. In 2013, Reyna was appointed as chair of the county’s Cultural Intelligence Committee. Through that work, Reyna has become an advocate for equity and diversity, particularly within the Latino community. 

She has served on the board of directors for the Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance, on the steering committee of the Lakeshore Latinas, and was the co-chair of the city of Grand Haven’s Human Relations Commission. She is the founder and co-chair of the Grand Haven Hispanic Heritage Fiesta and Tri-Cities Puentes Initiative, a non-profit organization intended to create a healthy, united, inclusive, equitable, and diverse community.

 “I look forward to serving the people of Northern Ottawa County and collaborating with other local leaders to help support innovative projects that move our community forward,” Masko says. “I intend to bring a different perspective to philanthropic tables by using my voice to provide recommendations based on my life experiences.” 

Many community roles

Dean Reisner is a partner in Varnum’s corporate practice and estate planning teams. He is a member of the Ottawa  County Bar Association and the State Bar of Michigan and is Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished Peer Review Rated. 

Reisner serves on the board of directors for the Chamber of Commerce Grand Haven, Spring Lake, Ferrysburg, is the president of the North Ottawa Rod and Gun Club Foundation, and volunteers with the Greater Ottawa County United Way and the Loutit District Library capital campaign. He also is a member of the Rotary Club of Grand Haven and co-founded the Grand Haven Area Young Professionals.

 “For many years, I have admired the work that the  Grand Haven Area Community Foundation does to make the lives of residents of Northwest Ottawa  County better,” Reisner says. “I am honored to join the GHACF Board of Trustees and assist in continuing that legacy.” 

Departing members look back

Outgoing members Mark Pereira and Barb VanHeest joined the board of trustees in 2016. 

They played an integral role in helping develop and implement the foundation’s strategic plan. In addition, Pereira and VanHeest helped the foundation manage its response to COVID-19 and kick-start its move to a new building at 6 Sherman Ave. 

Barb VanHeest and Mark Pereira.

Pereira most recently served as board chair. He owns and operates a portfolio of online retail and publishing companies. 

“Serving on the GHACF Board has been both satisfying and humbling,”  Pereira said. “I have seen the magic that happens when a well-run, financially stable organization collaborates with a board and with partners with the singular mission to help a community. It is also humbling to know that there is much that remains to be done for those in need. 

“My tenure has been rewarding in many ways. Working with the GHACF has helped me with my personal mission: to help leaders of non-profit organizations on the front lines, with frameworks that will make them more effective.”  

VanHeest is the senior business relationship manager for J.P. Morgan Chase Bank in Grand Haven.

“It has been a privilege to be part of this organization over the last six years,” VanHeest says. “It was a time of incredible growth and change at the foundation, always rising to meet the needs of the community. I’m amazed every year with the impact of our grant dollars in our community and feel that there is no challenge we cannot work together to address, she says.